Scuba Dive Isla Uvita (Limon)

Isla Uvita, just off from Limon, Costa Rica.

Despite Costa Rica’s well-developed tourism industry, especially with regard to its natural beauty and animal life, the Caribbean side of the country has only just started to develop its potential as a destination for tourists interested in scuba diving.

Cahuita isn’t the only great spot for scuba on Costa Rica’s Caribbean shore. One of the stars of Costa Rica’s scuba diving scene is just offshore from Costa Rica’s second largest city, Limon. The small island of Uvita has a wealth of natural beauty and undersea life that can be seen while diving. Check out a great set of photos of the island here: Isla Uvita Photos.

Isla Uvita is also most famous for the first landing spot of Christoper Colombus, who anchored here in 1502 and gave Costa Rica its name, meaning “rich coast” after seeing native people wearing gold earrings. He mistakenly believed that a wealthy empire must lay inland, and many gold-chasers came to Costa Rica later, and were disappointed to find little “oro” (gold in Spanish).

You may have heard about The Phoenix, which is a Costa Rica wreck dive off of Uvita. The Phoenix sank several years ago and now attracts both fish and divers.

Isla Uvita also is known as a decent surf spot, and when the surf is up on the Caribbean side, surfers will come here to ride a few waves before heading down to the even more famous Salsa Brava in Puerto Viejo.

How to get there:

Isla Uvita is only accessible by boat, a twenty minute trip (one kilometer) from the mainland in Limon. There are no tourist facilities here. No hotels, no restaurants, and not even any water. Still, people camp out here occasionally although technically it’s not legal.

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