Costa Rica has diving on both coasts, it's hard to arrange for diving on the Caribbean side, while on the Pacific side there is diving just about everywhere and there are more shops opening all the time up and down the coast. Guanacaste has been the main tourist destination for many many years and this is why you will find most of the infrastructure, including the dive industry, in this area. It is really easy now that the Liberia airport is open, but if you must fly to San Jose it's about a 4-5 hr drive out to Coco Beach, and the road is NOT FUN, but the drive is, you just gotta arm yourself with patience and enjoy the ride...do watch out for potholes on the road.
Ocotal and Bill Beard's Diving Safaris are by far the best shops around, they have been around for 20 some yrs and they have the best gear, boats and service. There are other shops like Blue and Rich Coast and Resort, they are ok but they are on a different scale than the previous two. Not to say they aren't good, they are just on a different scale. They are all friendly and strive to provide the best service they possibly can. I don't know about Deep Blue killing someone, sometimes with diving accidents is really hard to put blame on someone...they are accidents, but professional, reputable dive shops do everything possible to minimize the chance of an accident. That being said, Cocos offers plenty of different oportunities for all kinds of budgets. From the higher end Ocotal and BB to the lower end of the budget and I'm sure if you walk around town a bit and discuss prices with them you will get some kind of discount for your hotel or for your diving...shop around if you wanna save.
Have fun, Costa Rica is great! keep in mind the Pacific is a rough ocean, it's COMPLETELY different from the Caribbean. Don't be dissapointed is your colors are not all there, the vis isn't as good and the water temp is lower. It will compensate with trememdous amounts of life in all kinds of sizes and numbers.
Enjoy Costa Rica, Pura Vida
Maui
