Costa Rica Scuba Diving
Many islands,
reefs, caves, and rocks lie off the coast of Costa Rica, providing
excellent spots for underwater exploration. Visibility varies with
season and location. Generally, heavy rainfall tends to swell the
rivers and muddy the waters, even well offshore. Banana
plantations and their runoff have destroyed most of the Caribbean
reefs, although there's still good diving at Isla Uvita,
just off the coast of Limón, and in Manzanillo, down near
the Panamanian border. Most divers choose Pacific dive spots like
Caño Island, Bat Island, and the Catalina Islands,
where you're likely to spot manta rays, moray eels, white-tipped
sharks, and plenty of smaller fish and coral species. But the
ultimate in Costa Rican dive experiences is a week to 10 days
spent on a chartered boat, diving off the coast of Cocos Island.
Diving off the
Shores of Isla del Coco (off the Pacific coast): Legendary
among treasure seekers, pirate buffs, and scuba divers, this small
island is consistently rated one of the 10 best dive sites in the
world. A protected national park, Isla del Coco is surrounded by
clear Pacific waters, and its reefs are teeming with life (divers
regularly encounter large schools of hammerhead sharks, curious
manta rays, and docile whale sharks). Because the island is so
remote and has no overnight facilities for visitors, the most
popular way to visit is on 10-day excursions on a live-aboard
boat, where guests live, eat, and sleep onboard -- with nights
spent anchored in the harbor.
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