costa rica dive sites?

[icthyophile]

Hi! We're heading to Costa Rica and I need to know some good dive sites on the Pacific side. Somewhere North-ish would be good. Any suggestions? (and sadly, Cocos island is out of the question )

 

[dolesorchard]

The best we have seen in Guanacaste is the Catalina Islands. The diving is usually better at Isla Del Cano, but it is way south. For the Catalinas, the closest approach is from Flamingo, we have been very happy with Costa Rica Diving in Flamingo. Should you decide to go south, which I would highly recommend, Mad About Diving in Uvita is very good. You didn't mention when you are going, but Jan. or Feb. would be my recommendation.

Also, if you are interested my wife and I are offering a trip to Costa Rica January 18-28. The cost is $1400/person plus airfare. This is not a dive trip, but diving at Isla Del cano will be an option on several days. If you are interested, PM me and I will send you an itinerary.

 

[Scuba Cat Diving]

Catalina's from Flamingo is the best diving on the Pacific side apart from Cocos Islands. There are 2 main operators from there, Pacific Cost Diving is a good one. There is a lot to see, Manta's Mobola, shovel nose rays, White tips, sea horses, Humpback are around for a large part of the year. Worth to do a couple of days diving but not more as limited sites.

 

[dolesorchard]

I have to disagree with Scuba Cat, I have done both Cano and Catalinas several times and I would choose Cano every time. The visibility is better and there seems to be more to see plus no Papagayo winds, so much calmer seas.

 

[Rich Coast Diving]

It all depends when you will be going, right now the Catalina is out of season, we went last week and there was only 1 manta ray, however the best diving is the Bat islands, right now there are loads of mantas, and 3 days ago we went and had about 15 mantas a few bull sharks, big school of spotted eagle rays, dolphins and whales near the boat on the way back

 

[jzorbas]

I am going to dive the Bat Islands last month. The Dive operators keep stressing strong currents but refuse to provide any actual description of how difficult they are to dive in. Could you please, shed some light on the subject.

 

[Summer-Salt]

On the North Pacific Coast, Playas del Coco will certainly the best choice for the period of Mai through to November since you have the widest choice of dive sites to chose from: Catalina Islands about 15 miles/20 km South, the local dive sites about 2 to 5 miles away and the Bat Islands about 30 miles/40 km North. This is also the period when you have the best visibility (10m/30ft to 25m/75ft) and the warmest (25C/80F to 30C/100F) and calmest (no or little wind and waves) water.
If you want my personal opinion, the Cast rarely have anything additional to offer than the local dive sites off Playas del Coco with the exception of a change when you dive several days. Besides this you might be looking for some more challenging conditions since it's possible to have currents, surge (caused by big, smooth swells) and maybe greater depth. Marine life is pretty much similar, when you're lucky you might see a big school of either Devil- or Golden-Rays, Mantas are occasionally very common to see (best from November through to April). The presence of any other sharks than White Tips have still to be proven (I have never seen any other, not even nurse sharks), and you can see plenty of these on the local dive sites, too.
The Bat Islands are probably, no, it's for sure, the best dive sites all along the Pacific side, nowhere else you can regularly see the Bull-Sharks during this period, but you also have Mantas and massive amounts of schooling fish, sometimes huge schools of eagle-rays and all the other common creatures... You can get there only form Playas del Coco and only form May through to November, it's best from June to September. But the conditions can be tricky and require good experience (more about this in the specific thread about the currents out there). Just that much, be honest with yourself, and even if you are a good diver, to start out with a local dive excursion is wise even if the conditions at the Islands are most likely similar to the ones of the local dive sites it's better to be well prepared with weighting and awareness of the conditions (viz/temp/ect.) for more enjoyment.
Hope you'll find the perfect spot, and after all, every dive is great!