Having recently moved to San Jose, Costa Rica I constantly hear about the many activities that tourists and locals enjoy within the country. This past weekend while in Manuel Antonio National Park, relaxing on beautiful white sand beaches and looking off into the clear blue waters, I began to wonder about the wildlife inhabiting the Ocean. Sure enough a friend I met at the Sunset Grill for dinner brought up the subject of scuba diving. Personally, I have been snorkeling on several occasions but due to lack of subject knowledge and opportunities, scuba diving is an activity with which I am still very unfamiliar. My friend’s intriguing stories of adventures in the deep blue sea enticed me enough to research the sport further.

After returning to San Jose from the beach I began my research on scuba diving in Costa Rica and found more than I could possibly read. The discourse I found made me realize the abundant opportunities available in Costa Rica for the sport of diving. Costa Rica has three core destinations for diving which include Isla del Caño (in the South Pacific off the coast of the Osa Peninsula), to the North Pacific Coast there are the Catalina and Murcielago Islands (Which are located off the coast of Playa Flamingo).

 After discovering the locations were all Pacific I was a bit stunned, having heard scuba stories throughout my life about the world class diving the Caribbean offers, more web surfing lead me the reason Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast is not one of the top spots for diving. At one time the corral was beautiful with a great variety of tropical fish; however pesticide runoff from banana plantations has nearly destroyed all the sea’s natural beauty. Recent strides in ecological preservation in the area have incurred some improvement, it is questionable whether will ever be reborn to its once majestic natural beauty.

The Pacific Coast is where divers head while in Costa Rica. For the less advanced (non expert) diver, head to Playa Flamingo where many companies offer certification classes, equipment, boats, and tour guides to Catalina and Murcielago Islands. The Catalina Island chain is a series of rocky outcrops, 2-8 miles from the coast. These islands are volcanic and sedimentary rising from a sandy bottom about 60 - 120 feet and are home to Giant Manta Rays, Stingrays, Sharks, Moray Eels, Barracudas, Sea Turtles, and variety of schooling tropical fish.

In the South of Costa Rica the premier location for diving is Isla del Caño off the coast of the Osa Peninsula. The Osa’s remote location makes it a great place to do some diving. The Isla del Caño is only twelve miles off-coast and is home to beautiful ocean reefs and many species of school fish, dolphin, sea turtles and much more. About 300 miles past Isla del Caño is one of the premier diving locations in the world, Coco Island. This is the world’s largest uninhabited island thanks to the conservationist Costa Rican government. This island is infamous for being a hiding spot for hidden pirate treasure as well as its appearance in Jurassic Park. With proper governmental approval you can get clearance to set foot on the island (you also need the means to reach the island, it’s very expensive and few charters offer Coco Island as a destination). The aquatic life off Coco Island’s coast is a true experience, these waters are heavily occupied with Hammerhead Sharks, Bottle-nose dolphins, and the occasional whale shark. Other life you will most likely see are Moorish Idols, large schools of jack and tuna, giant Manta rays, giant Moray eels, Creole fish, lobsters, octopus, green turtles, Silky sharks, silver tips, sailfish, and marlin.

Discovering the abundance of nature outside of Costa Rica’s vast land diversity has opened my mind to the country’s true uniqueness. I will be researching diving in the area more in the months to come and hopefully be able to provide some first hand knowledge on this subject.

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Filed under: Travel on July 31st, 2007