Diving in Costa Rica and Puerta Vallarta?

[soniasaysso]

Hi There,
We're going to Puerta Vallarta (sort of) in January and Costa Rica in May. We're not actually staying in Vallarta, but in a little town about 40 minutes north called San Poncho, which is fairly close to Sayulita, so if you know of any good dive operators or locations north of Vallarta, we'd love some suggestions.

We haven't planned much of Costa Rica yet, so we're open to all sorts of suggestions, however, we're really looking at the carribean side. Any suggestions on operators and locations would be very helpful.
Thanks a bunch!
Sonia

 

[AzAtty]

In Puerto Vallarta, Leslie and Nacho are great. Extremely flexible; very reasonable prices. Leslie frequently checks this board. Look for her under "leslieinpv".

When I was in PV, my schedule was tight, and other operators couldn't meet my needs. Leslie spent about two weeks working out scheduling conflicts with me. Leslie and Nacho put together a couple dives tailored to my schedule, and I ended up with a private boat and private DM. Nacho's knowledge of the dive sites in the area is superb.

And did I mention how obscenely reasonable the price was, especially in view of the service I received?

 

[Missdirected]

here are my thoughts on CR, I do hope you find them helpful: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ce...d-opinion-costa-rica-assistance-planning.html

 

[shurite7]

Although I've made a few dives in PVR I'm not familiar with any dive with the location you are going.

Costa Rica is another matter. The main dive area on the Caribbean side is around the Manzanillo area near the Panama border. The is a dive shop (or at least was) outside of Puerto Viejo. At the time I was there I couldn't dive because of all the run off and the surf was to high for small boats.

The Puerto Viejo use to have a very nice reef area. But it has received extensive damage from an earthquake (which pushed some of the coral up out of the water) and run off from deforestation has silted the water reducing visibility.

There is a fantastic place to stay just outside of Puerto Viejo; Almonds and Coral. Almonds & Corals Costa Rica Caribbean Hotel This hotel was the most memorabe of all the hotels I've stayed at in Costa Rica.

Although I wasn't able to dive the east coast I did dive the west coast. I traveled to the Osa Pennisula and stayed at a place called Poor Man's Village, which was nice. They took me to the dive boat via their small boat, which is the only way to get around in that area. Over all the dives were good. At the time I was there the surge was quite strong which isn't a problem so long as you don't fight it, just go with it. Only one thing caught me off guard, none of the cylinders had any markings. I don't have my log book with me but I believe the cylinders were steel 104's.

There is another nice hotel in the area; Drake Bay Wilderness Lodge. DRAKE BAY Wilderness Resort - Costa Rica I didn't stay there but I got a good look at it when I caught the dive boat.

Although Poor Man's Village was nice, they did do one thing that was a bit of a pain. The didn't pick me after my dives. The dive boat took me as close as they could get me, but it was about 1/2 a mile away. The walked back, carrying all my dive gear, was a bit of a challenge. I had to pick my way through rainforest, then along a beach with loose soft sand all while the temp and humidity were high. I had a good spirit and saw it as adventures.

I chose not to dive in any other areas based on what various people told me. Further north on the Pacific coast there are plenty of areas to dive, but it is hit and miss. The later being more common.

C

 

[LiamtheDiver]

I was on a cruise last August and one of our ports was Puerto Vallarta. My daughter and I dove with Vallarta Adventures. They were great. The dive sites were perfect although the viz was less than perfect - a storm the night before. We enjoyed ourselves and the DMs/Instructors on the boat were most hospitable. We saw the reefs and lots of fish. Excellent diving.

 

[divingyogini]

We dove in Puerto Vallarta a couple years ago in March. Even in a 3-mil I was a bit cold. There was some strong surge at 40 feet which was unusual.

I would say avoid Los Arcos. We dove there, it was okay, there were dolphins who swam overhead - we could hear them but not see them due to visibility. However there was a massive triple decker ferry pulling in as we were finishing and we saw in unload a sea of snorkelers into the water. It was creepy. So if you do Los Arcos, go early.

We did not care for the dive shop we used at all (pm me and I'll give you their name). We rented gear (I know, big mistake) and the only BCD size they had was large, so I had to literally hold it down the whole time - when I let go it would float overhead. But the big thing that got us was that Los Arcos is a protected marine reserve and the dive operators were not only chumming the water, but one of the divemasters went spearfishing when we were there. So much for the shop advertising it as an underwater marine reserve protected by the Mexican government.

 

[diverdowndh]

I dove Puerto Vallarta about 6 years ago, would never dive there again. I was told via emails that the viz was 60-100ft but it was almost as bad as the lakes/reservoirs here in Colorado. We went in November and the plankton was so bad that on every single dive we got lost from our divemaster(s). I should have known, the whales winter in Banderas bay and that means plankton... The dive operators I used was Chico's Dive Shop, they were great but the diving sucked. I was told we could get close to the whales on the boats but the only whale we came within a mile of was a dead whale, and despite all of the complaints on the boat the captain still drove right up to the stinking thing. A giant manta broke the surface and we shot over where it was to snorkel on one of our SI but the water was so murky you'd never find the thing.. I dove Los Arcos also and it was a zoo, tons of snorkelers too. We went way out to the Mariettas Islands, where the viz was "supposed" to be better - you literally had to lock arms to stay with your dive buddy.
Summary: I LOVED Puerto Vallarta but would never waste my time diving there.

 

[dlemmons]

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