Cocos Islands Questions...

[shafan1234]

Hi there,

Planning on the Cocos islands next year and have a few questions:

1) What is the best time of year to dive the Cocos?? Especially for the pelagics?

2) Is the diving better at Malpelo Island?

2) Is there anywhere better in central america/carribean for diving & seeing pelagics?

 

[cxg31s]

Hi there,

Planning on the Cocos islands next year and have a few questions:

1) What is the best time of year to dive the Cocos?? Especially for the pelagics?

2) Is the diving better at Malpelo Island?

2) Is there anywhere better in central america/carribean for diving & seeing pelagics?

I dove Cocos in July on the Aggressor and we saw TONS of hammerheads! We also saw mantas, mobulas, silvertips, reef sharks and the ever-present white tips. Oh and 2 whales were breaching way off in the distance. So the life was definitely out there!

I don't know about best time of year, but the DMs said that the sharks come in more when the water is cooler and visibility is bad--probably during the rainy season. But they also said it's a crapshoot--sometimes the sharks are there sometimes they're not, it all just depends. I'd try Googling Cocos and reading the Captain's logs on the Aggressor website, I'm sure you can find more info on the best times of year to go.

I can't really answer your other 2 questions--I didn't dive Malpelo nor have I been diving everywhere in the Caribbean or Central America to know if there is someplace better than Cocos for pelagic life. All I know is what the DMs told me--that Cocos is a poor man's Galapagos (even though the Cocos trip wasn't cheap, it was cheaper than Galapagos and we did the 10 day charter!) and we saw more hammerheads than I ever knew existed in the ocean. Wow, what a trip!

 

[mjh]

We were just there in September. Rainy season runs from end of May to November. We wanted to max the possibility of seeing the schools of hammerheads and did we ever. “Rainy Season” meant over 10 days we had two-three days of wonderful sun and then the other 7 it would rain intermittently throughout the day, temp always 75plus. At worst we had 2-3 dives of viz in the 15-25ft range but in general it was 40-80ft. I have a full trip report, gallery and if you have 20minutes to kill a slide show at www.aquabluedreams.com.

The photos we saw of Malpelo were even more incredible but both dive guides said it is less consistent than Cocos. But when it is good WOW! It can also be a tough ride out there.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi shafan1234,

On balance, the Galapagos deliver more big pelagics more consistently than Coco or Malpelo, although the latter two venues can be excellent. The Galapagos trips tend to be more expensive, but the rides out and back tend to be much more merciful.

Rainy season in the Cocos is Jun-Nov, during which the hammerheads tend to be more numerous, but surface conditions rougher.

Just happened to run across this article on Malpelo which you may find interesting:

Divers Revel in Swimming With Sharks
http://www.examiner.com/a-344298~Divers_Revel_in_Swimming_With_Sharks.html

Have fun,

DocVikingo