The Island

The Island sits off Palma Island along the Pacific coast of Puntarenas province, Costa Rica, within reach of boat trips run out from the mainland fishing towns near the Gulf of Nicoya. It is a reef dive rated advanced, reaching a maximum depth of around 30 metres, with strong currents and generally great visibility. Bull sharks, manta rays, sea turtles, and whale sharks are regularly encountered here, and divers have also reported dolphins, hammerhead sharks, reef sharks, seahorses, nudibranchs, and whales passing through. Some divers have also mentioned caves in the area, though that and the strength of the currents vary by report. The strong current is the main reason this site is treated as an advanced dive.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Sea turtleSea turtleConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• Reef sharkReef sharkReported here · unconfirmed
• DolphinDolphinReported here · unconfirmed
• Bull sharkBull sharkConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
• Whale sharkWhale sharkConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• Bull SharkCarcharhinus leucasConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
• Whale SharkRhincodon typusConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
• Sally Lightfoot CrabGrapsus grapsusReported here · unconfirmed
• Agassiz's ChromodoridFelimare agassiziiReported here · unconfirmed
• Manta rayManta rayConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• WhaleWhaleReported here · unconfirmed
• SeahorseSeahorseReported here · unconfirmed
• NudibranchNudibranchReported here · unconfirmed
• Hammerhead sharkHammerhead sharkReported here · unconfirmed