Diving in Costa Rica in August? (or go to Mexico)

[TheAvatar]

BACKGROUND:

Taking a trip to Costa Rica to explore the jungles, volcanoes, whitewater kayak, and mountain bike for a week with my girlfriend. We also want to spend a second week diving. The problem is we were not planning on renting a car and would be staying on the east side of the country in Monteverde.

We are young and adventurous, more at home in a tent or on a couch or a cheap hotel than in a fancy resort. Our goal is to dive as much as possible as cheaply as possible and chill on the beach, not luxuriate by the pool bar while doing only two dives a day.

Also, we'll need to rent everything but mask/fin/snorkel.

QUESTIONS:

How good the diving is on the Caribbean side is or how good it will be in August (the rainy season?)?

How hard is it to get to the West or the South?

How will the diving quality differ between locations?

Do any of the locations have beach diving to be done? An inclusive with beach diving seems like the best way to get a ton of dives in for cheap....

Is it really any cheaper to find cheap accommodations and book diving separately? It doesn't seem so in my research so far...

Is camping possible? Advisable?

Anyone with experience have tips to share?

The other choice is to fly off to Cancun or Cozumel for the week... is that a better plan?

 

[Summer-Salt]

Hello!

Sounds like a great action vacation!
Don't miss whitewater rafting on River Reventazon and/or Pacuare; Hike over the Cerro Chato next to the Arenal Volcano or on top of the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano; There's cool mountain biking from the Volcano Irazu over to the Turrialba or in the Santa Rosa National Park (well, last time one of us had to push the bike back for 20km with an exploded gear case...).
Concerning your questions, I'd first recommend to keep Luxury Resort Cancun and Cozumel for the years when you'll look for less adventure...
In Costa Rica, as beautiful as it can be, I discurage to visit and dive the Carribean side outside the months of March/April and September/October, unless you want to experience what rainy-season can mean and how it affects diving...
Moving West and South? Taking San Jose as the base point, moving West is easier than East and moving North easier than South (talking public transportation).
Diving quality in August really depends on rainfall: The further East or South you go, the more rain; this makes the Gulf of Papagayo (North-West) the best area for diving in August.
I've already given my oppinion about beach diving on another thread...you can give it a try just snorkeling to see...Officially nobody offers this.
Our dive packages can include accommodation, which we negociate each time according to the divers needs. The cheapest places do usually not accept any reservations ahead: You pay, you sleep (if there is a room available, but if you're "Pura Vida" enough, you will always find some place). The places I recommend have all a minimum standard in terms of location, comfort, ect. and start at 15$ per person and night. Of course there are cheaper places that I can help you find (they're not always well indicated or listed in travel guides). Camping in August? Even if our area -Guanacaste - is quite dry (there is less rain here during the rainy season than in the rest of the country during the dry season ...), you'll have to expect some heavy daily rain...
Travelling a lot around the country myself, I'd have many advises and tips to give (like where to pass for a Cerro Chato hike, without having to pay 10$ to the hotel who's land you have to cross to access the hiking trail...)
Hope that helps you and others, Pura Vida

Patrick

 

[svs]

I also vote for North-West. Caribbean side will remind you of Mexico (species wise) but not as good underwater and more rain above. Pacific will be different. Not very cheap, though. Nice ocean side room is around $100 per night non-inclusive. Dives are around $80 two tanks. Shore diving is problematic. There are some nice rocky outcrops which can be dived from the shore but surf makes entrance/exit challenging and I heard that many dive shops are hesitant to rent equipment for the shore diving because of damage.

 

[Sammy Bono]

I will be in Costa Rica at the end of august and I plan to scuba dive. I think we are staying near San Jose. I have dived once before in Acapulco and it was really fun and look forward to doing it again. I am still a newbie though and thats why I am glad I found this forum.

 

[ScubabunnyCR]

the pacific side is definately the better option for the diving. From MOnteverde you could get one of the shuttle bus transports (interbus) to pretty much anywhere you want whether you are diving in north, playa del coco or central pacific (Quepos/Manual Antonio). That time of year you should have no problem finding cheaper accommodations as there is always a decent variety or cabinas and hostels esp. in the central pacific region. PLaya del coco has some nice cabina options as well so you shouldn't have to go too pricey.

 

[TheAvatar]

Basically looking to do ~5 days of 3 dives a day and keep the cost including gear rentals, accomidations, food, and travel from Monteverde and back to San Jose all under $800. Acheivable?

 

[Summer-Salt]

Wait a second, you plan to go dive several days on the Pacific Coast and stay in Monteverde? Going back and forward every day? In this case your budget and probably energy will not be sufficient:
It takes at least 3 to 4h from Monteverde to any place on the Pacific Coast, and to respect scheduled dives that leave between 7 and 8a.m. (for 3-tank dives) you'll have to get a rental car and get up very early to get to bed very late, if you don't fall asleep on your way back...
It's really nice to visit Monteverde, but in any case I suggest not to stay there for that much time - the climate up there is very particular - unless you want to do a study about the cloud forest, which is really great to visit either hiking or with one the famous canopy tours (which don't really leave you time to observe wildlife, but are great fun).
Count 5 to 10$ to get from San Jose to any destination along the Pacific Coast by bus. You will also find accommodation for 10 to 15$ or less (for sure in Playas del Coco) if you are not too picky.
Count 110 to 220$ per 3-tank dive incl. gear depending from where you dive and which Dive Sites you go to. In any case to get as many dives in as possible for the lowest price possible, the 3-tank option is usually a good choice as it also should include lunch.
Looking at this, the 800$ budget could just be fine, you might have to do some 2-tank excursions instead of 3 every day (In Playas del Coco it's particularly worth it to do 3 dives when going to the Cats and Bats).

 

[Sammy Bono]

So what do you guys recommend I do since I will be in the San Jose area?

 

[HerraduraDivers]

Sammy Bono,
we are the nearest dive operator from San Jose.
If the new Highway is open you can reach Herradura in about 1 hour,
if it will be still under construction it will take +/- 2 hour by car.

Best regards

Chris Karrer

 

[Summer-Salt]

Yes, if you want to do daily dive trips from San Jose, the Herradura or Quepos/Manuel Antonio area is closest.
If there is no particular reason why you want to stay in San Jose, I would consider to move to the coast during your diving days no matter where you plan to dive, it's so much nicer to just hang out with your dive buddies after the dives instead of rushing to the bus/car to get back to town...same counts for Monteverde...