Costa Rica with a family

[requiembell]

Hello All,

I am looking for a trip to Costa Rica next Christmas, leaving on Christmas day and staying anywhere from 5 to 7 days. I will be traveling with a family that ranges in age from my 9 year old daughter to my slightly older mother in law. Every one is a diver except my daughter so we are looking for good diving as well as some interesting on shore excursions. We normally go to Bonaire or Cozumel but wanted to try something different this year.

We are looking for something on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica at an all inclusive resort that will have enough child friendly amenities to entertain my daughter while we are laying poolside, and it would be a huge bonus if there were some good golf in the immediate area. I am open to any suggestions about this country at that specific time of year.

Thanks

 

[zindie]

Hello there,

How are you? Always nice to start planning a (dive) holiday. Unfortunately there is not much diving going on on the Caribean side of Costa Rica, this is due to river run offs, which provides us with bad visibilty. Also, there's no coral such as in Cozumel and Bonaire. Therefore there's not a lot diving facilities either.

You'll find great diving as well as starting points for many other excursions on the Pacific side. The province of Guanacaste is extremely popular to do all of this. There are some beautifull National Parks located overhere that gives you a big change to meet some beautifull wildlife but if you want more action on your day off of diving, think about rafting or canyoping. People of all ages enjoy exploring nature one way or the other and there's something to do for anyone.

Rich Coast Diving is a 5* Padi IDC dive center which will happily help you to make a nice holiday plan. They're international team of divers doesn't only show you the beautifull underwater world, but can also give you lots of information and tips about on shore excursions as well as accomodation. They,re located in Playas del Coco, which is a nice beachtown with enough day- and nightlife to keep the whole family entertained. If you like it more quiet, they are also located in closeby Playa Hermosa with free pick-ups whenever you want to go diving. (divepackages available) They take their boats out every morning and you'll be back around one, so you'll have the entire afternoon for other activities or simply relaxing on the beach. (Playa Hermosa has a beautifull beach!)

About the diving, expect to see big schools of fish, different kinds of rays (sting, eagle, cow-nosed, devil), sharks (white-tips, nurse mostly), octopus, lobsters, muray eals, but also beautifull little things like nudibranches, seahorses and shrimps. You'll find some hard corals here, but don't expect to much of that. Coral-wise, this country is not what your used to. But you wanted to try someting different this year, right The great ammount of fish defenitely makes up for it.

Also, in november, the Manta Ray season starts, from then on, the dive center organises dive trips to the catalina Islands to meet these giants face to face!

I hope i gave you enough information to get you started, if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

For now, have fun planning your trip...

 

[requiembell]

Wow what a wealth of information! I sure do appreciate the tips. As it gets closer to the end of summer and we get serious about booking, I may hit you up for some additional advise.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

requiembell,
there are not so much full service resorts in Costa Rica.
Here a short list from the big resorts on the pacific coast.
Order from north to south, and there where you can dive:
Playas del Coco: Allegro and Occidental Papagayo, Ocotal, Four Seasons Resort (18 hole) and the brand new RIU Guanacaste
Flamingo/Tamarindo: Flamingo Beach Resort, Hacienda Pinilla (18 hole), Reserva Conchal (18 hole)
Tambor: Barcelo Tambor Beach, Los Delfines (18 hole)
Herradura: Marriot Los Suenos Golf Resort and Marina (18 hole)
Quepos: there are several resorts and big(ger) Hotels in Manuel Antonio

There are several others, but mostly more far than a 30 minute drive from the next dive shop.

I apologize in advance if i forgot to mention some other resort .


Chris

 

[ScubabunnyCR]

If you are looking at diving with other activities then I would focus your time either in Guanacaste, there is a large choice of great dive shops with some canopies trips near PLaya del coco. In the central pacific area near Quepos, there is a lot more non-diving activities as well as the water to mix it up a bit if you like. e.g. rafting, zip-lining, horse back, national park and the list goes on!
If you want anymore information please drop me a line, Good luck!!

 

[requiembell]

Thanks Bunny,

We have been concentrating our searches into that area. I understand from some of my reading that Cat island is the "must do" dive of the area. Because of the wide demographic of the family traveling on this trip we will probably only dive twice and spend the other days exploring. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated especially any first hand experience with a great all inclusive resort.

 

[zindie]

Hello Requiembell,

Catalina Islands is defenitily a popular divespot in this area, but from what i,ve seen so far from it, to my opion, if you don't see Manta Rays, there's a lot of great marine life to see not further than 20 min. by boat from Playas del Coco too, wich might be a better option. My advice, ask if there's Manta Rays seen already during the time your there, if not, pick another dive side... The change to see Eagle Rays, white-tip sharks, turtles, octopus , etc.... is there anyway.

What shore excursions are you interested in doing, so i can help you gather some information on them?

Best regards

 

[requiembell]

Zindie,

Thanks for the information ... we are also going to be trying to do a zip line tour with a 9 year old and a couple 56 year olds and we would also like to take a look at one of the more active volcanoes in the area. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[zindie]

Hi requimbell,

When it comes to being active combined with seeing an active volcanoe, Arenal is defenitely the right place! Not to far from the coast and an amazing drive up there. You'll find yourself in stunning scenery and once there, there's something to do for everyone. From zip-lining to horseriding, rafting, hiking on and around the volcanoe Arenal, canyoping. Don't forget to relax in the Hot Springs!!!

I would advice to rent a car (four wheel drive) to go up there, while public transportation will take you forever to get there (might be uncomfortable with the whole family too), and once there it's really handy to have a vehicle too, since not all there is to do is right outside your accomodation.

Hope i gave you an idea about Arenal area. Please contact me for further information,

Best regards