Deep Diving in the Offshore Pinnacles of Veinte Seis, Costa Rica

Do you think you have explored all the dive sites of Costa Rica? Wait until you get to an offshore reef miles away from the mainland.

Discovered by fishermen, Veinte Seis first become popular as a haven for sports fishing where everyone who visits this remote area is guaranteed to go home with a good catch. Divers alike explored this far-flung reef and went back home with some good diving experience and memories. As the news spread, Veinte Seis has been frequently visited by divers seeking the ultimate thrill and underwater adventure and has become one of the few dive sites in Costa Rica that demands higher level of training and certification.

Site Description of Veinte Seis

Rising above the continental shelf of the Central American plate, Veinte Seis is located 26 miles (41.8 kilometers) southwest off the coast of mainland Costa Rica, thus giving its name. Quepos in Puntarenas Province is its nearest point having a distance of 22 miles (35.4 kilometers). The site is one gigantic pinnacle rising from the seafloor and tops off with a reef plateau. Regardless of tidal level, the entire dive site is totally submerged underwater where you need to plunge down at 95 feet to reach the topmost part of the reef.

The Dive Profile

Type of Diving: Deep Diving
Minimum Certification Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
Average Depth: 29 meters (95 feet)
Maximum Depth: 42.7 meters (140 feet)
Visibility: more than 30 meters (100 feet)
Current: 1 – 2 knots
Features: Healthy reef, pinnacles and huge schools of fish
Other Requisites: Must have your own dive computer
Optional: Enriched Air Nitrox Diving

Once your dive boat arrives at Veinte Seis, you will go down and descend to 95 feet to reach to reef plateau. You will perform an anchor line descent where you need to hold the line as the currents is usually strong. Once at the bottom, you will be amazed by its healthy reef system with rock pinnacles protruding while being surrounded with a thick school of snappers, wahoo, jacks, tunas and other big pelagic fishes.

The good thing with Veinte Seis is the excellent visibility brought about by its remoteness. Compared to the dive sites near the mainland, you can get an instant 30 meters (100 feet) visibility which is categorized as crystal clear. You can even maximize your deep diving experience by going down at the sandy bottom reaching the maximum depth set for recreational diving at 42.7 meters (140 feet) where you can usually see large manta rays.

Be warned though, as the site has also become popular with fishermen, abandoned fishing lines and nets can be found all over the area. So give extra caution to prevent possible entanglement.

Dive Companies offering Trips to Veinte Seis

Please be reminded that not all dive companies in Costa Rica offer offshore diving trips to Veinte Seis. Here are some scuba outfitters who offers this adventurous trip:

Oceans Unlimited

Phone: +506-2519-9544 or +1 407 385 6598
Email: dive@scubadivingcostarica.com
Website: http://www.scubadivingcostarica.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oceansunlimited.costarica

For more information, you can read our related article about Oceans Unlimited.

Mystic Dive Center

Phone: +506 2786 5217
Email: mysticdive@yahoo.com
Website: http://www/mysticdivecenter.com

For more information, you can read our related article about Mystic Dive Center.

Regardless of the dive company you choose, the trip to Veinte Seis will take at least an hour’s boat ride where it usually leaves at 7:30 am. An option for diving in Veinte Seis is the use of nitrox. If you are not planning to reach the sandy bottom and stay only at the reef top, then you can arrange with your scuba outfitter the use of Nitrox32 where it gives you an extended bottom time at 95 to 105 feet, provided you have earned a Specialty course in Nitrox Diving.

After your trip to Veinte Seis, do not forget to fill out your dive logs where a good description that you can place in the remarks is “Diving the off-beaten site of Costa Rica”.

Video courtesy from Oceans Unlimited & Go Pro Costa Rica