Costa Rica for Checkout Dives?

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SteveInMD

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Location
United States
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50 - 99
My girlfriend will soon finish up her OW class. I see flights to Costa Rica are pretty reasonable right now. I'm looking at the Liberia / Playa Hermosa area for a possible first dive trip for her. Any advice? Is this a fairly easy dive area with some shallow-ish options? I prefer walls myself, but starting off easy for my girlfriend.
 
Why not Maya Riviera? Isla Mujeres is about as easy as it gets. Its almost like diving in a pool.
 
We've been to the Guanacaste area of Costa Rica twice, both times flying into Liberia.

Local diving is very good, structure is different than what we usually dive in the Yucatan (both mainland and Cozumel) as are the critters and sea life.

Plus, if you are going to be in Costa Rica, there is a lot of on-shore stuff to do while you are there.

You might also look at Playa Ocotal (and/or the entire stretch between Playas Hermosa and Ocotal).
 
You might also look at Playa Ocotal (and/or the entire stretch between Playas Hermosa and Ocotal).

Looks like Rocket Frogs moved from Ocotal to Playa del Coco. So there's nothing in Ocotal now except fishing boats, it's really just Playa del Coco for any diving.
 
Looks like Rocket Frogs moved from Ocotal to Playa del Coco. So there's nothing in Ocotal now except fishing boats, it's really just Playa del Coco for any diving.

My understanding is that their boats still leave from Ocotal, however.
 
I'd say, though diving there can be great, it is not for a beginner because visibility can be poor and currents are possible. Save Costa Rica for later and go to Roatan or Akumal in Mexico instead.
 
Thinking about what's been shared so far, be sure to check if the diving areas you are considering for the time you will be there are open or not - one I dove with farther south (in Playa Herradura) of where you mentioned going was closed during the rainy season and had really just opened back up when I was there (January 2019.) Also check if the dive sites are near runoff areas that might cut down on the viz. If you've never been to CR before, it's fantastic for sightseeing. Spent a week in San Jose doing nothing but tours everyday before spending a second week in Jaco on the west coast.

Enjoy your trip.
 
Thanks for the help!

Back to your original question, we had a couple doing their checkout dives on a Rocket Frogs boat when we were there. That was done on one of their "local" sites around Playa Ocotal, those are relatively sheltered and shallow-ish. Compared to Caribbean the vis can be less than ideal, and water temperature too.
 
Hit Flamingo..my avatar was shot there...easy drive from Liberia's airport.
 

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