Cocos?

[matt215]

I'm seriously considering a trip to cocos island and would be interested in hearing about experiences from those of you who have been there.
- is it as good as the hype (I'm wanting to see big animals ie sharks)
- is it difficult diving
- is the aggressor fleet a good charter
any other input would be greatly appreciated

 

[k4man]

Matt,
Likewise, I will be in costa rica this summer, unfortunately only near the coast for a few short days. I don't have time or $$ for a liveaboard, but am interested in any info about a good day trip and charter company for the Pacific side (Guanacaste region, most likely).

 

[covediver]

I'm seriously considering a trip to cocos island and would be interested in hearing about experiences from those of you who have been there.
- is it as good as the hype (I'm wanting to see big animals ie sharks)
- is it difficult diving
- is the aggressor fleet a good charter
any other input would be greatly appreciated

recollection from my one trip three years ago

as good as the hype. no, better than the hype. but not all critters are there at all times of the year. we saw lots of sharks...do research and plan accordingly.

difficult diving. It is advanced diving. I recommend nitrox Diving tends to be deeper 60-100+ from a live boat, currents can be strong and people have gone on inadvertent drift dives. Listen to divemaster and don't deviate from the plan, everything should be ok. need good signaling devices on surface.

aggressor--can't say, wasn't on that fleet.

Treat yourself to a canopy tour in the forest on the mainland on the way back home.
Use a guide for airport transfers and getting to and from San Jose to the west coast. It may cost more but it is worth it.
Its a great place, take time to look around.

 

[Mossman]

I'm seriously considering a trip to cocos island and would be interested in hearing about experiences from those of you who have been there.
- is it as good as the hype (I'm wanting to see big animals ie sharks)

Yes. You'll definitely see sharks.

- is it difficult diving

That depends on what you consider to be difficult. For someone used to West Coast U.S. diving, for example, it was average but warm and clear. For someone who thinks 30' Florida Keys dives are challenging, Cocos would definitely be considered advanced.

- is the aggressor fleet a good charter

There are three boats that do the trip. I would consider one of the other two (Seahunter and Undersea Hunter) if I were to go again, only settling on the Aggressor if the others were sold out and I had to go at a particular time.

My six main beefs: (1) the a/c, as weak as it was, smelled of mold and over half the passengers ended up with bad nasal/sinus congestion; (2) the a/c was weak, so that you never really did feel cool inside (we were there in the hotter rainy season); (3) we were requested to throw used tp in the wastebaskets so as not to clog the heads; (4) the wastebaskets with said used tp weren't necessarily changed every day; (5) the boat is small for 18 people and we had 18 people - very limited charging space, very limited elbow room when dining, a crowded dive deck; (6) it was very hard to don fins and sit comfortably in the crowded dinghys due to a tank rack running down the middle.

My one kudo: Beer on tap on the sundeck!

 

[pakman]

My one kudo: Beer on tap on the sundeck!

Sweet! That almost makes up for those other shortcomings you listed. I'm booked on the Okeanos Aggressor for this Summer...

 

[NTSilver]

We have just booked a trip on the Undersea Hunter for May 2007. There were only two trip availabilities for 2007 (both trips were in the month of May). From the research I did, it seems that people prefer the Sea Hunter / Undersea Hunter over the Okeanos Agressor. http://underseahunter.com/uh.htm This website provides lots of customer feedback as to what creatures they encountered.

I did not read any negative feedback re: SH / USW, but did read several posts regarding the Agressor that were not all favorable. However, the posts that were not so favorable did say that it was not unbearable and they would go back.

 

[Mossman]

Sweet! That almost makes up for those other shortcomings you listed. I'm booked on the Okeanos Aggressor for this Summer...

Don't worry, you'll still have a great time. I've just been spoiled by boats where the crew makes a little more effort to make the boat run more smoothly. Perhaps the a/c and the marine head system are shot, but my feeling was more like they didn't want to do the extra work involved to keep them running 100%. They didn't want to risk the extra work involved in clearing a clogged head, so they simply tell passengers to not throw tp in the toilet, etc. It seemed like the crew had a lot more downtime than on other boats I've been on where each crew member somehow does 3 jobs at once.

The contrast between the Okeanos Aggressor and the Galapagos Aggressor II, for instance, was remarkable, with the GA II being one of the best boats I've been on to date. Both boats are Aggressor franchises, locally owned and with local crews, but the GA II ran flawlessly. Still, the Okeanos will safely get you to/from Cocos for some of the best diving in the world and keep you reasonably comfortable throughout. Our trip was a packed boat of 18, on a 11-night itinerary, so I obviously spent more time on the boat and the crew was more overworked than with a lighter passenger load on a week itinerary, so my comments were based on the worst-case scenario. Hopefully your experience will be much better.

 

[pakman]

what brand of beer was on tap again? j/k

thanks for the feedback mossman

 

[Mossman]

what brand of beer was on tap again?

Good question, and I just now realize that I didn't even ask. That's the problem with a keg, that you don't know what you're drinking. Something pilsner style, probably local, OK taste. But they only had tiny plastic cups by the tap, which might be OK for Europeans but not a big American guy like me, so I'd bring a large tumbler up from downstairs. For the ultimate coolness factor, I suggest you bring your own glass mug (buy one while you're laid over in San Jose), and get the cook to store it in the freezer so it's nice and frosty.

One area of the boat that was kept perfectly maintained was the kitchen, though they tried to keep the passengers out. One night, when all the crew had disappeared, I had to raid the walk-in fridge for more wine. It's a palace in there. (I have walk-ins in my stores, and ours don't look anything like the beauty on that boat - too bad it can't be one of the passenger cabins!) They do lock up the kitchen overnight, but we were somehow able to get it open - unfortunately I forget how now, since we drank a lot of wine that night to celebrate our successful looting.

 

[matt215]

i booked a trip on the undersea hunter in may 2007. i noticed that they have a submarine that can go to 1500 feet! has anyone done this? what did you see?