My manuel antonio whale watching adventure in costa rica. Paul blackman dominical costa rica tours, whale watching. Interestingly enough, we dont know if the humpbacks continue on along the coast after visiting costa rica, or if they head straight to antarctica. Costa rica s south pacific ocean is the perfect setting for whale watching and dolphin watching. Humpback whalewatching season starts in costa rica.
Whales and dolphins watching whale watching, costa rica. Explore many of costa rica s offthebeatenpath destinations on this 16day selfdrive tour. As you can probably tell by now, the fun never stops in. There are several places along the beaches of costa rica that allow travelers to see a. Dominical, costa rica visitors and trip planning guide. The best time and place to encounter whales in costa rica. It is present near the surface of the water and does not dive too deep.
If youre planning on staying a few days in the area, here are our top things to do in uvita and dominical. Costa ricas famous whale tail is located in the small town of uvita, about an hour south of manuel antonio and is part of parque nacional marino ballena the. You can reserve your tour online now with costa rica dive and surf. Whales and dolphins are so exciting to see when in costa rica. Tourists on costa ricas central pacific coast may be able to see migrating humpback whales on tours operating near quepos and manuel antonio national.
Pacific humpback whales, who migrate annually passing costa rica, are farthestmigrating animals on earth. Humpback whales can be seen all along the pacific west side of costa rica, but definitely the best and most consistent place to see them is out of drake bay on the osa peninsula there are many reasons to visit drake bay besides the whales, such as it being the most beautiful part of costa rica with access to costa ricas crown jewel rainforest, corcovado national park. Whale watching in costa rica costa rica costa rica. You too can experience their captivating beauty on a sensational threeday and twonight whale watching tour in costa rica with team crt. Lunge feeding is when the blue whale lunges into a school of fish with huge mouth wide open. The ballena national marine park is home to several species of whales who comes and visits each year to breed and mate. The official humpback season in costa rica is december to march and.
Situated on the south pacific coast of costa rica, ballena marine national park is the destination that comes to mind first for many costa rican whale watchers. Within the first 25 minutes of our whale watching cruise on board the tom cat catamaran out of quepos on the southern pacific coast of costa rica we saw a full fluke and a full breach. Whale watching originally developed in the pacific coastal communities in the south of the country dominical, uvita, drake bay, cano island, golfo dulce. She lives in quepos the town next to manuel antonio and is always so gracious when i come to visit, letting me stay in. This part of the world offers some of the best opportunities for dolphin and whale watching. The osa peninsula and gulf of dulce have high numbers of whales as well as the beach towns of uvita and dominical on the costa ballena whale coast. Their status varies somewhere between critical and imminent extinction depending on the list and who is making the prediction. Dominical tends to have a more hippie atmosphere than other beach towns in costa rica and you can notice it right away when you visit. The whale resort is a luxurious private beachfront resort in costa rica that offers you everything you want in a vacation. Perhaps the most puzzling natural phenomenon of the park is the whales tail sandbar.
This gated community with views of the famous whales tail beach and ballena. Whale watching costa rica the best times and places. Costa rica dolphins and whales come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and will be a great addition to your trip. The best place to go whale watching in costa rica is the countrys pacific coast, as humpback whales migrate through the region between late july and november and again between december and march.
You may download the appchoices app at appchoices to opt out in. Located south of dominical, costa rica has a marine park named after whales. Come december to april, other whales come in to costa rica from antarctica to mate and nest. The blue whale inhabits most of the areas ranging around costa rica.
Even through a slight tropical haze, the cerulean sea gleamed against the serpentine coast. Whale watching costa rica, dominical, puntarenas, costa rica. Costa ricas best whale watching drake bay on the osa. There are no age requirements in costa rica to participate but children under the age of 15 must be accompanied by an adult who knows how to swim. You can see whales all along the pacific coast of costa rica during those months. If youre visiting the south pacific coast of costa rica, marino ballena national park is one not to miss. Dominical uvita and osa peninsula are the major stomping grounds of costa rica s whale and dolphin species. You can also do these activities if you are staying in ojochal. Catch a glimpse of humpback whales in marino ballena national park. One of our staff members will contact you as soon as possible to provide more information about the tour. What to know about whale watching in uvita, costa rica travel blog. A rare encounter with a family of humpback whales in the gulf of papagayo, near liberia, costa rica.
In the correct season, is possible to observe females and their calves playing on the surface. Migrating humpbacks come to costa ricas warm pacific. Whales tail beach home for sale by dominical real estate and agent saul rasminsky view all our listings in costa rica. What is the best time for whale watching in marino ballena, uvita, costa rica. Discover why this area attracts an estimated 25 whale and dolphin species.
Humpback whale mothers give birth in the pockets of shallow temperate waters off the shores of costa rica while orcas and bottlenose dolphins troll for sushi. The pacific coast of costa rica is a migratory location for humpback whales. The table shows the best times and places to add a humpback whale watching expedition to your costa rica vacation. And dont worry, because if you miss out on costa ricas winter season whalewatching tours, you can always catch a glimpse of northern hemisphere humpbacks when they come through town from december until march. They cover the distances of 5,000 to 8,000 km twice a year. Different species of whales visit the coasts of our country. From every angle i could see the famous rock formation of punta uvita, which perfectly resembles a whales tail. Whale watching in costa rica two weeks in costa rica. Private charter tours are available for larger whale watching groups vacationing in dominical.
Were in luck, because costa rica just happens to have the longest humpback whale season in the world. Whale watching and dolphin watching in costa rica, during this tour we can see the humpback whales, spotted dolphins, bottle noses, turtles and sea birds combined with snorkeling in the tail of the whale or whale island where you can see different types of reef fish. Whale watching in costa rica calendar and locations. All of this and more can be seen on dolphin and whale watching excursions into costa ricas ocean habitats some of the most biologically diverse marine habitats in the world. Of course the whales are wild and there is never any guarantee that youll see them, but your captain and guides will be in constant contact by radio with other boats all. Costa rica has the longest humpback whale watching season in the world. We are lucky enough to have quite a few species here that you may have the opportunity to see such as the humpback whale, the pilot whale, the blue whale, and the sei whale. There are several companies in uvita which offer whale watching tours. Whales migrating from both hemispheres pass by costa rica, so you have a pretty darn good chance of seeing whales if you go to hot spots like uvita, sierpe or drake bay. The warm waters of costa ricas oceans attract whales and dolphins from north and south america. Every year for two weeks in september there is a whale watching festival in uvita. Walk, bike or start your morning jog by making your way down to the gorgeous hardpacked sand, located mere minutes from. We made a sharp promotional price for this package that includes accommodation, the boat tour and all. Costa rica whale watching should be in your bucket list, so stay tuned and learn all you need to know.
The great whales of costa rica costa rica scuba diving. Perhaps the best place to see these majestic creatures is the osa peninsula, located in the southern portion of puntarenas province. The best time to see humpback whales in costa rica is august and september. Benefit from this 3 days 2 nights package deal to see the extraordinary marine park marino ballena in uvita, costa rica. Since these two towns are so close to each other, you can spend a few days exploring the entire area and you can stay in either place for your home base. Orca comun, espolante habitat open tropical, temperate, and polar seas are home to the orca. Spectacular humpback whale breaching off the coast of marino ballena national park. Costa rica is a prime whale watching destination and it is all thanks to the spectacular annual migration of two groups of humpback whales. Over the next three hours we saw at least two dozen humpback whales including mothers, calves, and males in equally dramatic displays. The reason is because during the winter the antarctica august to october, humpbacks migrate from there to costa rica. Costa rica dolphins and whales when should you come. The park is named for the pacific humpback whales that return to these warm coastal waters annually to breed.
The whale tail at uvitas marino ballena national park two weeks. I woke up on a thursday and i could feel the energy of the ocean pulling me toward the coast, so i called my old friend marlena. False killer whales, pilots and whale sharks are some of them, but what we can most commonly see are humpback whales. There are huge resident populations of dolphins up and down both of costa ricas coasts, so its pretty likely you. Located on costa ricas amazingly beautiful central pacific coastline, the small.
In costa rica dive and surf we have an adequate boat, safe and comfortable, equipped for this kind of activities. This long journey starts when temperatures in both north and south america start to cool during their respective winters. By clicking on or navigating the site, you agree to our use of cookies. Beautiful dominical ocean view home costa rica real estate. Available dolphin and whale watching tours in dominical. This whale specie comes to migrate in this country whenever winter comes in the antarctica between august to october. During decemberapril, you can see whales from alaska, and augustnovember they come from antarctica. This is when they come to breed and raise their young and is the best time to go on a costa rica whale watching tour. The entire parking area is lined with hammocks, makeshift tents, and camper vans with people who seem to. They are majestical creatures that we all long to catch a glimpse of. You may download the appchoices app at to opt out in.
This home is located on the only all cement road in the area and boasts one of the most breathtaking views of the whales. These regulations were implemented following the first evaluations of the impacts of whale and dolphin watching in costa rica see below. Whale watching costa rica pacific coast transamericas. This really is one of the best eco tours available in costa rica. You see them all over the map but specifically in places like the golfo dulce, central pacific, guanacaste, osa peninsula and the tropical waters of the caribbean seeing a wild animal in its natural habitat is always a beautiful thing, but seeing a whale jump from the. How to plan your whale watching tour and what to expect from it.
Costa rica is home to the longest season for whale watching in the world, and september kicks off the peak of one of two of the most popular times of year to witness humpback whales who migrate to the warm and rich waters of marino ballena to give birth to their young. During the winter in the arctic approximately december to april, their cousins migrate from the far north to costa rica for romance and babymaking. Costa rica whale watching celebrates longest migration on. Costa rica is unique for whale watching because both northern hemisphere humpbacks from california and canada decemberapril and their southern. If you are a human seeing this field, please leave it empty. Costa rica whale watching no limit adventures costa rica. Costa rica whales and dolphins map, tour operator in costa. Youll travel to all corners of the country, from the surf town of puerto viejo on the caribbean coast, to arenal volcano in the north, and to pacific beaches and protected areas home to exotic wildlife like scarlet macaws. Dominicaluvita and osa peninsula are the major stomping grounds of costa ricas whale and dolphin species. Find in this costa rica tourist map the best points to observe this wonder of nature.
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