Considering opening an operation in Costa Rica, any advice

[DM95]

I know Reef Runners has a Caribbean side operation. The best bet is to have an experienced DM come with you. Hmmm...where could you find one? Hmmmmm...

In any case, sometimes the Caribbean side, even though it has less attractions and the beaches may not be as good, can be a better spot. Less activity, better chance to develop less crowded dive spots. Best of luck in your decision.

 

[Gnashrak]

Costa Rica is quite undevelopped for scuba diving. I went last winter to dive on the Carribean side, found only one recently opened 5-star scuba operation (Crocodive) in Puerto Viejo. You can find other op in the area but to my opinion not worth going to... As many said, visibility is affected by rainfall which are quite high year round. What happens is lots of sediments run down from the mountains to the sea, reducing visibility to zero.

Visibility is better in the Pacific area though not the 100 feet vis you would have in the Carribean. Except for Coco area, there are almost no operations.

To add up, Costa Rica is not seen as a scuba dive destination worldwide, so you would have hard time to find guests. And as Cappyjon said, make some reasearch on the laws as the op in Puerto Viejo wanted to build a hotel near the op to make housing available for divers but had problems with the contractor who ran away with the money.

 

[Rivermonkey]

Actually I know of someone looking for a new partner in a well established dive shop on the Pacific side. Send me a message and I'll pass you the info if you are interested.

cheers

 

[HerraduraDivers]

I don't consider Cost Rica a underdeveloped country for Scuba Diving,
some places are - from my point ov view -overdeveloped.
During my extensive travels around Costa Rica i found almost everywhere a dive shop and everywhere nice dives, some nice, some very nice.
There are a lot of Dive Operators on a lot of nice places to dive, and if there are only a few like on the carribbean side there is a reason for that.

South from Playas del Coco are: (just the few i know, i am shure there are more)

6+ dive shops on the Nicoya Peninsula (Flamingo-Tamarindo-San Juanillio-Samara-Montezuma-Paquera)
6+ dive shops between Puntarenas and Palmar
4 Dive shops at Bahia Drake


4 dive shops in Puerto Viejo-Cocles-Manzanillio

Chris Karrer

 

[Summer-Salt]

Wherever you decide to open your operation, the money question is what you'll have to answer under the line.
I'll let you do the calculating for the following:
Investment for the type of operation you want (that definately includes diving gear, compressor, boat, ect), an operation that can accomodate only a few divers will not survive, unless you don't need to earn money...
You'll need to be able to survive with 0 income for:
-al least one year until your operation has legal permits to operate and from there
-if you are in a less developped area, several years until you get this area a diving reputation
-if you are in developped area, several years until you make your place among your competition
-and very important, don't expect any help, unless you pay for it!
If this does not sound like a problem for you, think about the administrational headaches to get your papers, get familiar with the local laws, ...
Of course, as a dive shop owner I have no interest of telling you how great an idea you have, but I'm just talking out of experience.
Once you have a number with this (and I've only mentioned the most important, marketing cost will be considerable as well, salaries ect. ect.), go offer this full amount to any dive center around, because you will probably reach an amount of money, that any dive shop owner would sell his operation for...That way you immediately have a turn key dive center and you can worry about all the other issues that you'll have to resolve like residency (you also want to work in your operation, I imagine...), your daily beach walk, the beer with friends...;-D
The rumor says, that there really is a dive center in the Playas del Coco/Hermosa area that is looking for a partner/new owner...

 

[deepstops]

I've been on cruises that stopped in Puerto Limon and was struck by how nice the water offshore appeared but the cruises didn't offer scuba excursions so I didn't actually experience it firsthand. That being said, it looked nice and hooking up with a cruise line could provide enough business alone to make a go of it.

 

[Snappahead]

Hi Guys,

So to make a long story short, I have been worn thin on Wall Street and decided to make a change in my life. So I moved to Costa Rica in search for something more simple. I am in the very beginning stages of looking into opening a dive operation in Costa Rica and would love to get some feedback. This idea is very much in the infancy stages and at this point I am just looking at places where a dive shop would make sense. I know there are some top notch operations here, but they all seem to be focused on the Pacific side. Is that simply due to the fact that the majority of tourism is there, or because the diving there is much better than the Carribean?

As I said I am very much in the infancy stages of this idea so would greatly appreciate hearing your feedback.

Cheers.

26 and worn thin? damn. Good luck....148 days till I move to Roatan. Here's my 2 cents on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica--my neighbor (from CR) and I were discussing the potential for a dive shop down there. He said the Caribbean side of the country isn't very developed and while a dive shop might work, that area is just not a "destination" for divers. Good luck in your endeavors--I'm worn thin on Wall Street as well, my escape plans are in place and in process!