Costa Rica
- Thread starter Javony
- Start date
There is some limited scuba diving on the Caribbean coast, but very little compared to the Pacific side, which is a popular dive destination. There are many dive operations all along the Pacific coast. The Caribbean side tends to be better suited for surfing, with sloping beaches. Inshore waters are usually murky, from wave action and muddy river run off. I'm told there are nice reefs well offshore, but when I was there 15 years ago all the diving was on the west coast, which has some spectacular sites, lots of fish, clear water, and many reefs. I enjoyed the Caribbean side's jungles and wildlife, and it was much less touristy when I was there. I didn't see much in the way of blue Caribbean water. Divers seem to strongly favor the Pacific side. If I were going I'd check a few travel guides and scuba vacation operations. Costa Rica is a very popular place, and there must be tons of information available.
Anthony.Luciano
New member
i dont know much about diving but i'm partial costa rican so when i went to visit there i know the rainforest was an awesome site and then i went down to belize which isn't far at all to snorkel and it was pretty nice there but it was at a time when i didn't even know what a clownfish was so i cant really tell you how good it is compared to other stuff but it was a really nice site IMO so im guessing since there really close costa rica will have some good dive sites and this was all on the caribbean side
Belize has some of the best diving in the Western Hemisphere, but almost all of it is on the offshore islands and keys. Inshore the water is not that clear. I've snorkeled around Placencia in Belize, but there was not much to see. The magnificent barrier reef extending from Belize and Mexico down to Honduras is not really accessible from the mainland shore without a long boat trip. There is a little fairly nice shore snorkeling around a few rocky areas in Carribean Costa Rica, but not that much and nothing compared to the Pacific side.
There are some lovely islands a few miles offshore in Caribbean Nicaragua, but again, I've found mainland beaches there to be sandy with wave action and river runoff. I've traveled in Central America quite a lot, but I certainly have not seen everything. Far from it, so there are certain to be nice places to dive and snorkel that I know nothing about. I was in Panama 18 months ago, and enjoyed some excellent scuba diving and snorkeling from shore near Bocas Del Toro on the Caribbean side.
There are some lovely islands a few miles offshore in Caribbean Nicaragua, but again, I've found mainland beaches there to be sandy with wave action and river runoff. I've traveled in Central America quite a lot, but I certainly have not seen everything. Far from it, so there are certain to be nice places to dive and snorkel that I know nothing about. I was in Panama 18 months ago, and enjoyed some excellent scuba diving and snorkeling from shore near Bocas Del Toro on the Caribbean side.
WarmWaterWuss
New member
Cocos Island is known for schooling hammerheads and other large pelagics, Bat Island is another area off the Pacific side.
Yes, superb diving. As far as I know, only live aboard accessible.
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