No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsTravel and TourismA Trip to Costa Rica's Caño Island: Face-to-face with a Sea Turtle

A Trip to Costa Rica’s Caño Island: Face-to-face with a Sea Turtle

Ten miles off the Osa Peninsula, the waters surrounding Caño Island contain one of the most extensive coral reef formations in Costa Rica. Accessible via boat from Sierpe and Drake Bay (among other towns on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast), Caño Island is widely considered the second-best snorkeling location in the country. Given the top spot is Cocos Island, some 300 miles offshore, Caño Island is as good as the casual adventurer will get.

But “second-best” by Costa Rican standards is still simply breathtaking. The Tico Times has visited Caño Island several times, and over the years we’ve documented encounters with whale sharks, false killer whales and real (non-killer) whales. In March, as part of our Southern Zone Deep Dive, The Tico Times went back underwater at Caño Island.

There, we saw schools of fish, stingrays and several whitetip reef sharks, which spend much of their time lying still near the ocean floor. But the highlight was coming face-to-face with a sea turtle, which seemed to wave hello before continuing with its day. With the help of our guides, Shadait Rodríguez Fernández and Maycol Marín, and of a waterproof camera case, we captured the below video of the event: 

Cano Island Costa Rica
Alejandro Zuniga / The Tico Times
View from Cano Island Costa Rica
Alejandro Zúñiga / The Tico Times

Read more from The Tico Times Southern Zone Deep Dive here and we also covered Caño Island excursions in-depth here:

La Perla del Sur Adventures was an in-kind sponsor of The Tico Times during our Southern Zone Deep Dive and provided this tour to The Tico Times.

Trending Now

El Salvador’s Safety Outpaces Costa Rica’s Crime in Tourism Race

El Salvador has turned heads this year with a sharp uptick in tourism, pulling in visitors eager for its mix of natural draws and...

Costa Rica U-17 Women’s Team Earns Historic Draw vs Brazil

Costa Rica's under-17 women's national soccer team marked a milestone in their history with a 1-1 draw against Brazil during the FIFA U-17 Women's...

U.S. Strikes Drug Boat in Pacific Near Colombia, Killing Two

The United States military carried out its first strike in the Pacific Ocean against a boat suspected of drug trafficking, killing two people near...

Why This U.S. Expat in Costa Rica Chooses Local Over Headlines

In the weeks leading up to my trip to the US, I scanned several news sites both left-leaning and right-leaning to better inform myself...

Venezuela’s Maduro Asks Court to Strip Opposition Leader of Citizenship

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has filed a request with the country's Supreme Court to revoke the nationality of opposition leader Leopoldo López, accusing him...

Costa Rica Politics Shaken by Fatal Crash with Eli Feinzaig

A head-on collision on the Bernardo Soto highway in Buenos Aires de Palmares, Alajuela, turned deadly Friday morning, killing Éricka Benavides, advisor to Congressman...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica