There are 70 species of dolphins and whales in the world and it is estimated that approximately 25 visit the waters of Costa Rica. This is for a variety of reasons, whether they are migrating, mating, birthing or feeding, the warm waters with currents bringing plentiful food are an obvious attraction. Some of the more frequent visitors are false orcas, spinner dolphins, pan tropical spotted dolphins and the humpback whale.

One of the most prolific and recognizable of the whales species is the humpback whale which is also Costa Ricas most frequent whale visitor. With a size of up to 50ft and a weight of approximately 24 – 40 tonnes that are incredible to behold and here in Manuel Antonio we are lucky enough to see them during both seasons. Whilst not being lucky enough to have seen them underwater whilst diving, I have been lucky enough to be serenaded by them on numerous occasions. Not what you expect to hear,sometimes, the mixture of long deep bellows, and high pitched singing is eerie yet beautiful. The hardest thing when you start hearing them, especially when it is a faint sound, is communicating to your fellow divers what they are listening to as many, won’t immediately recognize the sound.

On the surface intervals and trips to dive sites we can be lucky enough to run into humpbacks, for example just 4 days ago. On our way through the park our captain noticed some spray off of the bow. It was a group of 3, 2 adults and 1 calf. They then proceeded to travel pretty rapidly away from us, but not before the calf decided to breach a couple of times. I’m sure he knew he had an audience!! Before my battery ran out  managed to get a sneaky shot of a disapearing tail!

Dolphins are also a regular visitor to the Manuel Antonio National Park and the pacific coast in general. Pretty much every afternoon we will get to see a school of the Pan Tropical spotted dolphins feeding just off of the coast. Pan Tropical spotted dolphins are one of the smaller species of dolphin and when they are feeding, they target one of their favourite foods, flying fish. Easiest way to spot a group is to watch for the brown booby birds who like to hang out above the hunt and pick off any unfortunate escapees! Diving at Cano island, which has  many whale and dolphin visitors, I have been lucky enough to dive with dolphins. One of my mos memorable encounters was at the deep sea pinnacle Veinte Seis. Hearing them throughout the dive, we headed up the down line for a safety stop. Diving offshore is always fun as you are diving in blue, blue water with nothing around. Out of the distance, a group of around 10 dolphins appeared and they took an interest in us and decided to hang out with us throughout the safety stop, which we subsequently decided to extend to around 15 minutes to enjoy their company!

As the humpback season is drawing to a close next month I need to make sure I get as many encounters as possible before the lull!

The south side of the island is out of bounds to visitors , but supposedly open to study etc. The idea being that the island can remain as much as possible a marine sanctuary. The rangers that live on the island are very vigilant and an excellent job, tough as it is.

Apart from Bajo, the dive sites at Cano are between 30 and 60 ft (9 and 18m) , rock reef ridges with sand patches and coral spread out as far as you can see. One thing you are pretty much guaranteed to see when visiting Cano island is sharks. At almost every dive site you will find white tip reef sites lounging around on the sand patches.  This is what draws so many people to the island. They are always photogenic and as long as you practice good buoyancy, (which is a must rule for any diver in general) they will allow you a slow approach and snapshot.  One of the best memories to keep I think….you and one of the most beautiful creatures underwater.

One of the most popular snorkel spots  is a lesser visited dive spot, El Jardin. Translated as the garden, which when you visit it you will see why. The general depth of this dive sit is 25 – 45 ft hence the popularity for snorkelers. Spread out as far as you can see is some of the most beautiful hard coral formations that I have seen.   Whilst Costa Rica does not have the soft coral forests of the indo-pacific and caribbean the garden of hard coral, different yellows and browns does look impressive. It is also home to many cleaning stations for all the different species of fish. WIth the dive being so shallow we can extend our dive time and just cruise through the garden, watching all the interactions between different creatures and fish, fascinating. On my trip there last week as we came up for our safety stop, we were given the extra treat of coming across three green turtles, checking out the bottom and feeding. The safety stop extended to around 10 minutes as we hovered above them watching. Another rare treat from Cano Island!

Thank you!

Whether its butterfly fish, angel fish, sharks!!(oohhh eehh!!) or even some of the smaller visitors e.g. nudibranchs and blennys (love those big googly eyes ) you can even start to judge depths and specific areas of the reef by seeing what is floating around. On the pacific side of  Costa Rica if you float above 30ft you start to see a lot of panamic fanged blenny which gives me an idea immediately that I’m heading towards the shallows.
And contrary to his name he does not look vampire like even though that seems to be the trend for everything right now!?

As an eager fish finder I do have my head buried in the Fish ID book on a regular basis, more so until I ma familiar with an area. Because of this I find that even if you see something you have never seen before on the reef you are able to at least pick out a family , or have a “vague” idea where in the general fish ID chain it falls.

Now one of favourite fish, and call me strange if you will because of this, is the ToadFish. I have very strong reasoning behind this so hear me out. Firstly, they are in all truths pretty bloody hard to find. After spending a couple of years diving in the carribean and listening to them “singing” I managed to find them only on 2 occasions. Secondly, their singing, which is compared by some people to the sound of a motorbike revving. And thirdly, they always look soooo grumpy! Its like the scrooge of the reef fish I think?!

When I used to live in the Carribean, I started to be able to seek out their hang outs after a while and became pretty good at finding them , but in Costa Rica, it has taken me 4 years!!! But finally….success!! My first indication that they were around was about a month ago when I heard the all to familiar to me once sound of motorbikes under the water. I eagerly began looking under rocks and looking for san chutes but alas.

Then just last week with some divers who had just finished their open water I had to do a double take because sitting out load and proud in between some rocks was non-other than a toad fish. Smaller than their caribbean cousins, the toadfish here have protruding eyes on the top of his head and was unfortunately missing one of my favourite features, the beard. Luckily one of my divers had a camera so I was able to grab a couple of quick pictures for formal ID.

I enthusiasticly was waving my hand under my chin at them and pointing, but as you can imagine, the thrill of a toadfish find is not the most incredible thing to a new diver.  I think though from my over zealous description they got the idea of how important it was. That completely made my week, and now to find the batfish ; )

Visibility may drop in some areas, some more than others, but diving is all year round here! On the central pacific coast where we do get affected by the October rains I like to call it scavenger diving if needed. All you need to do is “get down and dirty” as there is still so much life to see.

This year we experienced some spectacular weather for October, with hardly any rains so we were diving throughout the month including plenty of sharks sightings!

All joking aside though, The best diving by far is during the dryer season from December through to June time. As the rains let up, the water gets clearer and with the colder water ( I say colder water but I’m talking around 75F!!) and currents comes bigger fish, which, is what makes diving in Costa Rica so much fun. I will never forget one of my first dives in Costa Rica when during the safety stop I was completely surrounded by Crevalle jacks so thick i couldn’t see through them.  White tip reef sharks are a regular sighting on the local reef as well as the very occasional nurse shark.
Hammerheads that we are so famous for, are unfortunately saved for the lucky few who get to visit Isla del coco on a liveaboard.  There can be nothing more exciting about your first dive than spotting a shark. On a trip a couple of days ago, I had the fun of taking three open water divers out during their training.

What initially started as apprehension turned into excitement as I pointed out  shark hanging out under a crevice…..No really?! you can see the wide eyes and smiles even through the regs. Couldn’t stop talking about that until we got back to dock. The season is only just beginning! Mantas will be upon us soon ; )

Costa Rica has so much to offer both underwater and above water that it should definitely be on your list of places to go and blow some bubbles. I am hoping that as I write about my many experiences throughout Costa Rica diving I can show you what an incredible place it is and why you have to come and experience it for yourself.

The country has 3 main diving areas along the coasts of Costa Rica as well as the world famous Coco Island, each one holding its own draw. The pacific coast as many of you know is not as tranquil and calm as the Caribbean but along with that comes the big fish and adventure! Whilst the majority of the wildlife stays the same, depending on the time of year some areas may be better than others. All areas of Costa Rica are affected differently each year by the wet season and the dry season, for example the southern pacific coast experiences larger amounts of rain in September /October time whereas the north pacific coast, gets effected by winds around February time. All in all though the diving remains pretty consistent.

The three main coastal areas for diving are the Northern pacific coast, also known as Guanacaste province, the central/south pacific, Puntarenas province, and the south Caribbean coast. If you are heading north you will find that there are a number of dive shops spaced out along the coast from Tamarindo up to Playa Hermosa.

You can experience local dives here where they are many sightings of eagle rays and sting rays, or head to one of the two famous offshore sights Catalina Island and the bull islands, home to the impressive bull sharks. Definitely worth a look if you are there the right time of year (June to November).

The central pacific coast also offers some inshore sights around Playa Herradura and Manuel Antonio national park, as well as Cano Island, often referred to as the mini Coco Island. If you want to see white tip reef sharks this would be the place, with many of them on each dive resting and swimming around the sand patches. There are also some deep offshore sights around this area, some places for those with a real sense of adventure and right now, in the middle of one of the humpback whale migration time who knows what you could see.

The third coastal area for diving in Costa Rica is on the southern Caribbean coast around Puerto Viejo. This area is home to a beautiful shallow reef, in the Cahuita area with dive spots running almost to the Panama border. Don’t forget though that here, the Caribbean coast can be affected by rains and storms, so check what time of year you go.

With the country being so small you can easily travel around and visit some different places to get the most out of your diving here, and with this series of articles, you can take everything you need to know before you get here and have some awesome dive time.