We have a friend who owns a vacation home in Costa Rica and he offered to let us use it. The house is located in Tamarindo near the beach. We chose a week in January and went as a group of six. Three of us are scuba divers and the other three are non-divers. It was intended as an adventure trip to do some exploring around the country and squeeze in some diving when possible. We flew to Liberia, rented an SUV, and drove to Tamarindo, which we used as our base.

The next day, we made a 1 hour drive to Playas del Coco and found a dive shop right on the main street to take us out on their boat. They suggested the Catalina Islands because there was a good chance to see Giant Pacific mantas. We were the only ones on the boat and after about a 1 hour ride, we hit the water in search of our elusive quarry. About 10 minutes into the dive, we had our first sighting, a 15 footer that snuck up from behind and passed us within near touching distance. What a thrill to have such a close encounter! Throughout the rest of the dive, we saw several more giants coming, going, and circling around us in very near proximity. It was a shame our exhilarating dive had to end. When we got to the surface, we couldn't contain our excitement. Once we were back on the boat, our divemaster told us that after the surface interval, we would move to a site with a cleaning station, in hopes that we would see more mantas up close and personal. We weren't disappointed. We settled in behind a rock outcropping and waited, hoping a manta would show up. It didn't take long. An 18 footer swam up to within a few feet of us and hovered in place while being tended to by several fish picking bits off the manta. After several minutes, it moved on but it wasn't long before another showed up. It was a repeat of the same show. In all, we saw three different mantas come to the cleaning station during the dive. It was truly a day to remember and we had a lot to talk about during the hour boat ride back to Playas del Coco and the hour drive back to Tamarindo. We decided it was worth the drive to return the next day.

When we returned to the shop, it was decided that we would dive in the Golfo de Papagayo whose sites are much closer and only about a 20-minute boat ride. We went to a site called Meros, a small pinnacle. The visibility here wasn't as good as the previous day, but we were rewarded with schools of grunts, moray eels, some nudibranchs, and some large groupers. The second dive was a site called Monkey's Head, a large rock that resembles the head of a gorilla. It was mostly typical marine life seen in the area, but we did see a squadron of spotted eagle rays. That definitely made this dive a winner. We only dove 2 days but would like to return to dive the Bat Islands for a chance to see bull sharks.

The rest of our trip was devoted to topside activities. We set off for the town of La Fortuna. This isn't a day trip so we stayed at a great hotel just outside of town. From here we were easily able to visit La Fortuna Waterfall for a good part of the day and a wonderful thermal resort on a day pass to enjoy their incredible hot springs. This was all in the shadow of Arenal Volcano. We continued to Monteverde National Park to hike in the cloud forest, cross hanging bridges, listen to howler monkeys in the trees, and zip line over the jungle canopy.

We returned to our base in Tamarindo where we relaxed on the beach and one of our friends spent the day surfing. The last thing we did was a night tour to Marino las Baulas National Park, which is a leatherback turtle nesting area. It is required that you be guided by a park ranger for the safety of the turtles and their nests. It is definitely worth the visit to see these majestic turtles on the beach.

Bottom line: Costa Rica is a real nature lover's delight. The diving was really great and way better than we thought it would be, the topside activities are fantastic, the food is delicious, and the people are warm and welcoming.

I have traveled to Bonaire twice. Once I stayed in a private villa and did one day of boat diving and 6 days of shore diving. We used a dive operator that has several locations around the island for exchanging tanks. We had a rental pickup truck and drove from one dive site to the next. The dive sites in Bonaire are marked by yellow rocks next to the roadside. It was easy to make 4 dives a day and a night dive.

The second time, I stayed at a dive resort and did mostly boat diving, with a couple of shore dives . These dives were at Bonaire and Klein Bonaire. Three dives a day and a couple of night dives in front of the resort. Bonaire is famous for large baitballs and we also saw frogfish, seahorses, and all the usual critters.

Many dive operators and dive resorts are available to choose from. There are also plenty of hotels, condos, and private villas for rent. Kralendijk is the main town and capital. This is where you’ll find the majority of shops and restaurants, including our favorite, a Mediterranean one serving delicious food. The town can be very crowded if a cruise ship is in port.

On non-diving days, a visit to Washington Slagbaai National Park is an interesting diversion if you have a sturdy vehicle. The windward side of the island also draws windsurfers from all over. The population is mostly locals and Dutch expats. Everyone was super friendly and the island seemed to be really safe. Be sure to pick up some salt produced here. It’s very good and does taste different than ordinary salt. We will be glad to return at any time.