Cocos Island Diving Adventure

For Serious Divers

It is a magical trip to one of the most marvelous places to visit in the world. Completely away from civilization, it is a little piece of paradise on earth. The underwaters of Cocos Island National Park has become famous as divers rate it as one of the best places in the world to view large pelagic species such as sharks, rays, tuna and dolphins. The island has been inscribed as one of UNESCO Wolrd Heritage places because of the critical habitats the site provides for marine wildlife.

Activities Experienced

Description

A ten-day diving adventure at Cocos Island, 300 miles offshore of Costa Rica's Pacific coast. A distinctive and remote scuba diving location, Cocos Island is for the serious diver! Cocos Island has retained its pristine appearance both above and below the ocean's surface. Cocos is a very lush, rugged tropical island that is preserved as one of Costa Rica's National Parks. In the waters of Cocos Island, you will dive with white tips and hammerhead sharks, marbled stingrays approaching 6' in diameter, manta rays up to 12' across, giant moray eels and an occasional whale shark! Additionally, you will see Moorish idols, large schools of jacks and tuna, creole fish, lobsters, octopus and other various reef life. Silky sharks, silver tips, sailfish, marlin, and green turtles are also in the area. Visibility averages 80-100' with occasional extremes of 40 and 120'.

The history of Cocos Island is replete with true tales of pirates and explorers. The evidence is everywhere. It can be found in the archives of Spain and England as well as on Cocos itself. For four centuries, adventurers and sailors have left their mark carved in the numerous stones and boulders along the beach of Chatham Bay.

Come an enjoy they best Costa Rica Adventure Tour for experienced divers.

Costa Rica Adventure

Guest Comments about the cruise

- Awesome trip and crew. Got to see some friends from previous trips and make new ones. There are Always surpises in cocos a tresure worth protecting. WE SAW six different types of shark including A Whaleshark…..need I SAW MORE!
Dawn and Mike, USA

Diving Sites

Cocos Island is the tip of an ancient volcanic mountain isolated by the surrounding Pacific Ocean. Because of the isolation, Cocos Island has many endemic species, including 2 lizards, freshwater fish, and hundreds of insects. The flora and fauna, marine and terrestrial are simply amazing. All scuba diving sites in Cocos Island are for advanced divers. There are many, but among the most important are Manuelita Island, Dirty Rock, Shark Fin Rock, Pajara, and Big Dos Amigos.

Manuelita Island - 45 to 150 feet

Dirty Rock - 65 to 150 feet

Shark Fin Rock - 5 to 200 feet

Pajara - 65 to 100 feet

Big Dos Amigos - 65 to 120 feet

Itinerary

To view details click on each slide.

Day 1:

Pick up at airport and transfer to hotel. No activities and no dinners.

You will be met at the airport exit by one of Banana Adventure Tours representatives and accompanied to your hotel in San Jose. The evening is at your leisure. Due to flight schedules in and out of San Jose, the capital city, an overnight stay is recommended both before and after the cruise. Evening at your leisure.

The night before departure a representative of the diving company will inform you at your hotel of your pick up time for transport to the vessel. The evenings onshore are at your leisure. Hotel nights and meals before and after the cruise are not included in the charter, but can be arranged by a Banana Adventure Tours Representative.

Day 2:

Pick up at hotel and transfer to Puntarenas

You will be picked up at your hotel and transferred by bus to Puntarenas, a seaport village where the beautiful cruise called Sea Hunter boards its passengers. On the day of departure to Cocos Island, generally between 8 AM and 1 PM, you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred by Fiesta Tours to Puntarenas, the seaport village where you will board the vessel. The drive takes about 2.5 hours and gives you a chance to view the lush tropical forest and rich farmland of the region. On the way there will be a stop for a snack or lunch. The price of this meal is not included in the price of the trip. At the end of the trip you disembark at 8 AM and will be transferred back to your hotel in San Jose. That afternoon, you will begin the cruise to Cocos Island. the cruise to Cocos Island takes 30-34 hours and culminates with breathtaking views of numerous waterfalls.

Day 3:

All day of travel

There will be ample time to arrange dive and camera gear. The adventure tour for expert divers begins! The cruise gives you an opportunity to get acquainted with the other divers. Located in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, 300 miles southwest of Cabo Blanco, Costa Rica, lies the famous Cocos Island Marine Park. A rugged and incredibly beautiful island, this World Heritage Site is the crown jewel of Costa Rica's many National Parks. Cocos Island has an irregular coastline, which makes estimation of land area more a matter of opinion than a surveyor’s science, but it is roughly five miles by two miles (8 x 3 kilometers).

Day 4 - 10:

Diving time at Cocos Island

Spent diving the pinnacles around the perimeter of Cocos Island. Divers usually average three dives per day at depths of 60-100' or more. Water temperature of approximately 78-82F (27-30C). The island has two large bays with safe anchorages and sandy beaches: Chatham is located on the northeast side and Wafer Bay is on the northwest. Just off Cocos are a series of smaller basaltic rocks and islets. The largest satellite is Isla Manuelita (formerly Nuez). The island also supports a verdant, high-altitude cloud forest. Rare for a small island, this is made possible by dramatic topography, abundant rainfall and surplus water stored in the porous reservoirs of the island itself. This extraordinary island ecosystem is unique to Cocos alone, of all the islands of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (Clipperton, the Revillagigedos, the Galapagos Islands, and Malpelo).

We daily schedule two dives in the morning (8 AM and 11 AM), one in the afternoon (2.30 PM) and a night dive at 6 PM.
After a dive briefing from our Divemasters on the mothership, our guests board the two skiffs that each accommodate up to nine divers plus Divemaster, who always dive with the group and the Skiff Driver. After a short ride, each of the skiffs will reach a different dive site that is switched on the following dive allowing the two groups to dive the same areas but at different times of the day.

Day 11:

Seiling back to Puntarenas

All day to discuss the diving and to compare your adventures!

Arrival in Puntarenas and transfer to San Jose. The cruise will arrive to Puntarenas and immediately after breakfast you will be transported back to San Jose. Upon arrival in San Jose we recommend that you spend an additional hotel night prior to departing from Costa Rica.

Transfer out.
Transfers to the airport will be arranged depending on departure times.

Princing and Dates

PRICE PER PERSON:

$4,435.00 per person. This includes: 11-day / 10-night cruise with all meals, all non-alcoholic drinks and beer; Divemaster service; three to four dives per day with all nitrox fills, tanks and weights. Seven full days of action-packed diving.

Every passenger must pay an additional $245 per person for the Cocos Island National Park fee and $60 per person for Ground Transportation from San José to the pier and return.

The vessel has eight cabins (total capacity of 18 passengers): Three double-bed staterooms with private bath, two triples with private bath, three doubles with a private bath.
Diver facilities are extremely well designed: private camera/strobe storage shelves with individual 110 volts AC power, individual gear storage, a private dryer for clients towels and bathing suits, etc.
The chase boats are superb, two 24' fiberglass cruisers. The crew puts 9 or less divers in each chase boat.
This is a superbly comfortable, stable and spacious vessel, with everything a serious diver/photographer could wish for. While on board the Sea Hunter, you can also take advantage of the opportunity to become a certified nitrox and rebreather diver, which will both extend your bottom time, and allow you to get even closer to the marine life.

NOTE: THESE PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

The dates are set for the trips to Cocos Island; however, there are trips three times a month. Please write to Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla to check the dates and the price. There are 10 days trip and 12 day trips.

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