bat islands (isla murcielago) costa rica currents

[Rich Coast Diving]

I have to totally agree with Summer Salts comments. We also do not take more than 4 divers with 1 guide and a max of 2 groups so 8 divers, 2 guides. We require the advanced certifiaction with experience and a local dive has to be done first so we can asses your diving skills Bat islnds is an awesome dive but safety comes first

 

[jzorbas]

Thank you everyone for the information... It was very informative. Id especially like to thank the individual who posted the descent time from thier computer. Any other info or log info from others will also be appreciated. I have another question because I have read different things. Some people say if the bull sharks are around, you go to the bottom and hold on to a rock but others never mentioned this, as if they still did a tour of the area as if it was any other dive? Please, share your experiences. I wonder if this is because of the "bull sharks" or perhaps because of the current in order to be able to appreciate the bull sharks. Thank you all again.

 

[Summer-Salt]

At least you'll be well prepared and know what to expect with all those questions ;-D!
The dive plan will greatly depend on the conditions like visibility and currents. But of course the presence of the Sharks and Mantas and other great stuff, too. On a regular dive, once you're at the bottom, usually sheltered from the currents and anywhere from 20m/60ft to 30m/100ft, you'll hover around over the gentle slope. While you do that, stay close to each other. When you see a first shark, don't try to approach or follow it or make too much noise to signal it to other divers, as it will simply swim away - faster than you can...it's them who decide if they want to see us or not, so rather stop and wait, hang on to a rock if needed because there might be others following to check you out! If nothing else shows up, you will most likely continue your dive either drifting with the current along the Island or making a circle from the deeper to the shallower water. There are several points of interest at the shark dive site, like for example a cleaning station for other animals like Mantas. Just follow your guide and enjoy!

 

[jake11]

We did 2 dives out at Bat Island and had fairly easy conditions. I do remember them throwing out a tag line to hang onto after we surfaced. I was one of the last people on the line and saw a bull shark about 5 feet from me up close to the surface. We saw another one down below. It was a pretty exciting ending to the dive. Have fun!!

 

[ScubaSam]

I did two dives at Bats Island and saw several bull sharks on the first dive at about 70'ish ft. We did not see any bull sharks on the second dive.

We did a hot drop on descent and regrouped at depth. Current and surge at surface but not at depth. I was there in July and at that time of year, or at least when we were there, we experienced rain and/or thunderstorms every day from 3PM - 6/7PM.

We also dove Catalina Island that week and saw a large manta ray during our safety stop. Most thrilling safety stop in my dive history.