Sharks in Costa Rica

[mesje]

I would like to know, what are the chances to see sharks in Costa rica (not Cocos island, but the mainland). I have heard that on pacific coast is a chance to see them - but is this chance big, are sharks often seen there? Thanks for every reply.

 

[rainmaker]

I was in Playa Del Coco (Pacific coast), Costa Rica in July. I made 10 dives in the Gulf of Papagayo and saw 3 sharks; 2 Nurse sharks and 1 White Tip.

 

[solarofthesix]

This summer in Quepos/Manuel Antonio there were quite a few Reef Sharks that I visited everytime we went to that dive site.

 

[Diver Lori]

The bull sharks hang out at Bat Island. Dive with a shop that is taking trips there.

 

[ScubaSam]

I was in Costa Rica, Gulf of Papagayo region July 2008 and saw about ten white-tipped sharks while diving Catalina Island and two or three during the local reef dives. I saw seven bull sharks at Bats Island.

Make sure to check with the operator because the boats only go out to Bats during a certain part of the year...obvious July being one as that was when I was there.

We also saw a few Manta Rays, one huge one swam under us during our safety stop at Catalina Island. Enjoy, you will have a great time diving Costa Rica.

 

[Bill_PNW_Diver]

We were in Playa Del Coco last month and dove with Rich Coast Diving. The best local site for seeing white tips was "Argentina". We dove the site four times throughout the week and saw sharks on every dive (along with eagle rays, turtles, stingrays, and moray eels). We also saw a large nurse shark at a dive site called "estudiente".

The weather was bad so we didn't make it out to the Bat Islands but were told that, depending on the time of year, you run a good chance to dive with Bull sharks.

 

[ScubabunnyCR]

The Bat Islands are good for Bull sharks and the time to dive there is between June and November I think. Catalina Islands, Playa del coco, Manuel Antonio and Caño Island all have regular sightings of White tip and sometimes nurse sharks. THey tend to frequent certain sights depending what time of year it is. With us in Manuel Antonio, we have about 4 sights where we can see them very regularly at most times of the year.

 

[aurelike]

We are Rich Coast Diving in Playa del Coco and on our daily dives we see reef and nurse sharks on a daily basis throughout the year.

 

[Lisan]

I also dove with Rich Coast Diving in june. Saw on the local divesites about 6 white tip reef sharks and 2 nurse sharks.
When you go to Bat Island you have a great change to see the bull shark. That must be amazing and I can't wait to go there.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

Usually we see between 5 and 15 White Tip and Nurse sharks per dive,
locally or on our dive trips to Isla Tortuga (the tropical paradise island 50 minutes by boat away).
There are several shark caves where they can be "studied" from near.
Bullsharks are quite uncommon here, but the dolphins and whales we see often make that more than worth.

Free swimming sharks during tha day can be seen diving the Isla del Caño, otherwise the mostly sleep in their caves
during daylight. But spotting sharks during a night dive is a quite thrilling experience...

Chris