When a country’s name translates to “rich coast,” you know it must be a good place to go scuba diving. Costa Rica is one of the best destinations in the world for nature lovers, and scuba diving enthusiasts won’t be disappointed. With the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east, dives in Costa Rica are incredible all year round.
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Costa Rica’s Catalina Islands offer ideal diving conditions with sunny weather, warm water temperatures, and a well-protected undersea world. Several species of colourful fish, mantas, sharks, dolphins, and whales are just some of the underwater treasures you can expect to find, along with a vibrant variety of other marine life.
One thing we love about Costa Rica is their strong commitment to preserving the country’s natural ecosystems. There are conservation efforts in place to keep Costa Rica’s rich biodiversity in close-to-pristine conditions, from the primary virgin rainforests to freshwater and marine reserves. The end result is a thriving natural environment that’s definitely a rare sight to see.
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Where to Go Scuba Diving In Costa Rica
Costa Rica is known for a number of really great dive sites. Some people even call its Pacific Coast “the tropical rainforest of the ocean,” where you can swim alongside all sorts of marine wildlife.
Depending on where your scuba dive operator takes you, you could be in the company of majestic humpback whales, whale sharks, white-tip reef sharks, tiger sharks, bull sharks, dolphins, and sea turtles. In some parts, you can find huge schools of rays like giant manta rays, spotted eagle rays, bat rays, and more.
There are a wide variety of diving sites–from world-class ones along the Pacific to more budget-friendly options in the Papagayo Peninsula–each with its own natural charm. The Pacific side is generally more popular, with two UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites along its coastline: Cocos Island and Caño Island. Meanwhile, the Caribbean side is home to the country’s only coral reef and offers stunning underwater views as well.
Dive Sites along the Pacific Coast, Costa Rica
- Cocos Island is arguably the most famous and is sometimes known as the “crown jewel” of dive sites. It’s possibly one of the most expensive scuba dive destinations in the world. Some of the impressive marine life visible in the area include whale sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks, humpback whales, blue whales, giant mantas, and bottlenose dolphins.
- Caño Island is another popular spot known for having Costa Rica’s largest concentration of coral-building organisms along the Pacific Ocean. Huge schools of fish, manta rays, moray eels, sharks, dolphins, and whales are usually seen swimming around the island.
- The Catalina Islands is an archipelago of rocky islets in Guanacaste Province. The volcanic rock formations extend all the way down to 40 meters below the water’s surface. It’s a great spot to catch a glimpse of Pacific Giant Manta Rays, sharks, turtles, eels, and huge schools of fish.
- Bat Islands, a collection of offshore islands within the Santa Rosa National Park, offers a unique and challenging diving experience. Only experienced divers will be able to navigate the strong underwater and surface currents, though they will be rewarded with impressive encounters with marine animals. There are different kinds of rays, like eagle rays, devil rays, and mobula rays, as well as large schools of fish, bull sharks, white-tipped reef sharks, and more.
- Playas del Coco is a beginner-friendly diving destination, thanks to dive sites near the shore that have minimal or no current. You can find a variety of colourful marine life here throughout the year, like parrotfish, bright-striped Cortez angelfish, pufferfish and, on rare occasions, even a stingray.
Dive Sites in the Caribbean Coast, Costa Rica
Though it’s not as popular as the Pacific side, the Caribbean coast has vibrant coral reefs with its fair share of marine life. Along the coast of Cahuita National Park lies the country’s coral reef, with 123 species of fish, 140 species of mollusk, and 35 species of coral.
The scuba diving scene may not be as developed along the Caribbean, but you will be able to find a dive shop or a snorkelling tour in towns like Puerto Viejo.
While we would have loved to dive at Cocos Island and get a chance to swim with massive schools of Hammerhead Sharks that thrive in that area, a trip to the Cocos Island Marine Park requires a 500 km/10-day journey off the mainland of Costa Rica and costs a hefty $5,000-6,000/person. Eeek! This blog doesn’t pay us enough to embark on that kind of trip just yet.
So instead, we opted for another highly-rated scuba dive destination just off the coast of Papagayo Peninsula – the Catalina Islands (Las Catalinas).
Scuba Diving the Catalina Islands, Costa Rica
We travelled to Playas del Coco, the getaway for diving the Catalina Islands, Costa Rica and set off on a day of diving with a local dive operator Deep Blue Diving.
The dive sites around Catalinas (The Wall, The Point, and The Widow) are known for their unique underwater structures with arches, caves, and volcanic rock formations. The waters act as home to huge schools of tropical fish, schools of Devil Manta Rays or Cow-Nosed Rays, sharks, and sea turtles. But diving here is reserved for experienced divers only, as the dive sites are non-anchored and are prone to strong currents.
Our Experience At Catalina Islands in Costa Rica
From Playas del Coco, it was a leisurely 45-minute boat ride to get to the islands. Our boat, the Colonia Claudia, bounced on the waves as our Dive Master shared insights about the islands and the Papagayo Peninsula.
Once at the dive site, there was no dilly-dallying. We jumped in and made quick descends without an anchor line, working to fight against the current. Visibility wasn’t great (no more than 20m), but granted, we did dive at the end of the rainy season in November and 24 hours before a massive tropical storm.
You can find out more info on the best times to visit Costa Rica and better conditions for scuba diving in Costa Rica. Visibility in the Catalina Islands is said to be the best between September and March, so make sure to plan your dives accordingly.
On the bright side, despite the lack of visibility, we managed to spot quite a few creatures ranging from schools of blue-striped grunt fish, to puffer fish, scorpion fish, at least a dozen moray eels, and a giant school of Cow-Nosed rays in the distance.
We weren’t lucky enough to see manta rays or sharks, although our guess is that was purely due to the poor visibility. They could have been circling around us the entire time!
After all, the Catalina Islands are quite famous for being home to many kinds of stingrays, such as devil rays, spotted eagle rays, bullseye rays, bat rays, mobley rays, and many more. Spinner dolphins, tiger sharks, pilot whales, and even killer whales are known to swim by.
The water temperature at Catalina Islands was one of the lowest we have experienced in our diving career thus far (25-26ºC). Luckily, the crew at Deep Blue Diving were kind enough to let Oksana wear a long 3mm wetsuit along with a shortie, helping her stay focused on the amazing marine life rather than the cold water.
READ NEXT: Guide to Visiting Las Catalinas
The Bottom Line
When it comes to our overall experience diving at Catalina Islands, we’d rate it as 7/10. It’s not the best dive destination we’ve ever visited (Komodo National Park in Indonesia still holds the top spot in our books), but it certainly wasn’t the most boring dive either.
The dive sites had a lot of potential and certainly a lot of marine life to keep us entertained, and had visibility been just a little better we would have likely been wowed by how much more there is to see at Catalinas.
Oksana and Max – what a great post on your trip. The pictures want to make me pack my gear and go down to Costa Rica.., 😉 Thanks for sharing!
There are a number of great places to dive in Costa Rica, so it’s a country definitely worth visiting for any dive enthusiast or professional 🙂