Which section of Costa Rica

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Ginny Sher - 26 Oct 2005 22:30 GMT

We are in the midst of planning our Costa Rican holiday in December.
We'll be in CR for apx. 3 weeks and want to dive on the west coast.

Questions:

1- Is the NW coast better or worse than the SW coast? It will
determine how many days we stay in each location. We plan on staying
3 and 5 days respectively, depending on the quality of diving

2- Any dive operators/resorts you can recommend in each area?

3- We've been using Polartec fleeces for our warm water diving, but
both of us tend to get a little chilled after 45-60 minutes, even in
80° waters. It sounds like the water temps in CR are slightly cooler
than this. Any first hand experience?

Many thanks and replies by email greatly appreciated.

Ginny

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Jer - 27 Oct 2005 02:09 GMT

> We are in the midst of planning our Costa Rican holiday in December.
> We'll be in CR for apx. 3 weeks and want to dive on the west coast.
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> Ginny

IMO, the diving in the NW is cumbersome due to the crowds and surface
runoff, but that's where the hotels and electricity are.

I perfer the SW, especially in the Corcavado area, because there's
almost nothing there, and I like it that way.

I use a 3mm full in comfort. My logs are somewhere in Coz, so I have no
details for the NW, but google Drake Bay for SW.

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Ginny Sher - 27 Oct 2005 15:42 GMT

>> We are in the midst of planning our Costa Rican holiday in December.
>> We'll be in CR for apx. 3 weeks and want to dive on the west coast.

snip

>IMO, the diving in the NW is cumbersome due to the crowds and surface
>runoff, but that's where the hotels and electricity are.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>I use a 3mm full in comfort. My logs are somewhere in Coz, so I have no
>details for the NW, but google Drake Bay for SW.

How did you get there? (We're driving... is that a mistake?). Who did
you dive with? The pricing on hotels seem really high, was this your
experience too?

Thanks,
Ginny

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Jer - 28 Oct 2005 03:22 GMT

>>>We are in the midst of planning our Costa Rican holiday in December.
>>>We'll be in CR for apx. 3 weeks and want to dive on the west coast.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> Thanks,
> Ginny

You can drive to many places in the NW, but driving isn't something I
like to do, preferring a bus, taxi, or thumb. I don't remember the dive
outfit, but it was near the camp I stayed at Sept 04. I took a bus from
Belize to San Jose CR, and another one to Alajuela, and thumbed it to
Jaco, a pleasant little town on the coast. Camped for two weeks, dove
several times with a local place that had rental kit. I enjoyed the
quiet natural of the area, working off my room, food and diving by
gathering palm leaves for new roofs.

In the SW, I've camped at Drake Bay several times. I don't think
driving there is possible because I'm unaware of any roads. The only
wheels I saw were on a bicycle. Herbert (IIRC) runs DB, and he made the
arrangements after I emailed him in San Jose. I caught a supply charter
at the small airport in San Jose - it does weekly flights to Drake Bay -
expect severe weight limits depending on the supply load. Once the
plane has mudded down, locals provide a horse to get to the river, and
then a small boat to get to the Pacific coast, where Herb's boat will
eventually come by. There are a few cabins that appeared comfortable,
but a small tent is my ticket. Again, absolute quietness surrounds the
natural setting, food is fresh grown or caught in the nearby river. The
only electic service is a CNG generator for a few hours a day (remember
the resupply plane?). A horse is usually available nearby to use for a
day under the canopy, and a river canoe to watch the crocs watching you.
Diving at Isla de Cano is an extinct volcano off the tip of the Osa
Penninsula - it's a mini Cocos type area. During one stay I hooked up
with a few other buds for a three day rafting trip which provided enough
fun to almost kill me (a 'waterfall ahead' sign or someone on the bank
waving frantically would've helped). BTW, taking a DCS hit down there
isn't recommended - if you survive the wait for air evac (assuming the
sat phone still works), Panama is the only place with a chamber that
doesn't include mountains to get there. Have fun.

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