Dive Review of Resort Divers De Costa Rica/Allegro Papagayp in
Costa Rica/Guanacaste

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Resort Divers De Costa Rica/Allegro Papagayp, Jan, 2004, by Jacki Briggs, PA, USA . Report 913.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Day 1 Thursday - Half day costal Fishing with Resort Divers. Arranged prior to arrival via email with owner Viviane. Captain and First Mate - Negro picked us up on Black Sand Beach in front of our hotel at 8:30. The resort they are based out of is across the bay. Covered 28 foot boat - no bathroom, equipped with outriggers. Rather uneventful morning. No live bait on board. We fished for live bait - which was caught late in the morning, then trolled for Rooster Fish. No luck. Water was calm in the bay, rougher when towards ocean. Enjoyable way to spend first morning. Staff was pleasant. 4 of us were comfortable on boat. Day 2 Friday- FirLocal Diving with Resort Divers. Again all arranged prior to arrival in Costa Rica. Again picked us up in front of resort at 8:30. First Dive was not so good, in comparison to the rest of the trip - can't remember the name - vis was 20 feet or so. My parents first Ocean Dive (they got certified in a quarry in Pennsylvania in Sept '03). Dive Master Sergio - was excellent, attentive - reassuring. Second Dive - Monkey Head. Excellent - white tipped reef shark, lots of life, 2 large sting ray. Better Vis. Day 3 Saturday - Upgraded to Catalina Dive. Manta's Manta's Manta's. So Cool. Big ones - 16-22 feet wide. Took 45 minutes to get there. 2 of us went - others stayed at resort pool. Excellent! On way there - we came across 4 humpback whales, attempted to snorkel with them, but they weren't interested. First Catalina Location - great spot for Manta's. Saw 4 or 5. One came very close, other sea life as well - interesting star fish, etc. Second Catalina Dive - kinda drift dive. Went with current - boat followed over head. Again Sergio with Resort Divers was excellent. The captain permitted my father to fish on surface interval - provided some entertainment for the rest of us. Day 4 - Sunday - Local Dives again. All 4 of us went. Excellent Day. 1st Dive Spot -2 Loggerhead Turtles, 2 White tipped Reef Sharks, abundance of sea life. 2nd Dive Spot - Monkey Head - excellent again. On surface interval we saw a HUGE manta glide out of the water. He stayed relatively shallow under boat. My mom snorkeled with him, as did others from another dive boat nearby. We descended for dive - and saw him 2 more times overhead. Huge and graceful. GREAT! More turtles, etc. Great diving day, calm water.... In evening we grabbed a taxi from the hotel - to head for Playa Hermosa. 45 min drive from hotel. Visited Puesta Del Sol. Food was excellent - minimal cost - Burgers & Fish nuggets were $5.00. Local Beer - Imperial, minimal cost as well. Good way to spend evening and visit another location - besides the resort. Day 5 - Day Trip with Ricardo Vargas - private tour operator. Excellent! Arranged prior to arrival via email & internet. Visited Rincon de la Vieja - semi active volcano. About 1 hour 30 minute drive to private resort location. I think it was spelled Bolinquen. Beautiful! We had resort to ourselves - no real guests. 1st we did the Canopy tour - 11 platforms. 800 feet in the air. So much fun! Very safe. Lunch at the resort - excellent beef (raised in area). They we headed over to the natural Spa. Sauna, mud treatment, then different temperature pools of water to relax in. Wonderful - and completely private. Ricardo was very attentive speaks perfect English, very nice. We stopped at souvenir shops on the way back to the hotel. We left at 8:30 am, and returned around 5:30 pm. Wonderful days - I would do it again in a heartbeat. Day 6 Tuesday - Top Side Day - Palo Verde River Float with Ricardo Vargas. Excellent again! 1 hour 45 minute drive to river location - in Air Conditioned Taxi - there were 10 of us that went from the Hotel. Wonderful day. We saw: Howler Monkeys, False Coral Snake, White Faced Monkeys, White Ibis - many other birds, 15 Crocodiles, long nosed bats, turtles, Iguana's tons of wildlife. Enough can't be said about Ricardo Vargas and his wife Lupita - they are running an excellent operation. Much better than Swiss Travel Mega tours with 75 or 100 people. Very personalized. Hotel: Built on Hill Side - terrace style. Most others are as well. We were in building 4 - hard walk back to room in evenings after a couple of drinks. No complaints - we are young and in shape. Shuttles run around the hotel every couple of minutes. Hard walk for older persons, or those with join problems. Food in Main dining area was buffet style. Prompt seating - good attention from wait staff - being that it was peak tourist season for them. Drinks were excellent. Swim up bar in pool was great. Black sand beach - was okay. Good for sea shells, and morning walks. Staff didn't speak very much English - be prepared with Spanish basics. Steak Restaurant - full service. Make reservations as soon as you arrive in Hotel. Only seats 30 persons per night. Better cuts of steak, fish etc. great service. Dress here is a little more upscale, than the rest of the resort which is very casual. Liberia Airport - very small, 35 minutes from resort. Delta is flying in there, in addition to Canadian Skyy Service, an Apple Charters. Lots of construction when we arrived. Will hopefully be done soon. Things I would have done differently - (1) Stayed longer - (2) Stayed Forever - (3) Never came home Seriously, when we return - we would do the over night trip to the Active Volcano - Arenal, do the white water rafting & Tabacon Hot Springs. We would do more diving - hoping to get to the Bat Islands. We would do the Mount Verde Cloud Forest & Skywalk, and more Canopy's.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	0-25 dives
Where else diving	Cabo San Lucas, Mexico , Crystal River, FL Dutch Springs Quarry, PA
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	75-85°F / 24-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	25-85 Ft/ 8-26 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Staying with the group, depth & timing limits.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	>2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Being in Costa Rica - I expected nothing, and that is what i got. No Rinse tank. They Captain handed my camera to me after a giant stride, that was as good as it got, besides the MAnta's that were everywhere....

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Dive Review of Resort Divers De Costa Rica/Allegro Papagayp in Costa Rica/Guanacaste

Resort Divers De Costa Rica/Allegro Papagayp, Jan, 2004,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Resort Divers De Costa Rica/Allegro Papagayp in
Costa Rica/Guanacaste