Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Sorpresa lies off the Guanacaste coast in northwestern Costa Rica, an area of the Pacific known for its rocky headlands and offshore islets scattered along the Papagayo and Santa Elena peninsulas. Dive operators in this region typically run boats out of towns such as Playas del Coco or Tamarindo to reach sites like this one. It reaches a maximum depth of around 33.5 metres and is rated an advanced dive, with divers noting a thermocline at the site. Jacks and amberjacks, moray eels, and stingrays are regularly encountered here, and divers have also reported eagle rays, lobster, mobula rays, nudibranchs, octopus, reef sharks, sea turtles, seahorses, and trevally.
AI overviewMarine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Mobula (devil ray)Mobula (devil ray)Reported here · unconfirmed
Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
OctopusOctopusReported here · unconfirmed
Jack / amberjackJack / amberjackConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
StingrayStingrayConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Moray eelMoray eelConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
LobsterLobsterReported here · unconfirmed
Reef sharkReef sharkReported here · unconfirmed
Acapulco MajorStegastes acapulcoensisReported here · unconfirmed
Pacific Mottled Shore CrabPachygrapsus sociusReported here · unconfirmed
Panamic Sergeant MajorAbudefduf troscheliiReported here · unconfirmed
Cortez Rainbow WrasseThalassoma lucasanumReported here · unconfirmed
Longspined PorcupinefishDiodon holocanthusReported here · unconfirmed
Guineafowl PufferArothron meleagrisReported here · unconfirmed
Jewel MorayMuraena lentiginosaReported here · unconfirmed
Eagle rayEagle rayReported here · unconfirmed
TrevallyTrevallyReported here · unconfirmed
NudibranchNudibranchReported here · unconfirmed
SeahorseSeahorseReported here · unconfirmed
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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