Costa Rica: Ocotal or Drake Bay area

[Rirarianneke]

I just decided to go for my holiday to CR and of course I have to explore the different diving possibilities there.

However, the first stories I read I thought I had to go to Drake Bay area to do my diving however tonight I read a lot of great stories about Ocotal.
Can anybody help me on this? What can be recommended?

p.s. I am going end of November for three weeks

 

[cdiver2]

Stayed at Ocotal in Jan 2001. I will never go again, Had to wade through surf to get to pontoon boat then transfer from that to the dive boat. Did two dives and all I can say is it was very cold no color or life, on top of that I packed our car the last night there and went to park it in my usual well lit spot (for the last week ) when a security guard told me to move it to another area I did.
Next morning I found $2000 worth of camera equipment gone.
Ocotal is a walled area with armed guards on the gate and armed guards patrolling . When I told the management what had happend and that I susspected there security guard they were reluctant to call the police but did after insisting but was told we had to go to a town 30 miles away to make a report. No never again. The rest of CR was great

 

[crazed_dolphin]

Ocotal area....well I stayed at Ocotal resort August of 2002. This was my impression. as cdiver2 stated you do wade through the surf and get on a pontoon boat and then transfer to a larger boat. I see nothing wrong with that part. I've been to a lot of other places that you had to do that. I think that's how it was for most non-industrialized countries. Hey it beat what I had to do in Australia. There was no small boat that took us to a larger one. We had to wade into the water until it was up to my waist. At that point I started to swim to the dive boat. As for Costa Rica's water being cold that's not a reason for not going. It just means you should have worn a thicker wet suit.

August was the rainy season so the visibility was pretty bad. However we saw quite a few sharks. Also onn one dive we had dozens of mantas swim over us. However, if I was you I'd take the longer trip out to the Murialegos(sp?) aka bat island or the catalinas. Those islands are famous for macro. They're full of mantas and you have a good chance of seeing bull sharks.

I did have problem with the lodging though. I had the Sunset suite, which is their best room. The ac didn't work well enough. The room was hot during the day. When I was adjusting it it kept on shocking me. I called in the problem but it never got fixed.

The local dives are so so in the Ocotal area. Instead of staying in the Ocotal resort you may want to stay in Playa de Coco. Ocotal like cdiver2 stated is a walled in area and miles from the city. If you stay in Ocotal your dining, shopping, entertainment is limited. What there is at Ocotal is expensive. You'll have to go into Playa de Coco for more things to do so you may as well stay there instead.

 

[Rirarianneke]

Thanks for your quick responses. it is going to be a difficult choice. But on the other hand I have three weeks to "kill" there, so I will probably try them all (if my budget allows me). Now I just have to decide were the grand finale (the 4-5 day dive packages) has to take place.

Anyway thanks, if any of you have more recommendations please let me know.

 

[crazed_dolphin]

Ocotal is more expensive than Playa de Coco so I'd go with over there instead. You can stay at one of the locally owned hotels/motels or stay at the Best Western. I do hear that the Playa de Coco, Ocotal, Flamingo are supposed to be better than Osa. However don't miss the canopy tours where you go from tree to tree on zip lines, the Monteverde rain forest and Areal volcano.

 

[cdiver2]

I second crazed dolphin YOU MUST do the canopy tour we did one at Tabacon great place on the side of a volcano then after the dive at Ocotol we canceld the rest of the dives and did some more canopy tours from Ocotol also did white water rafting out of this world.

 

[crazed_dolphin]

Did you enjoy the hot springs at Tabacon? That was one of our highlights. Nice hot spring water pools surrounded by the lush tropical environment.

 

[cdiver2]

They had to pull me out every night, only one thing wrong they could have put the bar by the waterfall not the cold pool

 

[cyklon_300]

The journey there was very cool, fly to San Jose and overnite...next day flight on bush plane to a dirt strip in the jungle, jitney ride thru banana plantations to Sierpe. Contracted a river taxi there to Drake's Bay...seeing crocs on the river banks and the entry to the bay thru the surf were pretty exciting.

The lodge run by the Chavez Bros. (the hardest working humans I've been around) was very rustic, but I like that. Bunk beds and a small dresser were the sole furnishings in our sleeping hut.

Food was plentiful and creative...the open-air jungle bar/dining area was perfect. A pot of excellent coffee was set outside our hut each morning, we sat in hammocks enjoying the java and watched the sun rise over the bay.

All diving was at Cano Island, about an hour boat ride each way, so only two dives per day were made. Altho the marine life was good, there was really only one decent dive site, the alternate sites were pretty tame so we dived El Diablo almost every day.

Mobulas, giant manta, sea snakes, bull sharks, white tips, the usual reef fish. We also saw a humpback whale with calf from the dive boat one day.

We booked 4 days diving, but that was probably one day too many. Side trips to the Corcovado National Park were worthwhile...poison frogs, red macaws, howler monkeys, etc.

Drake's Bay was quite undeveloped when I was there in '99, no roads or cars, but that may have changed by now...I thought it a great destination.

 

[crazed_dolphin]

A lot of kamikaze bees at the bar too. I tried to stay at the Tabacon but it was fully booked. We ended up staying at the Arenal Volcano Observatory, the closest lodging to the volcano. It was originally built for the National Geographic Society to observe the volcano.