Scalloped hammerhead sharks, reef sharks, mobula rays & marble rays
Fly to San Jose, Costa Rice. Live-aboards depart from Puntarenas for the 36-hour crossing to Cocos.
July through September has poorer weather but better action
Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Aggressor Fleet (aggressor.com), Undersea Hunter (underseahunter.com)
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Diving opportunities in Alcyone, Costa Rica are available.
By Michele Westmorland (Adapted from "passport to diving the world")
One of the well-known places to see schools of hammerheads.
Cocos is well-known for its amazing schools of hammerheads. This is the prime reason to get on one of the live-aboards and travel some 36-40 hours from the mainland of Costa Rica to the Pacific's Jurassic Park. Alcyone, named after the famed vessel used in several of Jacque Couteu's expeditions, is a tricky site to dive. Strong currents and the fact that it's 30m just to reach the top of the reef make the experience even more exciting. The trick to getting up close with the hammerheads is tucking in to one of the craggy outcroppings away from the other divers. Lots of bubbles and movement keep the hammerheads from coming into their spot to be cleaned by the barberfish. Controlled breathing and staying low is the best way to look eye-to-eye with this great shark.
(Ok enough with the stories, I'm itchin' for a dive)