Diving Locations in Panama and Costa Rica

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sytech@yahoo.com - 09 Apr 2006 12:18 GMT

Would appreciate recommendations for "good" diving locations in Costa
Rica (not counting the Coco Islands or Northern Guanacaste Province
where I;ve already been several times).

Am also interested in Panama, especially the Bocas del Toro area or
locations on either side of the Isthmus such as Portobello. Also,
every time I check the weather (Yahoo! Weather) for the Bocas del Toro
area I see rain forecasts. I realize that the "rainy season" is coming
in about a month or so but I thought April would be ok.

Any advice or recommendations for dive shops and hotels will be
appreciated.

Thanks,

Sy

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chilly - 09 Apr 2006 18:56 GMT

> Would appreciate recommendations for "good" diving locations in Costa
> Rica (not counting the Coco Islands or Northern Guanacaste Province
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Any advice or recommendations for dive shops and hotels will be
> appreciated.

Why are you interested in a diving trip to areas that are not particularly
known for their diving?

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Chris Guynn - 10 Apr 2006 21:18 GMT

> > Would appreciate recommendations for "good" diving locations in Costa
> > Rica (not counting the Coco Islands or Northern Guanacaste Province
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> Why are you interested in a diving trip to areas that are not particularly
> known for their diving?

diving in poor conditions is better htan not diving at all... :-)

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Dan Bracuk - 10 Apr 2006 22:16 GMT

"Chris Guynn" <chris.guynn@gmail.com> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:

:diving in poor conditions is better htan not diving at all... :-)

Not really.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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chilly - 11 Apr 2006 01:02 GMT

> > > Any advice or recommendations for dive shops and hotels will be
> > > appreciated.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> diving in poor conditions is better htan not diving at all... :-)

As a diver that travels to dive, I have to disagree. Personally, I get
bummed out when I spend a chunk of change to go to a new destination and the
diving isn't all that it could be. That said, once I'm there, diving in
poor conditions is better than not diving at all.

Since the OP is a new diver, it seems to me that we should want to see them
at a better dive destination, in hopes that they won't lose any enthusiasm
for the sport by having made their first dives at a location(s) not
particularly known for its diving.

All that said, I've wanted to go to Boca for a while now but since the
diving component is very important to me, it kept dropping down the list.
Now that I've seen the report, I'm moving it up on my list.

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Chris Guynn - 11 Apr 2006 14:51 GMT

> > > > Any advice or recommendations for dive shops and hotels will be
> > > > appreciated.
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> for the sport by having made their first dives at a location(s) not
> particularly known for its diving.

I took my first "real" dives at Jamaica. I'm as excited about it today as I
was the first time I went under.

A day of bad diving is better than a day of good work.

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Eric Berg - 10 Apr 2006 16:05 GMT

> Would appreciate recommendations for "good" diving locations in Costa
> Rica (not counting the Coco Islands or Northern Guanacaste Province
> where I;ve already been several times).

> Am also interested in Panama, especially the Bocas del Toro area or
> locations on either side of the Isthmus such as Portobello. Also,
> every time I check the weather (Yahoo! Weather) for the Bocas del Toro
> area I see rain forecasts. I realize that the "rainy season" is coming
> in about a month or so but I thought April would be ok.

Spent time in Bocas in April of '05.
Journeyed into Panama via the Caribbean border at Sixaola after spending a
week in Puerto Viejo, CR.

This was *not* a "dive trip". Rather, it was more of a walkabout where a
diving opportunity presented itself.

Bocas is a beautiful area, well worth a visit.
While I certainly wouldn't go there just for diving, it's not a bad way to
spend a day or two.

We stopped in at Bocas Water Sports, right on the main drag of Bocas Town.
The shop well organized, and the staff friendly and competent. I asked a
few questions, looked at the rental gear (as I said, we were not there for
diving, and had not brought our gear), and set up a dive for the next day.

While the diving is not world-class (seems the run-off from banana
plantations, etc. has definitely impacted the coral), it was enjoyable
enough. We dove at 'Coral Cay' and 'The Gardens'. Both averaged around 60',
with bottom time of about an hour) Saw a fair amount of small critters
(lobsters, crabs, squid, morays, puffers, and some bristleworms, looking
back at my log) with reasonably decent viz.

However, there was a bonus: it wasn't *just diving. We actually started the
morning doing a little dolphin watching from the boat, before proceeding to
the first dive. After a decent surface interval, we did our second dive.
Upon completion, we then boated over to a beautiful little island, where we
did a bushwalk to observe the endemic red frog. Finally, we ended up at a
spectacular beach for a little swimming and body surfing. Returned to the
shop just a bout dinner time.

How much, you ask? How about $50 bucks for the whole day?

Like I've said, not world-class diving, but a pretty damn fine time, all
things considered.

> Any advice or recommendations for dive shops and hotels will be
> appreciated.

Good experience with Bocas Water Sports, and we stayed at the Hotel Angela.
It's off the main drag, but right on the water. The owner, an expat from
Memphis, was an exceptional host. Excellent on-site restaurant, and very
reasonable. Highly recommended.

> Thanks,

> Sy

Have fun!

EFB

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Jer - 11 Apr 2006 02:28 GMT

>>Would appreciate recommendations for "good" diving locations in Costa
>>Rica (not counting the Coco Islands or Northern Guanacaste Province
[quoted text clipped - 57 lines]
>
> EFB

I think this is the place you're referring to...

http://www.hotelangela.com

Looks pleasantly small and comfortable.

I'd be interested to know what other items of interest may be nearby
besides the hotel and diving.

Signature

jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'

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Eric Berg - 11 Apr 2006 14:30 GMT

>>>Would appreciate recommendations for "good" diving locations in Costa
>>>Rica (not counting the Coco Islands or Northern Guanacaste Province
[quoted text clipped - 67 lines]
>
> Looks pleasantly small and comfortable.

Yep. That's it.
The owner, a gentleman named Claudio, is truly a great guy.
Took excellent care of us during our too-brief visit.

> I'd be interested to know what other items of interest may be nearby
> besides the hotel and diving.

Well, I was only there for a couple of days (had to meet friends arriving in
Costa Rica), so I didn't really get a chance to soak up all that the area
has to offer.

Suffice it to say, the bulk of "items of interest" no doubt revolve around
the water, although Bocas Town seems charming enough, in a very laid back
way.

I must say, the water taxi that ran us out from the mainland (Almirante) was
a highlight in itself.

Starts out as somewhat of an "African Queen" tour, running down a beautiful
river, redolent with tropical smells and abundant flora and fauna (monkeys,
birds, orchids, etc) before hitting the open water out to the islands.

I'll return soon enough, I suspect.
Here's a a few links that might help:

http://www.bocas.com/

http://www.bocasdeltoro.com/

Cheers!

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G Winstanley - 11 Apr 2006 09:01 GMT

> We stopped in at Bocas Water Sports, right on the main drag of Bocas Town.
> The shop well organized, and the staff friendly and competent. I asked a
> few questions, looked at the rental gear (as I said, we were not there for
> diving, and had not brought our gear), and set up a dive for the next day.

I don't remember the name of the operator I used in Bocas, but by
elimination it seems this must be the one. I had a good impression at
first as organisation was efficient, but once it came to the actual
diving I was less impressed by it all. We did two guides dives, the
first of which was guides by a Rescue Diver who kept treading all over
coral and harassing lobsters. The second dive was guides by an Open
Water dive (by his own admission/confession), and he couldn't manage the
group, got himself lost, and lost two people in the group. I'm an
instructor and decided for safety reasons to take over regrouping and
guiding the group, despite the obvious potential liability nightmare. I
decided lives were more important than legalities. Anyway, suffice to
say I am unlikely to dive with them again. Things may have changed since
then, as I definitely made my dissatisfaction known later. So...if
you're qualified and competent it may be fine to dive with them, but
bear in mind that you should have a keen awareness of your own abilities
and not be one of those that likes to rely on others.

That said, after the inevitable hassle of solving someone else's
unnecessary problems, I actually had a nice time. The diving isn't great
over there, but it's still tropical Caribbean reef with a fair number of
interesting things to look at. A shame the guides seem to feel the need
to tread/pull/poke/mangle a fair amount. Personally, if I were there
again I'd take a look at the other (limited number) of operators.

Oh, and I'd definitely find a nice huge plate of lobster pasta too...

Stan

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