So, my friend and I had a great time in
Playas del Coco (Guanacaste). We had to postpone our trip until just now, however (May 29 - June 5, 2010). We did about 11 dives and saw a very different variety of creatures and fishes, compared to the Caribbean.
Best time for diving
While most tourists go during the dry (winter month) season, we were told that summer months are the best for diving (warmer and calmer waters, better vis). June and July were reported as the best time. Yes, it's the rainy (err, 'green') season, but the mornings are nice and sunny, and there may be some rain in the afternoons.
Dive shop
There are a few dive shops near Playas del Coco. Rich Coast Diving, Summer Salt, and
Deep Blue Diving seemed to be most prominent, and we chose Deep Blue Diving. Prior to the trip, I had great communications with Oliver at Deep Blue, and it carried through into our dive trip itself. Great dive staff and guides. They take care of your equipment (rinsing, bringing to and from the boat, setting up tanks), which took me a while to get used to.
Dives and dive sites
We did the bed/dive package which gave us 2 local dives per day and 1 night dive. However, it seems that they rarely do night dives (3-4 a year) and after doing some local diving, we could see why. Waters can be rough (some currents and surges), which is more pronounced in the evenings. We opted against a night dive and did a 3-tank dive one day. Catalina Islands (giant mantas, whales) are open during winter months, while the Murcielago Islands (bull sharks, some giant manta rays) are open during summer months. There are several
local dive sites. Here's a quick summary of some of the dive sites we dove. Surface water temps ~ 84-86 F; bottom temps ~ 77-78 F. Local dive sites generally had a line to the bottom for descents and ascents, but divers should feel comfortable with doing them free. Dramamine is recommended for all dives.
Punta Argentina: Surges and mild currents can be common. Lots of balloonfish, scorpion fish, sea horses, and moray eels. Vis 20-50 ft. Max depth ~ 75 ft.
Tortuga: Surges can be common. Reef white-tip sharks and stingrays are common. Iron shipwreck with large schools of grunts. Look for eagle rays in distance. Vis 10-60 ft. Max depth ~ 65 ft.
Virador?: Mild currents. Somewhat of a sloping wall dive. Reef white-tip sharks, moray eels, balloonfish, scorpion fish, triggerfishes. Vis 30-60 ft. Max depth ~ 75 ft.
Monkey's Head: Somewhat of a sloping wall dive. Small stingrays, nudibranchs, moray eels, scorpion fish, gobies, blennies, sergeant majors. One of my favorite dive sites. Vis 30-60 ft. Max depth ~ 65 ft.
Murcielago Island (front and back): 70 min (rough) boat ride. Bull sharks on the front side of the island, as well as sea stars, parrotfish, and damselfish. A few giant manta rays passed by quickly. Front side max depth ~ 100 ft. We saw 4-6 giant manta rays coming back and forth on the back side of the islands where the cleaning stations were. Back side max depth ~ 80 ft. Vis 50-100 ft on both sites. Free descents and ascents. The highlight of the second dive with the mantas was that we witnessed one manta having a shark fishing line looped around one of its cephalic lobes, which was very distressing. It ran back the length of the ray and then into a big knotty bundle. When the DM saw this, he swam after it in attempts to cut the line. The moment he latched onto the line, the manta ray was very startled and took off into the blue. We lost sight of the DM --- he later reported that it took him for a ride and unfortunately, his knife didn't work well enough to cut through the shark line. Seems the manta also hit him pretty hard with a wave of its cephalic fin. A few moments later, he returned, cursing his knife. A few minutes later, the same manta came back and I pointed it out to the DM. He swam towards the manta and grabbed onto the line. I felt this second time, the manta knew the DM wanted to help and was far more calm (the DM later reported the same). Fortunately, this time around, his knife did the job and he was able to free the manta from the shark line. This was one of the highlights of the entire trip!
Playpen: A lazy flat bottom dive with lots of rocks. A bit of a drift dive with mild surges. Look for lots of small fishes and creatures in the rocks. Some fishes wait for divers to lift up rocks (searching for food). Look for lots of urchins camouflaging themselves with shells and rocks. Vis 40-60 ft. Max depth ~ 50 ft.
Turning point: Somewhat of a wall dive. Reef white-tip sharks, large schools of fish, moorish idols and tahitian stingrays. Vis 40-60 ft. Max depth ~ 75 ft.
Hotel
With the dive/bed package deal, we stayed at
Hotel La Puerta del Sol. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, especially with great staff members (Elizabeth). She always did her best to ensure we were comfortable and enjoying our stay. She was always happy to call around regarding various questions or helping set up tour guides. It even has a salt water pool.
Food
Rice and beans. Seriously, that's the main and sometimes, only thing you'll find. The main road has lots of restaurants. We were advised to stay away from the Papagayo restaurants (not as good food?), so we focused primarily on the sodas (local and small restaurants). Casados (rice, beans, salad, and choice of meat) are available at most any soda. Have a refreshing fruit smoothie --- they are AWESOME. We ventured out to some Italian restaurants (pizzeria and pasta), but didn't really care for the quality of the food. There are 3 supermarkets in the area where you'll find most anything and everything. Subway is also there should you want something different from rice and beans.
Transportation
We opted against renting a car. Deep Blue Diving arranged a taxi for us (~ $35), which I believe was more economical than getting a taxi ourselves at the
Liberia airport. You can get local taxis in Coco to take you around the town or to nearby beaches for a few dollars. Most eco-tours can pick you up at your hotel, so that works out also. And after having an eco-tour guide pick us up and take us on various dirt roads to reach the site, we were very glad not to have driven ourselves (and gotten lost).
Money
Dollars are accepted most anywhere, but you'll get Colones back. Most places will charge a 5% fee for using credit cards, so we opted to pay the dive shop using cash. We had little trouble exchanging traveler's checks at local banks for Colones (smaller service fee, compared to cashing them into dollars), but just visit them at non-busy times. ATMs are also widely available, but just check the fees your own bank may charge.
