Go Diving In Costa Rica This Summer!
Summer brings rainy season in Costa Rica. While this isn’t what the normal tourist is generally looking for, divers aren’t normal tourists. We enjoy the water, getting wet, and breathing as much of our daily intake of air underwater. So what does a little rain on the surface hurt? Your answer. Nothing.
Rainy season brings with it both warmer waters and better visibility on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Also of note for divers is much calmer seas which allows for daily crossings to Bat Islands to dive with the beautiful bull sharks and for chances at pacific giant manta sightings as well as the occasional whale shark or other big pelagic.
It used to be thought that bull sharks weren’t present at the Bat Islands during the dry months from December through April. This myth was debunked only about 7 years ago when a local shop Rocket Frog Divers, were equipped with a boat that could make the crossing year round. They discovered that the bull sharks are certainly still there, however, the visibility is often quite limited and you can quite often miss the sharks even though they may only be 20-30 feet from you.
Rainy season also allows you to see what the beautiful Pacific Coast looks like in it’s lush and green state. It really is a land of extremes, as the coastline receives virtually no rain from December through late April. All of the fauna dries up, turns brown, and large forest or field fires seem to be a near daily occurrence. Once the rains begin, the coast quickly transforms. Mountain sides quickly turn from brown to green, flowers come out in all colors, and horses and cows who only weeks before looked close to starvation, suddenly look healthy!
Normal tourists though don’t like rain. This is why many hotels are operating at 20% capacity or lower. As hotel occupancy and pricing goes down we scuba divers reap the benefits!
This year we are still hoping to get a group dive trip together to Costa Rica in October near the end of rainy season. Weather this time of year should include mostly sunny days, followed by afternoon downpours and then are quite often accompanied by magnificent thunderstorms which occur in the mountains of Santa Rosa National Park. If you are lucky enough to have an oceanview room they really can be quite impressive.
September and October are also the best months for viewing migrating humpback whales. They visit the Gulf de Papagayo to give birth. It is not uncommon to see mothers and their calves. Most of the time these sightings occur on surface intervals where you will have the chance to snorkel with these great marine mammals and watch from a safe distance.
If you are interested in joining our trip this October, please follow this link. Please wait to book your flights until we confirm we have enough for a group which we will do on or before July 4th.