Question Costa Rica - Liberia Area

[Jake 10]

Going to Costa Rica, Liberia area, around mid-August of this year. Two experienced divers with one newly certified SSI/OW diver.

Any additional advice for the OW diver is greatly appreciated, besides getting AOW
Recommendation on hotel or Vrbo in the Liberia area or near-by beaches
Dive sites recommendations in Gulf of Papagayo or Coco Beach
Recommendations on land tours or wildlife sanctuaries in the area
Reef maps (none in Reef Smart Guide)

 

[Snoweman]

My wife and I stayed at this place about nine years ago with another couple. I'm pretty sure we stayed in the villa just to the left of the pool.

Resort Overview | Bahia Pez Vela Resort, Costa Rica

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It was the month of December, which I believe is the rainy season. My two dives were OK, but not great because of the lack of viz due to recent rains. I was going to dive in my rash guard and shorts, but was convinced to wear a shorty. I was getting cold on my second dive.

I really liked the dive company. Good folks.

Scuba Diving in Costa Rica | Rocket Frog Divers Scuba Dive Bat Islands

Scuba diving in Costa Rica is best done with Rocket Frog Divers. Offering Gulf de Papagayo, Catalina Islands and Bat Islands diving adventures.

www.scuba-dive-costa-rica.com

Enjoy the trip!

 

[Jake 10]

@Snoweman thank you for the input

 

[BabyLitigator]

Going to Costa Rica, Liberia area, around mid-August of this year. Two experienced divers with one newly certified SSI/OW diver.

Any additional advice for the OW diver is greatly appreciated, besides getting AOW
Recommendation on hotel or Vrbo in the Liberia area or near-by beaches
Dive sites recommendations in Gulf of Papagayo or Coco Beach
Recommendations on land tours or wildlife sanctuaries in the area
Reef maps (none in Reef Smart Guide)

I dived with Connect Ocean in Playa Potrero December '23 and really enjoyed it.

 

[Jake 10]

I dived with Connect Ocean in Playa Potrero December '23 and really enjoyed it.

any particular dive sites you recommend?

 

[BabyLitigator]

I just took two days of boat dives out with Ernst and crew - they picked the sites. Las Catalinas was nice. I was one bay down from Cocos (Bahia Potrero), and didn't get the sense of a ton of shore dives where I was. Note that getting from one bay to another in Guanacaste is a pain. Potrero to Cocos is 8 miles as the crow flies but a longish drive in a high car (Monkey Trail) and a long drive in a normal car (loop around through Belen).

 

[jameseg]

My wife and I dove that area last Thanksgiving. Like Snoweman, we had marginal visability due to recent rains/flooding. Nonetheless, there was a ton of life and we enjoyed the dives even though a couple had viz in the 10' range. It was on one of those dives that I had at least 7 three-foot wide stingrays in my limited field of view - so close together that they were running into each other - pretty cool! On another day we saw humpbacks, dolphins and a manta from the boat on the way to the dive site.

We were based at the Riu Guanacaste as we were traveling with my brother- and sister-in law and our young nieces. I was prepared for the worst, given some of the recent reviews, but very pleasantly surprised - we really enjoyed our time there.

As far as advice, I would note that we had thermoclines at around a depth of 40-50' that dropped the temps from a relatively comfortable 78-80 degrees to a chilly 70 degrees. I'm guessing it's better in the summer, so perhaps not an issue, but I'd do a little research on that so you bring the right wetsuit.

For land activities, we had a rental car and started our trip by visiting Tenorio Volcano Park, which we really enjoyed. We also did an estuary tour down in Tamarindo mid-week that was fun - three crocodile sightings and lots of birds.

 

[Jake 10]

@jameseg thank you for the volcano park and estuary idea

Do you remember the dive site names ?