Best Dive Sites in Costa Rica

Costa Rica offers world class dive sites and great snorkeling spots. In this blog we will share our favorite dive sites in Costa Rica.

1. Playas del Coco (Guanacaste)

2. Bat Islands (May - October)

3. Catalinas Islands (December - April only)

Divers planning their visit for a diving holiday often ask us when the best time to dive in Guanacaste. Our favourite time of the year is half May until end November. Overall, our location offers excellent year-round diving opportunities but the Pacific Coast has unique geographical conditions that change the diving conditions from day to day, and in our experience May to November are the best months. Also the weather is less dry and hot so everything is beautiful and green. On top of that, these months are a quiet time of the year in terms of visitors so you can get great deals on accommodation, car rental and tours.

Generally our water temperature range from 23 – 28 Celsius throughout the year so a 3 - 5 mm wetsuit is sufficient to keep you comfortably warm under water. In Costa Rica the seasons are divided between the rainy season (which runs from May to November) and the dry season (which runs November to April). But note that the name "rainy season" is somewhat misleading as Guanacaste is one of the driest provinces of Costa Rica and is far less rainy then the other states. But if you plan to come outside the suggested period (May - November) then we could say that the dry or wet season do not affect our diving conditions.

Whether you're an avid scuba enthusiast or a novice looking to embark on your first underwater adventure, diving in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, promises an unforgettable journey into the depths of the Pacific Ocean. The diverse marine life, ranging from schools of tropical fish to magnificent sharks and rays, coupled with the stunning underwater topography, create a captivating and exhilarating experience like no other.

1. Playas del Coco (Guanacaste)

Located on the northwestern Pacific coast in the Guanacaste province (40 min from Liberia International Airport), Coco Beach is home to more than 20 different dive sites that cater to both beginner and advanced scuba divers. If you had to choose one dive destination in Costa Rica mainland then this beach town in Guanacasta offers the easiest access to the best mainland dive sites in Costa Rica. Each site features stunning topography with pinnacles, naturally formed rocks and boulders, and bright sandy bottoms.

Location map Playas del Coco in Costa Rica

There are even small wrecks where you can see fish congregate. The marine life is a feast for your eyes as you observe (but don’t touch!) white tip reef sharks, nurse sharks, different species of rays and eels, and reef fish. Schools of pelagic fish will make you feel like the littlest mermaid and the giant schools of the cutest puffer fish will make your scuba heart smile.

Tiny critters like spider crabs, harlequin shrimp and nudibranchs will show you colors so exquisitely vibrant that you’ll never want to put your underwater camera or GoPro away.

The beautiful Harlequin shrimp found on our local dive sites.

The best part about Playas del Coco is that it’s where your forever friends at Rich Coast Diving work and live! Read our latest reviews and see what our customers say about diving in Costa Rica!

BOOK YOUR NEXT DIVE

Have a look at our dive site map below. This map of dive sites covers the best dive sites accessible from Playas del Coco including Bats Islands (Murcielago Archipelago) and the Catalinas Islands.

Dive sites Rich Coast Diving Guanacaste Costa Rica

Dive sites in the Gulf of Papagayo including Bats Islands and Catalinas Islands.

2. Bat Islands (May - October)

Costa Rica offers one of the best and safest places in the world to dive with bullsharks. Islas Murcialégos (‘Bat Islands’ in Spanish). Dive site: The Big Scare, is where advanced divers go to see bull sharks. This is a protected marine reserve, and fishing is prohibited there, so the pacific mantas, enormous schools of jacks, eels and other fish can thrive.

Bull shark at Bat Islands in Costa Rica.

The bull sharks come to get cleaned by cleaner fish (wrasse, angel fish and butterfly fish species), so it’s like a stop by their favorite carwash.

Read more about diving with Bull sharks HERE.

3. Catalinas Islands (December - April only)

Catalinas are one of the most popular dive sites in Costa Rica and easily accessible (40 min boat ride) from December to April during the Manta Season.

The Catalinas Islands are well known for offer a mesmerizing diving experience with one of the ocean's most captivating creatures: the oceanic manta ray.

Outside the Manta season we dive the dive sites in the Gulf of Papagayo as they offer a much more diverse diving experience.

Read more about diving at Catalinas Islands HERE.

4. Cocos Island

This destination is on the bucket list of every diver. The sole method for diving the island is on a live-aboard. Your Live-aboard options are limited as there are only two operators, so you’ll want to book this trip in advance.

To say the dive is worth the wait is an understatement. Cocos Island’s remote location results in the marine life being largely unbothered by humans, boats, and fishing within the boarders of the Marine Park. With over 20 dive sites, divers get to experience nearly every type of dive imaginable.

Why Cocos? Three words: Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks. One dive site, Bajo Alcyone, is best known for seeing groups of hammerhead sharks in the hundreds as they descend to below the thermocline. When you combine the colder temperatures below and choppy water above with more intense currents and gigantic schools of big fish; experience matters. The shark enthusiasts will be happy note that silky, tiger, black-tip, whitecap, reef, and guitar sharks inhabit the waters surrounding Coco. Mantas and eagle rays are commonly sighted. Every so often a whale shark could make an appearance, too, along with eels and jacks.

If the makers of “Jurassic Park” found this as the perfect place to film movie opening scenes, then it’s probably worth a visit.

Join our Cocos Island Shark Research Expedition

Rich Coast Diving has an exclusive partnership with Costa Rican biologist, Randall Arauz, leading a 7-day dive research expeditions to Cocos Islands.

Scuba dive with the scientists from CREMA, The SeaChange Agency, and Turtle Island Restoration Network to learn about the latest science and policies in shark conservation. Participants will support researchers in tagging and gathering tissue samples of turtles, hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, blacktip sharks, silvertip sharks, tiger sharks, whale sharks, manta rays and eagle rays.

5. Cano Island

Isla del Caño is located in the southwestern Pacific coast, in the Puntarenas province. Located near the sleepy little town of Drake Bay and an hour boat ride from the more populated area of Uvita, the waters attract all manner of ocean lovers. The protected area and biological reserve limits the number of guests on and to the island in order to maintain the biodiverse flora, fauna, coral and marine life.

Divers can appreciate not having to share the ocean with many other people when they take a peek at manta rays, dolphins, sharks, barracudas, nearly 20 species of corals, puffer fish, seahorses, the occasional manatee, sea turtles, and large schools of fish around the island.