Scuba Diving
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Scuba Diving
Costa Rica is known the world over for its tropical beauty, with all its lush vegetation and wildlife calling the rainforest home, would you expect anything else from its marine life? With over 750 miles of coast line and year around tropical climate, Costa Rica can’t help but lead marine life lovers everywhere to discover an undersea world of extraordinary beauty. So, once you decide to investigate Costa Rica’s fascinating sea world, you will understand why this is one of the major eco-tourist destinations for some thrilling scuba diving adventures.
This is one of the most popular and frequented areas by divers from around the globe. Diving operators are numerous in the beaches of Hermosa, Coco, and Ocotal and lets not forget places like Bolanos and Negritos Islands which also are great locations to admire the marine diversity.
The temperature in these area ranges from 80ºF (24ºC) and 85ºF (27ºC), although they may vary depending on the season, the currents, and the thermoclines.
You won’t want to miss the spectacular arches and coral formations of Santa Elena Bay, Blanca Beach Range, and Bajo Meros (ravine), which is a perfect place if you’re a first time diver. Other great diving locations are in Gorda Point, Bajo Tiburones, Negritos Island, Cabros Island, and Murciélago Islands, where you just might run into some large bull sharks in their natural habitat. The best time to dive this site is from March through November. Despensa Island and Catalinas Islands are also great spots for observing an abundance of sea life.
All these sites are great for watching different species of sharks such as the whale shark, dolphins, morays, and rayfish, most notably the Golden ray and the Pacific Cownose ray.
Puntarenas and the Gulf Islands
Depending on the tides and marine currents, Curu National Wildlife Refuge which is close to Tambor and Montezuma beaches is ideal for snorkeling. Also ideal is the islands located in the Gulf of Nicoya as well as the spectacular Tortuga Island.
Located on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, 543 km off Cabo Blanco, Coco’s Island is a divers paradise. Whether you want to dive close to shore or in the deep water you will discover unforgettable marine life while on the beautiful island. It is not unusual to see a large number of white tip sharks, schools of hammerhead sharks, tuna fish, parrot fish, mollusks, and other coral species, which make this island one of the most marvelous places on earth to explore. The island boasts approximately 600 species of marine mollusks, 300 species of fish and 32 species of coral, 9 of which belong to the deep waters.
• To visit the Coco's Island you should contact a tour operator in order to organize your trip. The journey lasts approximately one day and a half, and when arriving to the Island, you will find anchoring services, lectures, walks, trails, and drinking water.
Seriously, these VIDEO's are really good:
Part 1 of another GREAT Cocos Island Series
Located only a few hours away from San José, this is an ideal diving spot, particularly during the Summer, because of the great variety of fish, lobster, and white tip sharks that can be spotted in the area.
Manuel Antonio National Park is another divering destination. With its impressive rock formations and underwater cave you will not be disappointed and you may also explore the water of Cathedra Point, Puerto Escondido, and the Mogote and Olocuita Islands.
Far and away the best diving spot found in the South Pacific region is in the Cano’s Island Biological Reserve, 45 minutes away from Drake Bay-Osa Peninsula. The ecosystem you’ll find under the serf is spectacular and a must do if you’re an avid diver.
In this extraordinary place you’re likely to see hammerhead sharks, white finned sharks, whale sharks, and ray fish. Accompanying you to your dive site will be numerous dolphins along with the migrating humpback whales. These may be seen almost any month of the year, but the best time is during the dry season here in Costa Rica. It is worth to note that this area is the only place in the world where these whales come to, arriving both from the north and the south at different times of the year.
Also in this region are the Tres Hermanas Islands and the protected marine area of the Ballena Marine National Park, which is home to a huge number of coral species. This park has an abundance of marine life you can explore and the humpback whales are also found in this area.
Along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, scuba diving is less developed commercially, but here you will find major coral reefs, shipwrecks, and of course a wide variety of tropical fish. These magical waters that few have explored, are characterized by a coral reef ecosystem protected by the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, and the Cahuita National Park. The height of coral formations found in this area can fluctuate from a few meters to those up to 11 vertical meters high. These coral formations have a biodiversity composed of over 123 species of multicolored fish such as angelfish, queen angelfish, parrot fish, three-spined stickleback fish, among many others. Also there are over 35 coral species found in this ecosystem.
