Corn Islands

[jklassy]

Has anyone been diving in the Corn Islands (Nicaragua)? I'm planning a trip for early March to Little Corn (should I be considering Big Corn too?). A little worried about the weather since I've read that it's possible to get weathered-out for days at a time. Is that a concern in early March?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations on either of the two dive shops on Little Corn? I've read good and bad about both. Same for accommodations. I was looking at Casa Iguana, which sounds like my kind of place, but I've read that it's become very run down and the staff are rude. I kow they've changed owners recently. Does anyone have recent experience with them?

Any advice/help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Canuckgirl]

My brother and I just got back from a dive trip to Little Corn in December. It was the end of the rainy season when we were there, so it rained a little every day, but it was coming to an end, so you will probably be fine by March.

We had a really good time, and I only have good things to say about Dive Little Corn. It is the only PADI certified shop on the island. There is another shop, but I think it is new. Dive Little Corn does three dives a day (9:00 am, 11:30am, 2:30 pm). The dive boat comes back to the shop between each dive, since you never go too far off-shore. Most of the diving is fairly shallow (45-70 feet), so the bottom times are quite long. We saw tons of sharks, sting rays, eagle rays, and all of the typical fish. Our divemaster was Estaban, who was great!

We stayed at Casa Iguana. It had just changed owners and I met the new owner who flew in from the US. The accomodations and food were good and while we were there, they were in the process of making a lot of physical improvements to the site, new deck, new roof for the bathroom, etc. Casa Iguana also had some features that I liked: a safe in every room, central lounge/dining room to hang out. The only downside is that it is on the other side of the island from the main drag, so you have to walk back and forth from the shop and if you go out at night it is a dark and muddy path. Eating there is optional, so you can always check out the other places around the island for dinner.

Other hints:
For the panga ride over, get a life jacket and sit on it - your butt will thank you.
I highly recommend that you try Martha's tacos for lunch at least once.
Go looking for the blue land crabs at night, they are very cool!

If you have any other questions, just let me know.