Gear Recommendations for Ocotal Beach Resort

[hydroknot]

Hello:

My wife and I are diving in Costa Rica this July. We are using the Ocotal Beach Resort dive operation.

We have our own personal gear ... masks, booties, fins, weight belts (sans weights), knives and snorkels. We have a save-a-dive kit, too. We plan to rent the other stuff ... exposure suits, tanks, regs, BCDs, etc.

Any recommendations regarding additional gear to bring with us.

Any opinions on the quality of rental gear at Ocotal Beach Resort?

Any non-diving recommendations regarding what to bring, what to do, where to eat?

Muchas gracias!

David

 

[Diver Lori]

Are you staying at El Ocotal as well?

 

[hydroknot]

Are you staying at El Ocotal as well?

Yes ... 5 nights beginning July 1st.

 

[Deep Blue DIving]

Hi David,
my recommendation: Leave your weights and belt at home. They will provide it on the dive trips anyway.
Ocotal is a high quality operator as we are; so no worries about old or filthy rental gear. Everything is in good shape.
Whilst staying in Ocotal you have to have dinner at the Father Rooster. Great food right on the beach!

 

[adelman]

Hello:

My wife and I are diving in Costa Rica this July. We are using the Ocotal Beach Resort dive operation.

Any non-diving recommendations regarding what to bring, what to do, where to eat?
David

We dove with the Ocotal in March and felt they were a high-class operation. However, we didn't feel the diving was anything particularly special. The area is severely overfished -- anything that was edible was missing! Conditions permitting, the diving is a lot better on Catalina Island; I would highly recommend paying the upcharge to dive on Catalina if you can.

I'd second the recommendation on Father Rooster; the food was better and cheaper than the restaurant at the Ocotal.

 

[Deep Blue DIving]

February and March really weren't that great this year. Now it's much better, viz around 40 - 50ft and a lot of fish, turtles and rays to see.
Make sure you dive Punta Argentina, Virador and the Catalinas.

 

[Summer-Salt]

Try the Super Nachos and make sure you have a big appetite, it's served as a starter, but I usually share it with my wife as a main dish...
Besides Father Rooster, there's not too much choice in Ocotal, in Playas del Coco (10min by taxi) you'll find a wide choice of restaurants: Papagayo Sea-Food and Steakhouse (for fish and steak obviously), Papagayo Pura Vida for local dishes, La Guajira (for local dishes in a local ambiance), Coco Palms for Hamburgers to Sushi,...
Diving indeed can be expected much better since May until September, you won't have to worry about a whole in your suit, the water is in the 80's right now (of course all dive centers take care of their suits, Ocotal I believe has Pinnacle suits, very nice)! it's the best season for Bats as well and I'm glad to know now, that the Bull-Sharks have not been fished out (at least not all of them...): We dove with OVER 10 OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME just a week ago!
Overfishing is a problem, but it usually does not concern the fishes you will see as a diver, Grunts, Jacks, Moorish Idols, Puffer and co. usually do not figure on the menu.
See you out in the Ocean soon!

 

[sdavis]

We stayed and dove from the Ocotal Beach Resort in April. It was great! The vis wasn't exceptional and there wasn't a whole lot to see, but the resort and dive shop itself were extremely well-run with very friendly dive masters/staff. We brought our own gear (wetsuit, bcd, masks, fins, dive computers) but lots of folks rented and were quite pleased.

 

[hydroknot]

What sites did you dive?

 

[Diver Lori]

I spent a week at El Ocotal in July 1998. Had a great time. We had the all inclusive package which included all meals at the resort with an option for one meal at the Father Rooster. It was their BBQ night if they are still doing that. We did eat in Playa Del Coco the last night as the menu at the resort was the same for lunch as it was for dinner and got really old. Breakfast was good, varied and plentiful. The waitstaff was flexible in mixing up the dinner items if you asked. For example there were a couple of pasta dishes on the menu. By the end of the week, this picky eater I am was really getting picky and I asked them if I could simply have some pasta, butter and parmesan cheese. They were amenable and brought me freshly made pasta, a plate of butter and a bowl of parmesan with a spoon. Added a fresh steamed vegetable and I was happy.

We found the diving spectacular in July....the rainey season, but that's a misnomer as it only rained a few times and for short periods. The diving is different, so get that in your head right now....it's not your typically reefy Caribbean stuff. It's primarily lava surfaces with huge schools of game fish, and big stuff as well. We saw lots of rays and sharks. Stay with the DM's too, they will find lots for you to see. We saw mating bull sharks at Bat Island which was rather exciting too. In fact, we were hunkered down in a lava bed on that dive trying to stay out of the way of the sharks as they were circling. I looked down in the lava bed beneath me and there were all these little faces of critters looking out at me from the holes in the lava. If I pointed my finger at them, they would pull their heads back in the holes and hide. If I pretended to ignore them, they would pop their heads back out and look at me again. Quite entertaining. Take gloves and wear full body protection as the lava beds will rip you up and sometimes it's difficult to avoid them with the frequent surge and up/down wellings we experienced.

We also did Catalina and Bat Island. Make sure these are included in your package, if they are not, pony up the extra to put them in your package. Alot of the diving around the islands is live pickup and drop off. Make sure you are weighted properly as you will have to do back rolls off the boat and drop quickly as the captain will have to move away from the rocks/surf quickly.

Zipline. The resort can arrange a day excusion for you that is well worth your time. It takes you to another eco-resort where you can experience volcano lava baths, ziplines, horseback riding etc. It's a great opportunity to see the local countryside to/from.

The visibility isn't the best as there is a lot of particulate in the water....this is the very reason the large life is as plentiful as it is.....nutrients. Keep that in mind when you are taking pictures and adjust accordingly. Bioluminesence was the best I've ever seen in CR. One night we were walking the beach to the Father Rooster and our footsteps on the beach were glowing behind us....really cool.

Cool. I was diving a 3mm jumpsuit while there in July and I would get chilly on day dives and virtually freeze on night dives. I do get cold easily. My male buddy was also wearing a 3mm jumpsuit and was comfortable. So keep that in mind....you may be toasty, but your wife could be chilly.

You'll have a great time!