Scuba Diving Vacation in Costa RicaThe wonders of the aquatic world enjoyed during a scuba diving vacation in Costa Rica are without limit! The waters washing the shores of this country feature diverse and rich marine life, including giant manta rays, sea turtles, colorful angel fish, coral formations, sea slugs, puffer fish, sea fans, dolphins and sometimes even whales.
Costa Rica is popular on the international travel scene for the great all inclusive vacation packages offered by luxury resorts and high class hotels, in the same time being a great holiday destination for experienced divers but also an excellent place where can be learnt the basic skills to dive - most aquatic centers offer inexpensive certification courses in English that can be completed in less than a week!
Top Dive Spots in Costa Rica: Manzanillo, Cocos Island & OthersAlong the southern Caribbean coast are several excellent snorkeling and diving resorts. The country's largest coastal reef is protected in Cahuita National Park, situated south of the town with the same name where tourists can rent snorkeling or diving equipment and hire boats. Puerto Viejo, located south to Cahuita, features also an excellent coral reef and as result there are great scuba dive and snorkeling opportunities. Punta Cocles and Punta Uva are other two spots settled south to the town where can be seen rich coral formations with plenty of fish swimming around them.
Close to Manzanillo, a small fishing village, are also some good off shore diving places. A few other good dive spots are located near city of Limon and on Uvita Island. The best visibility in Caribbean waters is from March to early May and from mid-August to mid-November and therefore tourists interested in scuba diving are advised to pick deals and vacation packages to Costa Rica in this periods of time.
Cocos Island, a national park located 330 miles southwest off the mainland, is considered by many experienced divers the best dive resort in Costa Rica. While the island is covered with virgin rain forests, the ocean that surrounds it contains abundant plant and marine life. Divers can see around Cocos Island impressive animals such as manta rays, dolphins and hammerhead sharks. It takes about a day and half to reach Cocos Island and some companies have ships that run regular cruises to this destination. There are also available cruise packages for diving which last usually ten days and include three dives per day.
The Pacific side has some of the country's best diving spots, with less coral reefs but with plenty of big fish! During vacations spent in beach resorts in Playa del Coco, Ocotal and Hermosa can be practiced plenty of holiday activities and taken trips to several excellent dive spots in Culebra Bay and Bat Islands, where divers see often sharks and manta rays. The dive center in Flamingo takes usually people to Santa Catalina Island, about five miles off shore, where is a another good place to see sharks and other big fish. All this places are great for aquatic adventures on the Pacific side, still many tourists think that the best diving sites are made up by several reefs located near the Cano Island.
Map of Costa Rica With Diving Resorts & Vacation SpotsNote: click the red markers on the map for the link to resorts in Costa Rica, the swimmer markers for the link to diving packages in vacation spots and the airplane marker for the link to international flights.
Disclaimer: location of hotels on the map is approximate.
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