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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Costa Rica

Aggressor Fleet: "Warm Above, Cold Below", Mar, 2018,

by Charles Beilman, CT, US ( 1 report). Report 10190.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments I was looking forward to my week on the Costa Rica Aggressor I. A few days before the trip I received a text saying that the water temperature was 84 degrees. I decided to switch over from cold water neoprene to warm water.

I flew in the day before and spent the night in San Jose at the recommended hotel. I had a pickup scheduled for 2 PM the next day. I go to the lobby at 1:45 and find out that the van had left without us! After some frantic phone calls, we got the van to come back for us. It was a two hour drive to the port in Punta Arenas.

The boat was up to the usual high Aggressor standards. The crew was fantastic. We spend the week at Canos Island, not to be confused with Cocos Island. The first dive was a wakeup call. We back rolled into 84 degree crystal clear water. There was surface current, so we went down the line. Gloves helped a lot. At about 40 feet everything changes. The water temperature dropped to 72 degrees. The water was green with poor vis. The current got worse. If you didn’t catch the line, you would never make it down to the dive site. At the bottom was more current and surges. This made getting around and photography very difficult. The only good news was we could surface anyplace we wanted and the dive skiff would promptly pick us up.

We saw a humpback whale one day from the dive skiff. Several times we saw dolphins from the skiff or the boat. We saw white tip sharks on many of the dives.

Sadly, not only were the diving conditions poor, but we were limited to three dives a day and no night dives. I guess I got spoiled by the warm clear waters of the Caribbean. I loved the boat, the crew, and the fellow passengers.
Websites Aggressor Fleet   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Most of the Caribbean, Palau, Tahiti, Hawaii.
Closest Airport SJO Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp 71-84°F / 22-29°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions We were given a generous max depth and a limit of 60 minutes. Buddy teams could do their own profiles or stick with a group.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales 1 or 2
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments There was poor vis and current/surge on almost every dive. I gave up shooting wide angle and concentrated on macro. There was a good number of small fish, nudibranchs, etc. Gloves are HIGHLY recommended for abrasion protection.
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Subscriber's Comments

By Carol D Cox in FL, US at Apr 13, 2018 18:19 EST  
Hi Chuck - I just posted my review of the same trip and then I found your review. Funny, I mentioned several photographers switched to macro by mid-week, and then you mention that you switched. My report is pretty close to yours. - Carol
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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