Quepos & Manuel Antonio

Apart from shore clean-up dives, all the diving here is from a boat. Oceans Unlimited, a PADI Gold Palm centre that also takes snorkellers out, runs its half-day local trip from its shop in the Quepos marina, and the ride to the sites inside Manuel Antonio National Park takes 10 to 20 minutes. Rica Freedivers also runs daily trips for certified divers. Dives are led by PADI professionals who know the sites and their marine life.

The sites are volcanic rock heavily grown with soft coral, a mix of canyons, sand patches and pinnacles. Geo's Ridge and Canyon Reef are built around canyons, the latter running parallel to Isla Larga. Fish are plentiful, with octopus, moray eels, starfish, lobsters, whitetip reef sharks and turtles, and the range runs from tiny nudibranchs to big long-tail stingrays. Thermoclines are most common in February and March, and the colder water tends to bring in more stingrays.

Most of the diving off the park has mild current with strong surge, so it suits divers with some experience, though a couple of protected sites serve beginners. Pixie Rock, at 6 to 12 m (20 to 40 ft) with almost no current, suits less experienced divers, and uncertified visitors can join after a Discover Scuba Diving course. Visibility depends on the rain: two river mouths lie close by, so green-season rain cuts it to 4 to 10 m, and the clearest water comes between December and April. Caño Island, around 45 minutes by car from Manuel Antonio and then 45 minutes by boat, is the longer day trip on this coast.