We do more than Ocean & Rainforest Adventures.
Check out our Cocos – Island of the Sharks Adventure! →

Ocean & Rainforest Adventures

August – Mid-September

2024 Dates Coming Soon
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8 Days / 7 Nights

US$2,500 pp. dbl occ.

Destination Overview

Ocean & Rainforest Adventures

Oceans and rainforest? What the heck kind of trip is that? Is it something new? YES! Both diving and experiencing Costa Rican rainforest and national parks, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet.

We have captains, cruise directors and dive guides with decades of experience in Costa Rica, and they tell us that there is more to the diving than Cocos, island of the sharks. Cocos is fantastic, of course, and we have only 5 berths still open on our August 30, 2023, 11-day, 10-night departure. But there are some diving on the Pacific side of the mainland that is legendary in a different way. Bat Island is famous for its bull sharks. The Catalina islands are close by and great diving. Caino island down south is known for sharks, rays and reef and pelagic fish. are going to encounter. We’ll have our eyes open, have drinks ready for sunset cocktail hour, and we have discounted these first trips to ensure that no matter what, they are a great value.

Summer is peak season with the best visibility, visiting humpback whales, dolphins, nesting turtles, and much more. The beauty of these trips is that each one is an adventure with a flexible itinerary and a super experienced captain who will maximize your experience based on the animals and weather.

But wait, there’s more! As well as diving, there will be ample opportunity for shoreside exploration guided by a local expert naturalist with a special focus on the Osa Peninsula, home to one of the richest tropical ecosystems anywhere including monkeys, lizards, parrots, toucans, hawks, sloths, iguanas and much much more. Kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming with our swimming coach, relaxing on pristine sand beaches or soaking it all in from your hot tub with a beverage of choice make this a dive experience unlike any other in Costa Rica. Precise itinerary dependent on our captain and naturalists assessment and optimization of animal sightings and weather.

DATES & RATES

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COMPLIMENTARY HOLD

Sample Itinerary

Sample Itinerary – North Route

Highlights

Bats and cats. Diving for the bull sharks of Bat Island and exploring the Catalina Islands.
Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve – northern range of the rainforest.
Peak season for humpback whales.

Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!!
On arrival at SJO (San José international airport), we recommend checking in to the Marriott Hotel Hacienda Belen to rest, refresh, and head out for some local adventures prior to meeting at our hospitality suite on the day of boarding. Our Cabo based concierges are on standby prior to your trip to assist with pre-trip questions and hotel reservations. SJO gets very busy when the international flights arrive, and while we can prearrange transfers with pleasure, it’s generally easier to hire a local taxi outside the arrivals hall.

Day 1: 4 pm – Meet at our hospitality suite at the Marriott hotel San Jose for transfer to board your ship in Puntarenas with your crew standing by with champagne to welcome you onboard. Cocktail hour. Dinner. Overnight sail north to Guanacaste.

Days 2 – 5: Lots of diving and exploring the Catalina and Bat Islands. We expect to see white tip reef sharks, free-swimming eels, giant schools of jacks and grunts, octopus. Loads of puffer fish, sting rays, eagle rays and more along with some very cool topography. The highlight is our search for bull sharks. These are very BIG sharks of course and we are in peak season for them. This is more than just a dive trip and our onboard naturalist will be on the lookout for the best places to go ashore to experience the magic of Costa Rica.

Days 6 – 7: Diving Isla Cabo Blanco, Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve, and Curu national park. Diving and water activities of course. But this is when we will spend a lot more ashore. Hiking trails with our naturalist. Beautiful beaches. Gigantic trees draped with vines, exotic flowers, strange seedpods, birds (lots of birds). Butterflies. Eyes open for howler and capuchin monkeys up in the canopy. Coati (racoon like animals), families of white faced monkeys.

We’re not allowed to go ashore on Isla Cabo Blanco as it’s a bird sanctuary but it’s good for panga touring and the topography is very interesting for diving.

Curu is unique in being a privately owned carefully protected wildlife reserve with beautiful beaches, extensive mangroves and hiking trails with commonly seen parrots, herons, egrets, hawks, and 3 species of monkeys. Scarlet macaws have been reintroduced. Present in the area but very lucky to see animals includes ocelots, big cats, coyotes, and ant eaters.

Day 8: Breakfast and 7:30 am transfer from Puntarenas to San Jose International Airport in time for most international flights that depart between 11:30 am and 2 pm.

But wait!!! Your option to stay onboard for a second week visiting the South of Costa Rica or stay with us for a trip out to Cocos Island of the sharks.

Sample Itinerary – South Route

Highlights

Quepos (Manuel Antonio National Park)
Caño Island diving
Drake Bay – beautiful white sand beaches
Corcovada National Park – untamed rainforest
Humpback whale country

Day 2: Diving and exploring ashore Manuel Antonio national park. Pinnacle diving. Shark caves. Walls and rock ridges. Summer is when the waters at Quepos are nutrient rich making this the best time of the year to see sharks, stingrays, eagle rays, eels and massive schools of jacks and snappers. This is also our first chance to go ashore in the rainforest where we might see white face monkeys, coati, sloths and if we are lucky, scarlett macaws.

Days 3 – 5: Caño island and some very good diving. It’s possible to see great hammerhead sharks here and sometimes even bull sharks. Mobula and cow nose rays. Southern sting rays. White and black tip reef sharks. Moray eels. Schooling barracuda and loads of reef fish. Coral reefs. Mix of pinnacle, walls and drop-offs.

Day 6: Corcovado National Park. This is our day to explore one of the most pristine parks in Costa Rica including beautiful deserted white sand beaches, old growth forests and chance for rarely seen animals. It’s wet, rugged and remote. It’s the only place in Costa Rica where you can see 4 different species of monkeys including the highly endangered red back squirrel monkey. Our naturalist will be keeping a sharp lookout for wild pigs, tapirs, scarlett macaws, sloth and crocodiles in the largest mangroves in Central America. We won’t see them all but there are 40 species of frogs in the park, more than 100 species of butterflies and more than 400 species of birds including 16 species of hummingbirds. This is the fantasy place where we can skiff you in for a hike in the rainforest to emerge on a beautiful sand beach complete with waterfall and your crew waiting with skiff and cold drinks and snacks.

Day 7: Diving Isla Cabo Blanco, Cabo blanco nature reserve. Diving and water activities of course. But this is when we will spend a lot more ashore. Hiking trails with our naturalist. Beautiful beaches. Gigantic trees draped with vines, exotic flowers, strange seedpods, birds (lots of birds). Butterflies. Eyes open for howler and capuchin monkeys up in the canopy. Coati (racoon like animals), families of white faced monkeys.

We’re not allowed to go ashore on Isla Cabo Blanco as it’s a bird sanctuary but it’s good for panga touring and the topography is very interesting for diving.

Day 8: Breakfast and 7:30 am transfer from Puntarenas to San Jose International Airport in time for most international flights that depart between 11:30 am and 2 pm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ocean & Rainforest – FAQs

Diving

What dive experience is needed?
We cater to divers of all experience levels, self reliance and physical fitness. Most diving is with our dive guides in which case you need to have the solid skills of an open water certified diver including good buoyancy controls. Experienced and self reliant divers are welcome to “do their own thing”. Private or group dive mastering is available by prior request for those who are less comfortable with their open water skills. Please note: that unless a divemaster has been prearranged for, we only provide dive guiding with solid and informative briefings, in-water critter pointing and assistance with navigation. While our dive guides are all certified and experienced instructors, they are not providing “dive mastering”.

Do I need to dive with a dive guide?
Depends entirely on your experience, self reliance and physical fitness.

What are your safety protocols?
Safety, excellence in guest experience and happy staff and crew are the cornerstones of our business. Nothing is more important than your safety. At Nautilus, we are proud to be the only dive operation in the world with ISM certification and external annual audit of an SMS (Safety Management System). This is the same certification as the largest cruise ships on the oceans. We operate within written processes, procedures and checklists that our captains and crew are trained into both initially and annually. Every dive starts with a briefing on a white board. We require that all divers carry LifeLines marine rescue GPS, SMBs and dive alerts. We will loan you one of ours if you are missing any of this safety equipment. We carry AEDs and extensive medical kits with a contract medical officer available shoreside via our sophisticated satellite communication system.

Is there nitrox onboard?
Yes, and it’s highly recommended for all divers. The cost is US$ 120 per trip.

Water temperature?
78- 82 °F (27 – 28 °C).

Are the boats camera friendly?
YES, VERY! Ask about rental cameras and photo pro services.

Travel

What airport do I fly into?
SJO is the code for the Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría. Please note there is a San José airport in California so please use the airport code.

How do I get to the ship?
Your job is to please get to our hospitality suite at the Marriott. Our job is to look after everything following including seamless transfer to your awaiting ship in Puntarenas.

What time can I board the ship?
Shortly after your shuttle arrives from the Marriott hotel in San Jose. Typically between 5:30 and 6 pm depending on traffic.

What time do we disembark?
07:30 am shuttle transfer to San José International airport or the Marriott if you will be staying in Costa Rica for more adventure. Most international flights depart between 11:30 am and 2 pm so this timing gets you there in good time.

What dive gear do I need to bring?
We provide aluminum 80 cu. ft tanks and weightbelts. Larger steel rental cylinders are available. 5 mm wetsuit recommended to avoid losing body core temp during multiple days of repetitive diving. It’s always better to layer down rather than be cold with no options. We have rentals onboard by prior arrangement for almost anything you need. Please make any rental requests as early as possible.

What to Expect

What’s the weather like and what clothes should I bring?
Well, it’s the rainy season in the tropics!! We recommend casual and cool attire onboard (t-shirt and shorts). It can be drizzly in the afternoons and we recommend bringing a windbreaker and a fleece vest or sweater just in case. Make sure you bring good shoes if you are interested in going ashore for a hike. It’s spectacular onshore. Just wait until you see the waterfalls!

Is there internet and WhatsApp onboard?
Yes. Internet and WhatsApp connection are available for $120 per trip. Please keep in mind that a satellite tracking system at sea only gives limited speed internet access. You won’t be able to stream Netflix!!

What are the sea conditions like? Will it be rough?
There is one night with a short ocean crossing on these trips. That’s it and it will be an adventure. It might be smooth and calm. Or sometimes not in which case the captain will adjust the itinerary to give you the smoothest ride possible. The rest of the trip should be in quite calm sheltered waters. The Explorer is our flagship that has sailed through everything, from the current swept chilly waters of Alaska to adventuring down to Clipperton Atoll, just north of the equator. We always recommend the scopolamine “patch” and a cocktail to help relax onboard.

Is there a fuel surcharge?
Of course not! We figure that dive boat companies that with fuel, surcharges year-in, year-out are just taking an extra fee onto the trip.

What is NOT included in the trip price?
Our ambition is to keep your trip price as low as possible with a la carte options to cater to everyone’s personal choices. Crew gratuities are not included. Neither are rentals, nitrox, internet connection, bar charges, and gift shop purchases.

What fees do I have to pay?
We keep any extra fees to the bare minimum. 5% tax on your trip fee. That’s it!

What’s an appropriate crew tip?
US$ 400 – $500.