Coco Bay (★4.9)
The sandy bottom of the bay in Coco is great for training in the calm conditions. This is a great place to practice rescue skills from the boat, or practice navigation.
Explore Playas del Coco
Located on the west coast of Costa Rica, on the Pacific Ocean, in the Guanacaste Province, is the buzzing beach community Playas del Coco, which is one of the fastest growing holiday destinations in Costa Rica with some of the most exciting diving in the area. This is not the destination to visit if colourful coral reefs are what divers are looking for, but instead, this area has thrilling topography made up of caves, caverns and unique volcanic rock formations and the highlight being the high abundance of pelagic species which visit this area. Despite there being less coral and less ideal visibility, there are still a very high number of fish here to still make every dive exciting.
Dive Sites Show on map
Diving in Playas del Coco
With over 20 dive sites near the coast of Playas del Coco, all around a 10-15 minute boat ride away, there are a lot of different types of diving to be done. There is a cave to explore with sleeping sharks inside at Virador dive site, a small shipwreck and wall formations at Tortuga, coral pinnacles with White Tip Reef Sharks zig zagging through them at Shark Point and many more unique volcanic formations to explore. The diving is all done from speedboats or by the odd liveaboard which visits here. The dive centres and dive resorts here also offer dive courses.
The best Months to Dive in Playas del Coco
The climate here is split into the rainy and dry seasons. The rainy season runs from May to November, which involves showers in the afternoons and windier conditions. October has the most extreme weather, so it is advised not to visit then. The benefit of the rainy season is an increase in nutrients in the water, which attracts larger species, including the thrilling bull sharks. The dry season, from December to April, means calmer waters, better visibility—reaching up to 30 meters/98 feet—and smaller marine species to admire.
Statistics
Dive Activity
Top Wildlife Sightings
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
93 Sightings
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0
F
0
M
3
A
3
M
3
J
16
J
26
A
15
S
1
O
6
N
14
D
6
iStock/Juliosanjuan
Eagle Ray
58 Sightings
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0
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3
M
4
A
0
M
4
J
9
J
16
A
11
S
1
O
2
N
3
D
5
Alamy/Reinhard Dirscherl
Octopus
49 Sightings
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1
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0
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0
A
0
M
3
J
9
J
17
A
12
S
0
O
1
N
6
D
0
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
Green Turtle
14 Sightings
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0
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0
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0
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0
M
2
J
1
J
1
A
0
S
0
O
2
N
7
D
1
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
6 Sightings
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0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
4
A
1
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0
O
1
N
0
D
0
iStock-June Jacobsen
Whitetip Reef Shark
115 Sightings
J
3
F
1
M
7
A
2
M
11
J
13
J
17
A
22
S
4
O
9
N
10
D
16
iStock/Extreme-Photographer
Stingrays
86 Sightings
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0
F
3
M
4
A
2
M
6
J
9
J
18
A
12
S
5
O
6
N
12
D
9
AdobeStock-JirinaVFR
Pufferfish
56 Sightings
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0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
7
J
12
A
10
S
1
O
6
N
15
D
5
iStock-burnsboxco
Parrotfish
42 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
2
A
0
M
2
J
5
J
14
A
5
S
0
O
3
N
8
D
3
Shutterstock-Rich Carey
Angelfish
40 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
4
A
0
M
4
J
4
J
17
A
2
S
0
O
6
N
3
D
0
