Costa Rica: January - best location for Manta Rays (beginners)?

[Zootime]

My partner and I are off to Costa Rica in January for 3 weeks and are looking forward to some diving. We are of course happy to see what we can, but one of the big draws is to try to see Manta Rays.

We have both been diving for around 15 years, but only on vacation - although this has been particularly limited recently, with only 6 dives each during the last 3 years. I am Advanced certified, but she is only Open Water certified. She also often has a little trouble with equalizing, so she would struggle to descend quickly and without a line. Neither of us have been diving with much more than a small current.

I realise that the above points will somewhat limit our options and chances of seeing them, but I wondered if there's anywhere in particular you think the more sheltered dive sites offer the best opportunities to see Manta Rays?

Based on my research I'm choosing between Playa del Coco, Manuel Antonio, or Drake Bay. We are planning to go to the Osa Peninsula regardless so Drake Bay is tempting, and we were wondering if making a trip in addition to Coco would be sensible. Thanks in advance if you have time to give any advice, which would be much appreciated.

 

[ScubabunnyCR]

Catalina islands in the north is your best chance for Mantas

 

[flyboy08]

Catalina islands in the north is your best chance for Mantas

Yep, the Flamingo area....nice diving. My avatar was taken there.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I went out to both Cat and Bat Islands to see either bull sharks and giant pacific mantas. Struck out on bull sharks but saw 4 giant pacific mantas about 15-20 feet across. Incredible! This was Nov 2015.

Rocket Frog Divers was the dive shop and they are great. We went out of Playa del Coco/Ocotal area.

As for the diving - it was not easy diving. In Cat we had a blue water safety stop, a lot of surge, big swells, strong current. May have just been that day. In Bats it was slightly easier but like Cats, no safety on mooring lines and no descents with it either. that’s where we saw the amazing mantas.

 

[Scubanoobi]

I saw one Manta on 6 dives at Bats (but 10-15 bulls on each dive at Big Scare in Bats), not really for beginners though with the negative entry and no moorings for safety stop. Also the safety stop is done over top of the bull sharks.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I saw one Manta on 6 dives at Bats (but 10-15 bulls on each dive at Big Scare in Bats), not really for beginners though with the negative entry and no moorings for safety stop. Also the safety stop is done over top of the bull sharks.

Can we have both?!

 

[dmaziuk]

OP's probably booked and set by now... but FWIW spend a couple of days doing local dives getting the hang of it and letting the op assess you and decide if they'll take you to Bat islands and/or Catalina. And plan for more than one trip -- assuming your op runs more than one -- as we struck out on bull sharks at Bats but the next day's trip ran into several up close, and the day after that they saw mantas.

For us getting hit with a surge in the channel on Catalina was more of "advanced" experience than Bats: that was just deep-er murk with cold surges. Cold surges were the b*tch: at one of local sites in Playa Ocotal my computer clocked 30C at safety stop and 24C in a surge -- both the highest and the lowest temperature reading I ever seen on it. And on the same dive, too. That was last April.

 

[webbah]

We were there mid-January and were booked to go to the Cats but the mantas were local so we saved a trip across the channel. Two mantas on dive one and one on dive two. A couple of white tips as well but we had a whale shark too!!!!!!!