ISLAS CATALINAS – CATALINA ISLANDS
When you talk about diving in Costa Rica, Catalina Island is a very good opportunity to dive with the Pacific Giant Manta Rays. The islands are about 20 miles / 30 km south of Playas del Coco. Our boat will take you there in less than an hour! These dive sites are more advanced due to surge, stronger currents and rougher surface conditions. The Catalina Islands are non anchored dives, thus reserved for more advanced divers, used to drift and deep dives.
Our dive trips consist of two dives, each in a different dive site (3 tank trips can be organized). For trips to the Catalina Islands, the boat departs at 7:30 am and usually returns around 1:30 pm.
As well we offer beach pickups by boat from the following Resorts: RIU Guanacaste, Bosque del Mar, Occidental Papagayo, El Mangroove, Casa Conde del Mar, Secrets Papagayo, Andaz Peninsula Papagayo and Four Seasons.
You’ll reach the dive sites with one of our four diveboats, the Lady Blue; (14 divers), Colonia Claudia; (13 divers), Novesia; (9 divers), Marisol; (6 divers). Each boat is equipped with sunroof, marine radio, gps, oxygen kit, first aid kit and a cooler full of drinks and fresh fruits!
The following is a sampling of Catalina Islands dive sites:
La Pared – The Wall (40-70ft)
A stimulating shark channel will give you a glimpse of the whitetip reef sharks that call this area home. Once we cross the channel, we move towards the northwest passing through octocoralized pinnacles to fly with the giant blankets, the eagle rays and the cow rays schools.
Level: advanced, sometimes current
La Punta – The Point (40-110ft)
This dive is a relaxed way to navigate looking for the giant stingrays. Here are two large cleaning stations. You can often find white tip reef sharks in the depths. We descend freely here in the shallow waters of the main island and let the current take us south to the deepest waters.
Level: advanced, sometimes current
