Manuelita Island / Costa Rica

Manuelita Island is the very northern dive site of Cocos Island. It is a very attractive and exciting site as one can dive there at both day and night time. Western and eastern hills are slope, while at the inner southern side there is a blossoming coral garden of yellow and orange hard corals. During the day it’s calmer here, although after the dawn divers get into the shark kingdom, where the school night hunting starts.

Location: The South Pacific Ocean, 550km/341mi off the mainland of Costa Rica, near Cocos Island

What to see: Here divers can admire whitetip sharks, hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, mantas, marble rays, tunas, morays, lobsters, turtles, parrotfish, butterflyfish, pufferfish and various reef fish. More rarely whale sharks can be met here.

Depth: 20-35m/65-114ft

Currents: 1-2 knots

Visibility: 10-30m/32-98ft

Season for diving: All year round, while the best visibility is from December to April. The average water temperature is 25-27C/77-81F.