Can you tell us anything about Costa Rica Diving?

[djanni]

Unfortunately Coz is out for the 1st wk in Dec. We're trying to plan something using FF miles so our destinations are limited at this late date. We can get seats to San Jose, Costa Rica.

Do you know about the diving in Costa Rica? On-line I read that the Pacific side is where the best diving is but is it cold water diving? Do you agree the Pacific side is the best? What about the Caribbean side?

On the Pacific side what would dive depths be abd how cold is the water this time of year? Shallower dives might be a preference as this will be my first time under with a camera.

Thx,

Don

 

[zf2nt]

Unfortunately Coz is out for the 1st wk in Dec. We're trying to plan something using FF miles so our destinations are limited at this late date. We can get seats to San Jose, Costa Rica.

Do you know about the diving in Costa Rica? On-line I read that the Pacific side is where the best diving is but is it cold water diving? Do you agree the Pacific side is the best? What about the Caribbean side?
...
Thx,

Don

I had never thought of Costa Rica in terms of diving until I dropped by the booths some of the Costa Rican dive resorts had at the DEMA earlier this month. To be honest, it sounded very interesting. It is tropical diving without coral reefs, if you can imagine. I got the image of large rock boulders covered with all kinds of colorful anemonies...plus lots of Pelagics. The dive resorts are all concentrated in the northwest Pacific side of Costa Rica, on the Gulf of Papagayo. Here are links to 4 of them you chould check out:

http://www.aquacenterdiving.com/home.htm
http://www.billbeardcostarica.com/
http://www.piratecovecostarica.com/
http://www.ocotaldiving.com/

Just from talking with the guys at DEMA, they got me very interested in it. I've been to Costa Rica before, though further south on the Pacific side (Playa Jaco). It is a gorgeous country, both inexpensive and largely free of violent crime. (Petty theft is a problem in some areas, though.)

Bruce

 

[Diver Lori]

The diving on the Pacific side of CR is fantastic! It's one of the places I'll do a repeat visit. We stayed and dived with El Ocotal. Very good operation, nice resort, good food, fantastic view. The main part of the resort and most of the bungalows are set on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Panoramic vista....gorgeous!!

The diving was equally spectacular, especially at the Bat and Catalina Islands. There is no coral, but the life is astounding. Bull sharks, GIANT mantas, devil rays, huge schools of fish.....simply incredible.

I would highly recommend it. Keep in mind that the waters are cooler and there is alot of nutrients/particulate in the water....which is precisely why there is so much large life.

It's about a 4 hour drive from the airport in San Jose to the Guanacaste Coast. It is worth it tho to see the local color and countryside. El Ocotal had a guide on the bus who pointed out interesting spots and regaled you with local lore and history. The bus made several stops to see things, refreshments and of course the obligatory "pit" stop.

We also did a canopy tour on that trip.....awesome as well.

I think you just may be spoiled by CR and question why you haven't gone sooner!

 

[HilaryRN71]

Unfortunately Coz is out for the 1st wk in Dec. We're trying to plan something using FF miles so our destinations are limited at this late date. We can get seats to San Jose, Costa Rica.

Do you know about the diving in Costa Rica? On-line I read that the Pacific side is where the best diving is but is it cold water diving? Do you agree the Pacific side is the best? What about the Caribbean side?

On the Pacific side what would dive depths be abd how cold is the water this time of year? Shallower dives might be a preference as this will be my first time under with a camera.

Thx,

Don

I have spent some time in Costa Rica and would agree with everything Diver Lori says, but would add a couple things. First of all, waters in the Gulf of Papagayo can be pretty unpredictable, causing deep to shallow water exchanges and can make for some chilly diving! I went in July with 100 degree surface temps and 68 degree water!! Brrr! And secondly...that same water exchange caused plankton to bloom and the viz was murky, about 15 feet. However, the diving was still spectacular. I saw so much in the way of marine life. It was awesome! If you are interested in some pics and information, I recommend visiting the Scubacore.com website. This is a diving journal on DVD and their last issue had a segment on Costa Rica. You can order that DVD individually, I believe, at the website. Tho I'm not 100% sure because I have a yearly subscription. It's the highlight of my quarter to get my Scubacore DVD! Good luck and Pura Vida!

 

[Diver Lori]

Yes, it can be cold! I went in July and a 3mm suit was NOT enough to keep me warm. When I go back I will take a 5mm and a 7mm. The 5 for the day and the 7 for the night dives. I do get cold easily.

 

[kent_1848]

We went this past July, and stayed with www.hotel-villa-flores.com (Caroline & Dave are American, and go out of the way to do anything for you, just let them know what you want, and they will find it, oh, and the cook was amazing, she was our divemasters sister) & dove with www.richcoastdiving.com (not the cheapest, but one of the best I have ever dove with, amazing people, and Jaime was a riot, took him awhile to get used to our humor, but once he did, we had a blast) both were wonderful, and we will go back again. We stayed with this particular place, b/c I don't like to go to resorts and not see the real culture. We were right off of the main street in Playa Del Coco, which has many restaraunts & bars. Also, tons of shopping and an internet cafe. Make sure and ask Dave or Caroline where to get a "Howler", they are wonderful!
I don't think I would want to fly into San Jose just to take a 4 hour bus ride. It is usually the same price if not cheaper to fly into Liberia, and it is already in Guanacaste.
I wore a 3mm full suit, and was fine, however the dive masters all had 5mm or thicker suits with hoods & gloves. One of the guys that went with us wore a shorty the whole trip and was fine. Definately take the Bat & Catalina Island trips, they are well worth the extra cost. I had a 3 dive day at the Catalina Islands, that was by far the best day of diving I have ever had! In addition to what Lori said, there are just tons of scorpionfish, pufferfish, porcupinefish, and plenty of sea horses (which was one of the reasons my wife agreed to go to CR).
On our off day, we went to the volcano, and did the Pure Trek Canyoning tour. We rapelled down waterfalls in this amazing canyon, it was wonderful. It was a long trip however, and probably wouldn't do that again unless I was staying longer and could spend the night in the Arenal region.
If you want any other info, you can PM me.
Have fun!

 

[Law5Guy]

Got back from Costa Rica 2 weeks ago. Went down for the USA v Costa Rica soccer game and then did some site seeing afterwards.

I went diving with the folks from Rich Coast (www.richcoastdiving.com). Went on a 3 tank dive to Catalina and the next day did a 2 tank local dive. I would agree here that the 3-mil supplied was NOT enough. DMs wore 3mil, and another 3-mil shorty with hood, booties, gloves. I wish I had brought my gear. When hitting thermalclines, computer temp showed 68F. After the 1st dive, the DM said that there was an extra shorty on board the boat and I asked to wear it. OK, I admit, I am a Florida "warm bath water" diver. You meet at the beach and take a small boat out to the dive boats. The day we went to Catalina, the dive boats had some engine trouble. Perhaps the engine was waterlogged... LOTS of rain. Finally we were off. The vis was poor. But.. the school of maybe 50 sting-rays all around us made the trip nice. Puffer fish all over the place too.

2nd day was to an island just of shore. DM again was great. With the bad viz, he really knew where everthing was. Orange seahorse, scorpionfish, eels, a wreck to look around, more rays, and a encounter with a 6ft white tip shark. It swam ... maybe 6ft from us! With the poor viz, to see a shark come 'out of no where'... wow, great dive! Theralclines again.. glad to have the shorty, could have used more. On the way back, the small boat back to the beach had engine troubles and they coudn't get it started. They even broke the rope of the outboard trying. lol So, the captian dove in and swam over to another boat to borrow their small beach boat. Meanwhile, the rain came down hard! Finally we were towed into shore.

Stayed at Laura's House (package with rich coast)... Nice breakfast. And a pool to relax in after diving.

Again, the DM was great. I thought the boats could have had a freshwater shower, and a camera rinse. I am sure that the engines are working by now. lol I would use them again.. but, I would bring my own gear. BC's looked like they needed replacing. functional... but holes holes in the pockets. Also some wet suits had holes in them as well... so best to double check and try them on.

After diving, I went over to Monteverde and Arenal. Arenal was nice (get a room with a lava view) see my pictures for where I stayed not a fancy place... but... fireworks every night. And the zip line was really fun, don't miss it.

I rented a small 4wd suv (Daihatsu Terios) to get around. If you like to drive, like me, you will find Costa Rica fun! hehehe

Pictures of the trip including a couple dive pitures at:

http://community.webshots.com/album/481194995hhqrvK/

 

[tonieclaudio]

Go to Playa Tamarindo and dive the Catalinas with Agua Rica Diving Center, http://www.aguarica.net

 

[ronrosa]

Dove Catalina islands this past March. Great marine life, but visability was only around 20 ft. I guess I am a little spoiled cause with the vis that low I really didn't enjoy the diving that much.

 

[Scuba-QC]

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=94683

http://community.webshots.com/user/pascal_shanie