Scuba Diving Certification in Costa Rica

Situated in between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Costa Rica is bounded by a vast body of water where you can relax and enjoy in this nature-bounty paradise wherein one of the ecotourism activities you can do is scuba diving.

With a bucket-full of dive sites, you will surely be amazed with Costa Rica’s marine resources. For example, the volcanic island of Virador is a haven for large marine life where you can interact with sharks, large stingrays and other fishes like grunts, angelfish and snappers. The colorful reef life of Cocos island should also be equally appealing to you where you can see a pod of whales and a vibrant reef system that has been considered a national marine park. But wait, in order for you to explore this underwater paradise, you must be a certified scuba diver equipped with all the knowledge and skills to safely discover and enjoy the underwater beauty of Costa Rica.

Levels of Scuba Certification

There are different program levels of scuba certification that will equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills allowing you to explore certain dive environments in Costa Rica while maintaining safety and precaution.

These certification programs are being conducted by Certified Instructors and Dive Professionals following international training standards and procedures of Certification Agencies like SSI, CMAS, BSAC, NAUI and PADI being the biggest of them all.

Open Water Scuba Diver

Price Range: USD$ 400 - 500
Days to Complete: 3 to 4 days
Requirements: at least 15 years old, physically fit and comfortable in the water.

      If it’s your first time to go scuba diving, getting certified should be your first step. You can sign-up for the Open Water Scuba Diver Certification Course where you will undergo a three-phase program. First, you will take the knowledge development program by attending lecture and classroom session where you will learn all the principles, theories and scuba diving rules and regulations. The next step is to immerse yourself in a swimming pool through the Confined Water Session where you will practice your underwater skills. Then finally, you will venture out to the sea and perform an Open Water Dive where you can personally see all the descriptions I mentioned earlier.

With regards to the certification fee, it already includes lecture materials, manuals, printed hand-outs, rental of equipment, pool fees, boat and certification card which will come from your certification agency. You must take note though that most dive shops do not include food and accommodation in the package.

After your certification and now being a certified Open Water Scuba Diver, you will have the freedom to explore the beauty of Costa Rica’s underwater environment. But this does not permit you to dive alone and you can only dive within your limitations set forth by your certification level. With this, you can book for a guided tour offered by dive shops and dive companies where experienced dive guides can take you to the popular dive sites in Costa Rica. If you want to indulge yourself in an ultimate relaxing experience, consider signing-up for a dive safari or as they call it a liveaboard cruise. This trip allows you to live onboard for three to five days where you can cover up a bucket full of dive sites and even take you to some of the remote offshore areas in Central America.

Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver

Price Range: USD$ 300 - 400
Days to Complete: 2 to 3 days
Requirements: Must be a certified Open Water Scuba Diver

      While some dive sites in Costa Rica requires an advance level of training, you may consider going to the Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver Certification Course. Taking up this course earns you the skill to go deep diving up to 100 feet (30 meters) as compared to 60 feet (20 meters) maximum depth for Open Water Divers. You can also go night diving where you will be amazed by active nocturnal critters like squids and octopus or the sleeping fishes that rest on cracks and coral crevices. Other skills that will be taught in the course are search and recovery, natural navigation and multi-level diving.

The certification fee includes lecture materials, manuals, gear rental and 5 training dives which include one deep dive and one night dive. You can even arrange for a Specialty Course like Drift Diving, Wreck Diving, Nitrox and Underwater Photography where your instructor will be happy to conduct the training after you have satisfied the required skills for an Advanced Scuba Diver.

Rescue Diver

Price Range: USD$ 400 - 500
Days to Complete: minimum of 3 days
Requirements: must be a certified Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver with a minimum of 20 logged dives

    As you become an experienced diver building up your number of logged dives, you may want to enroll for the Rescue Diver Course where you will be trained how to respond on emergency situations both in surface and underwater. This particular training prepares you how to address panic diver, in distress diver and diver that is unconscious. You can also ask your instructor about a combined training on Rescue diver and Emergency First Response Course where you will also be taught on first aid and CPR.

Divemaster

Price Range: USD$ 500 and above
Days to Complete: Variable
Requirements: must be a certified Rescue Diver and with a minimum age of 18 years old

Dive Master Scuba CertificationIf you have fallen in love with Costa Rica and want to live and work in this wonderful place, you might consider becoming yourself a dive professional. Divemaster is your first step of becoming a professional diver where you can be a dive guide, assistant in diver certification courses or as a staff of a dive shop.

Since the Divemaster program is designed for divers to become professionals in this particular field, the certification fee does not include training materials, manuals and equipment. In short, you should be ready to have your own materials and equipment before enrolling in the course.

Instructor

Price Range: ask your Certifying Agency
Days to Complete: Variable
Requirements: must be a certified Divemaster or Assistant Instructor

      If diving has become your passion, why not teach scuba diving yourself and become a Dive Instructor. After satisfying the Instructor’s Development Course and passing the Instructor’s Examination, you will earn the prestigious Open Water Scuba Instructor where you can simultaneously work, play, enjoy and make the ocean as your official work station.

You should talk in advance to dive centers or fellow instructors as this course is not conducted frequently and is only on a schedule basis. You have to take note that there is a separate fee between the Instructor’s Development Course and the Instructor’s Examination. You can inquire with the certification agency conducting the training as the fees differ from one agency to another.

At the end of the day, one good thing in taking your certification course in Costa Rica, aside from the overall good weather condition and the diversity of marine life, you will be diving in crystal clear waters with underwater visibility ranging from 60 to 100 feet (20 to 30 meters) and a favorable water temperature that ranges from 78 to 84OF (26 to 29 OC). And one last good thing to note: credit cards are widely accepted in Costa Rica.

Tristan Paylado

a.k.a. TRIX, is a Marine Biologist, CMAS 2 Star Dive Instructor and a proficient writer that thinks like an octopus but acts like an Orca.

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