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South East Coast Costa Rica


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#1 auther dent

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Posted 14 August 2012 - 04:29 AM

I'm heading down to South East side of Costa Rica, likely the Limon region, in mid-September to try the Caribbean side of the country for diving. It's the start of the wet season on the West coast and the East side will have better weather and visibility.

Anyone been there to recommend and operator and / or what to join the fun?

Ron

#2 Greg@ihpil

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Posted 14 August 2012 - 05:20 AM

Ron,
I hope you get some answers here.I have been curious and interested in the conditions of this area & country. On the west side ,how long does the wet season last?
Greg
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#3 auther dent

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Posted 15 August 2012 - 07:24 PM

Greg,

The wet season is generally defined as September thru October. I know last year I was home in Costa Rica for 25 days in October and it rained for 21 days of it. The surf was so bad on the beach during this period that we had to suspend the dive trips due to unsafe access to the boats. By November though the weather was back to normal and diving was great again. I had a great weekend of diving in Coco this past 4/5th August before I had to return back to work. We had frog fish, clown shrimp, sea horses, reef sharks, turtles, eagle rays, great southern rays, massive green moray's, spotted tiger eels and so much more between the four (4) dives that it was unbelivable. Water was a nice 85F and air temperature around 92-95F.

If all goes as planned I will be making the trip down to Limon the second week of September. I want to do some Tec Rec courses at the shop when I get back home in September but the Course Director will be out that week so a great opportunity for me to head South East and check out the area. I'll definately leave some feedback here after I get back and let you know what it was like. I've tematively set to dive with Reef Runner Divers (www.reefrunnerdivers.com) while there. You can check out their website if you wish or contact Julia there for more information. She's be great in communicating back and forth with in planning the trip so I expect great things when I get there.

Aren't you on the Honduras Holloween trip? the diving down there last month was great! I didn't get a chance to make it too where the group will be staying but visibilty was extreme and the box fish had just spawned so we had great hunts for the small, pea since young fish when diving. I used Reef Gliders on the West End of the Island for the trips and they were first rate.

Have fun blowing bubbles and let me know when you want to come down for a visit!

Ron

Ron,
I hope you get some answers here.I have been curious and interested in the conditions of this area & country. On the west side ,how long does the wet season last?



#4 Greg@ihpil

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Posted 15 August 2012 - 07:41 PM

Ron, Yes, I am going to Roatan and my son..As for the time of year for Costa Rica..November is usually a time I'd get of Chi town over Turkey time.I'm glad you mentioned the time frame of the wet periods.Everything else about the area sounds great.How are the accomodations?If I can swing a trip in Sept..we'll see.
I'm also going for my 1st Shark dive.........

Greg,

The wet season is generally defined as September thru October. I know last year I was home in Costa Rica for 25 days in October and it rained for 21 days of it. The surf was so bad on the beach during this period that we had to suspend the dive trips due to unsafe access to the boats. By November though the weather was back to normal and diving was great again. I had a great weekend of diving in Coco this past 4/5th August before I had to return back to work. We had frog fish, clown shrimp, sea horses, reef sharks, turtles, eagle rays, great southern rays, massive green moray's, spotted tiger eels and so much more between the four (4) dives that it was unbelivable. Water was a nice 85F and air temperature around 92-95F.

If all goes as planned I will be making the trip down to Limon the second week of September. I want to do some Tec Rec courses at the shop when I get back home in September but the Course Director will be out that week so a great opportunity for me to head South East and check out the area. I'll definately leave some feedback here after I get back and let you know what it was like. I've tematively set to dive with Reef Runner Divers (www.reefrunnerdivers.com) while there. You can check out their website if you wish or contact Julia there for more information. She's be great in communicating back and forth with in planning the trip so I expect great things when I get there.

Aren't you on the Honduras Holloween trip? the diving down there last month was great! I didn't get a chance to make it too where the group will be staying but visibilty was extreme and the box fish had just spawned so we had great hunts for the small, pea since young fish when diving. I used Reef Gliders on the West End of the Island for the trips and they were first rate.

Have fun blowing bubbles and let me know when you want to come down for a visit!

Ron

Ron,
I hope you get some answers here.I have been curious and interested in the conditions of this area & country. On the west side ,how long does the wet season last?


Edited by Greg@ihpil, 15 August 2012 - 07:42 PM.

Greg
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E= pluribus Forum Enjoy the view. ,Do unto others:respect

#5 auther dent

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Posted 15 August 2012 - 10:37 PM

Depending who is traveling with you and the level of comfort you want they have near any type of accomodations you can ask for. For a budget traveling family group I would suggest looking at one of the condo's in the Las Palmas area of Playas del Coco. There's some nice ones that can be had for around $600 / week on two bedroom units. It gives you the added comfort of the living / dining area, a small kitchen area for breakfast or light lunches, they normally have pools and most are only a block or two away from the beach. There's the Pacifico Condo's which are much nicer at around $1,500 per week or there are hotels which will run you around $75 to $125 / night in town. There's also several backpacker accomodations available. November starts the Peak season of the tourist time so prices are a little higher than the rest of the year then.

When you get ready to come let me know and I can also check with the dive shop as they routinely have packages they can offer for dive and accomodations.

I hope you've already done the Shark Specialty in preperation of the dives. It gives you a great level of confindence before entering the water with them. There's nothing like open water diving with sharks, I've been with various reef sharks, bulls, hammer heads, silky, nurse and even tiger sharks. Always a thrill. I won't even begin to explain the thrill of the Whale Shark experiences......

Have fun and keep safe on the trip, I'd join y'all be I'm back at work the 4th October thru 1st November.

Ron


Ron, Yes, I am going to Roatan and my son..As for the time of year for Costa Rica..November is usually a time I'd get of Chi town over Turkey time.I'm glad you mentioned the time frame of the wet periods.Everything else about the area sounds great.How are the accomodations?If I can swing a trip in Sept..we'll see.
I'm also going for my 1st Shark dive.........

Greg,

The wet season is generally defined as September thru October. I know last year I was home in Costa Rica for 25 days in October and it rained for 21 days of it. The surf was so bad on the beach during this period that we had to suspend the dive trips due to unsafe access to the boats. By November though the weather was back to normal and diving was great again. I had a great weekend of diving in Coco this past 4/5th August before I had to return back to work. We had frog fish, clown shrimp, sea horses, reef sharks, turtles, eagle rays, great southern rays, massive green moray's, spotted tiger eels and so much more between the four (4) dives that it was unbelivable. Water was a nice 85F and air temperature around 92-95F.

If all goes as planned I will be making the trip down to Limon the second week of September. I want to do some Tec Rec courses at the shop when I get back home in September but the Course Director will be out that week so a great opportunity for me to head South East and check out the area. I'll definately leave some feedback here after I get back and let you know what it was like. I've tematively set to dive with Reef Runner Divers (www.reefrunnerdivers.com) while there. You can check out their website if you wish or contact Julia there for more information. She's be great in communicating back and forth with in planning the trip so I expect great things when I get there.

Aren't you on the Honduras Holloween trip? the diving down there last month was great! I didn't get a chance to make it too where the group will be staying but visibilty was extreme and the box fish had just spawned so we had great hunts for the small, pea since young fish when diving. I used Reef Gliders on the West End of the Island for the trips and they were first rate.

Have fun blowing bubbles and let me know when you want to come down for a visit!

Ron

Ron,
I hope you get some answers here.I have been curious and interested in the conditions of this area & country. On the west side ,how long does the wet season last?



#6 Greg@ihpil

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Posted 16 August 2012 - 05:35 AM

Morning Ron,
I didn't even know PADI had such a spec.I would think it's book work?Won't find any here ......
I did get a book & trying to learn their body language & parts of the body.
Thanks for all the tips.
Greg
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E= pluribus Forum Enjoy the view. ,Do unto others:respect




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