{"id":111,"date":"2011-08-18T18:39:13","date_gmt":"2011-08-18T18:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/?p=111"},"modified":"2012-10-23T20:05:59","modified_gmt":"2012-10-23T20:05:59","slug":"costa-rica-scuba-diving-safaris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/?p=111","title":{"rendered":"Costa Rica Scuba Diving Safaris"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Divers with a love for the exotic and a particular interest in fish and the occasional shipwreck will find Costa Rica\u2019s waters exactly what they\u2019re looking for. When you book a package for Costa Rica scuba\u00a0diving safaris<\/strong>, you\u2019ll get the best of Costa Rican hospitality and amazing dives every day. Costa Rica means \u201cRich Coast,\u201d and you\u2019ll see why when you spend your vacation diving this beautiful country.
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Scuba Diving and Tourism for Nature Lovers<\/h2>\n

When you visit Costa Rica<\/a>, you\u2019ll be taken by the lush foliage and exotic wildlife. During your scuba diving safaris you\u2019ll have plenty of opportunity to explore the land as well. As one of the world\u2019s most bio-diverse natural regions, Costa Rica has over 20 natural parks and 8 biological reserves, as well as several protected regions that make excellent ecotourism destinations.<\/p>\n

While you\u2019re in Costa Rica, as well as seeking out the best scuba diving retreats<\/strong> you can spend time hiking in the cloud forests, horseback riding and participating in guided bird-watching tours. If nature is your true love, you\u2019ll find it in Costa Rica even before you get on the dive boat.<\/p>\n

Scuba Diving Destinations in Costa Rica<\/h2>\n

Costa Rica has amazing conditions for diving, including huge schools of fish that sometimes cause underwater eclipses, a wide variety of marine life and good water conditions year-round (and warm too!)<\/p>\n

Scuba diving <\/a>is available on both the Pacific and the Caribbean coasts, and the two have quite different personalities and varieties of sights for the scuba diver.<\/p>\n

On the Pacific coast, there are some areas with low visibility, which of course do not offer good diving. But scuba diving gets very good in certain areas, including Playas del Coco, Playa Hermosa and Playa Ocotal, where you can see giant manta rays, a variety of tropical fish and even sharks.<\/p>\n

Bahia Drake (Drake Bay) is one of the best areas for\u00a0scuba diving safaris<\/strong> on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. In Drake Bay you should visit Isla del Cano and Isla del Coco, where you can see a variety of marine life including sharks and turtles as well as many species of tropical fish.<\/p>\n

Isla del Cano<\/a> is reported to be the best scuba diving destination in Costa Rica, with three species of dolphin and 18 species of coral, as well as 57 species of crustaceans. This is in addition to the many species of tropical fish you\u2019ll see around the island.<\/p>\n

The Caribbean coast also offers good scuba diving, but there are fewer opportunities for scuba diving because the area is not as well developed. It\u2019s well worth the effort to dive off the Caribbean coast, however, as it boasts Costa Rica\u2019s only coral reef. Located off the coast of the Parque Nacional Cahuita<\/a>, the reef sustained serious damage during a 1991 earthquake, but provides a home to 35 species of coral, 140 species of mollusk and 123 species of fish. It\u2019s well worth seeing. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dive Shops and Package Tours<\/h2>\n

Scuba diving safaris<\/strong> are particularly popular in Costa Rica right now, so finding places to dive and dive companies to take you there is quite easy. World-class dive companies are readily available, with PADI-certified divers, courses and well-stocked rental facilities in the dive shops.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going on a diving vacation and haven\u2019t dived before, you can take a Discover Scuba<\/a> course with almost any dive shop in Costa Rica and be diving in one day. You can also spend more time and get certified, or take advanced scuba diving courses from most dive shops.<\/p>\n

Many dive operators offer a variety of packages ranging from five days to seven days, with two tank dives each day and amenities on the dive boat including meals and snacks. If you\u2019re serious about diving, this is the best way to experience Costa Rica.<\/p>\n

Alternately, you can arrange individual dives in the morning or afternoon, in different locations around the country, and spread your scuba diving<\/strong> out around the coasts. This DIY safari may be just what you want if you\u2019d like to explore both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, or if you\u2019re planning other activities during your stay and want to arrange your dive around those treks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Costa Rican Sea Life for Scuba Divers<\/h2>\n

While diving in Costa Rica you\u2019ll see a huge variety of sea life, including dozens of varieties of tropical fish, giant manta rays and stingrays, reef sharks, bull sharks, whale sharks, dolphins and moray eels. Off the Caribbean coast you\u2019ll also see many species of coral living in the reef. It is impossible to describe all of the sea organisms you\u2019ll encounter, but if you\u2019re interested in fish, crustaceans, dolphins, rays and sharks, you\u2019ll see them.<\/p>\n

If scuba diving and nature are your twin passions, Costa Rica is a paradise you\u2019ll love. Your Costa Rica scuba diving safaris<\/strong> can include ecotourist destinations, or your ecotourist destinations can be complemented by scuba diving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Divers with a love for the exotic and a particular interest in fish and the occasional shipwreck will find Costa Rica\u2019s waters exactly what they\u2019re looking for. When you book a package for Costa...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scuba-diving"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scuba.cr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}