Live from Ocotal Beach Resort in Costa Rica

[hydroknot]

Dear scubaboard members:

Just arrived at Ocotal Beach Resort on NW coast of Costa Rica (CR). 4 days of diving planned ... starting today. Ask me anything. I'll get back to you in the evening. CR is in central time zone or Chicago time.

This is our 2nd trip to Ocotal. We were here this past summer. Our 13 y/o PADI-certified daughter is along this time.

The dive op at the resort gets an A-plus in my book. Really friendly and squared-away people starting with the dive op manager, Mariana. DMs and boat crews make the diving almost effortless. The boats are in excellent shape, too. No cattle boats! Boats carry about 12 divers plus DMs & crew. December is a busy season so I expect full boats while we are here. Different story in the summer, which is CR's slack season.

All for now.

 

[leadweight]

LOL, someone else has adopted my live trip report format. Bring it on. What are the price ranges there for diving, meals, lodging and taxis? Water temp?

 

[robint]

Dear scubaboard members:

Just arrived at Ocotal Beach Resort on NW coast of Costa Rica (CR). 4 days of diving planned ... starting today. Ask me anything. I'll get back to you in the evening. CR is in central time zone or Chicago time.

This is our 2nd trip to Ocotal. We were here this past summer. Our 13 y/o PADI-certified daughter is along this time.

The dive op at the resort gets an A-plus in my book. Really friendly and squared-away people starting with the dive op manager, Mariana. DMs and boat crews make the diving almost effortless. The boats are in excellent shape, too. No cattle boats! Boats carry about 12 divers plus DMs & crew. December is a busy season so I expect full boats while we are here. Different story in the summer, which is CR's slack season.

All for now.

Excellent - please do a daily report with details.
Tell us about breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Tell us about the diving, how long the boat rides, what you saw, surface interval length and what food or drinks served, name of dive sites.
Tell us about what you do when not diving. Topside activities, shopping, land tours, taxis, etc.

I think there are lots of people here on SB who would love some details so they can decide if they want to go there! Good and bad, share it all.

robin

 

[Wiilldd1]

I have been to Ocotal a few times. This is a very nice resort. Seeing the bull sharks at Bat Island is a memory to remember.
Tell us of all the big creatures you will see.
The town of playa del Coco is a fun place to go in the evenings.

Have fun and Merry Christmas!

 

[diverrex]

I've considered Ocotal before so I'm very interested to hear it all, especially about the diving.

 

[hydroknot]

Diving is excellent. A local dive club goes there regularly, too:

SCUBA, Northern Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Diving, Certification, Training, Lessons, Travel ... club is going to Hotel El Ocotal in Feb. Write club leader, Mike Parker, for his opinion ... info@scubaedu.com

There are a dozen or so dive sites within a 30 min transit. If crystal clear water, beautiful coral and tons of marine life is a 10 then these sites vary from 5-8. The uber-diver with mega-dives under his belt might not be impressed, but for the 2-4 dive trip per year person Hotel El Ocotal is superb. The dive op managed by Heinar Martinez is really squared-away. Nice boats, excellent DMs and Captains. My wife and 13 y/o are new divers. Both received PADI OW certs this summer. Wife rec'd her cert at Hotel El Ocotal. She loved the training and the dive sites. The dive op is at the resort. Lodging is good, not great, but a solid Good at reasonable prices. Views are great, tho. Staff is courteous and attentive. Delicious buffet breakfasts part of lodging price. Nice pools on the grounds, too. We have stayed there twice in the last six months. I'd go again just for the people, place and dive op.

Does this help?

 

[lovescuba2008]

Awesome, never been Costa Rica, I just got back from Cuba, dives there was good as well. I start planning for my next dives, maybe Costa Rica ! thanks for the info.

 

[hydroknot]

See my post of 8:44am today, Jan 4.

Water temp 76-80 degrees. A 3mm wetsuit was comfy. DMs wear 3mm, too. Food at Hotel El Ocotal varies between excellent and so-so. Keep it simple, Arroz con Pollo for example, and you'll be happy. Anything fancy and pricey usually so-so. We liked breakfast & lunch, but usually went into Coco for dinner ... a 15-min, $6 cab ride. Most cabs limited to four pax.

The main drag in Coco has several good restaurants. Most well-known are Papagayo Steakhouse and Papagayo Seafood, which are adjacent to each other and really one operation. Luz de Papagayo is good, too. For simple, inexpensive and good go to Andre's Pizzeria, also on the main drag. Andre is a French Canadian who have run the place for umpteen years. Here is a good restaurant on the main drag, but near the fringe of Coco, but still a $6 cab ride ... La Guajira, a comida tipica. Clean and neat. Filled with Costa Ricans and a few savvy tourists. Order seafood, although a hamburger is good, too. I ate octopus sauteed in garlic and oil. Excellente! Try the comida tipicas in and near Coco for good food and value.

Two-tank dives at El Ocotal cost about $75-$80 ... can't remember exactly. Easy diving, too, in that the boat crew and DMs act like personal assistants. Divers just dive. No gear prep, swapping tanks or lugging totes. A nice pool is near the dive op so a quick splash before and after diving feels really nice!

A single man or women could have some fun in Coco. Several clubs are on the main drag. I only dally in "eyeball liberty" these days ... married 15 years, one 13 y/o kid. Don't want to screw it up, either.

Dive Ocotal!

 

[scubadada]

My wife, daughter and I had a fantastic week at Ocotal Beach Resort in August 2006, see complete report on Undercurrent. I hope to return some day but the to do list is very long. There are many things to do when not diving and many good restaurants. We enjoyed the flexibility of having a car.

Good diving, Craig

 

[HenrikBP]

Dear scubaboard members:

Just arrived at Ocotal Beach Resort on NW coast of Costa Rica (CR). 4 days of diving planned ... starting today. Ask me anything

Please post any other adventures and info you can come up with.

Did you fly into SJO? How did you get to Ocotal? What else is around the resort? within walking distance? etc.

How and how far is the beach at the resort? My wife doesn't dive, but is perfectly happy as long as she has a sandy beach to lounge on. No .... the pool won't do

Thanks

Henrik