While the diving is extraordinary and beautiful, the Cocos Island area is very remote. It is not recommended for inexperienced divers because it is an open ocean destination that requires advanced open water diving skills. Currents and visibility can be entirely different in just a few hours. You will be diving in water about 78-83 F (26 – 29 C).
The diving among the rocky islets off the coast of the main island is very exciting. The primary attraction is large pelagics, i.e., sharks, whales, rays, mantas, turtles and schooling fish. Sightings of sailfish, marlin, bottlenose dolphins and whale sharks are often reported. The bottom is volcanic rock, with prolific long-spine sea urchins. Most of the action is at 60-80 feet but a dive computer is necessary.

Diving will commence shortly after your arrival at Cocos Island or Malpello Island.
There are three dives daily from two 24' fiberglass skiffs. Night or dusk dives are optional from the dive deck. You may choose your diving buddy or join the group, which is guided by our dive master.
The vessel also offers full onboard TDI training in nitrox, with rental of nitrox computers. Cost of nitrox fills is additional.

We daily schedule two dives in the morning (8 AM and 11 AM), one in the afternoon (2.30 PM) and a night dive at 6 PM.

After a dive briefing from our Divemasters on the mothership, our guests board the two skiffs that each accommodate up to nine divers plus Divemaster, who always dive with the group and the Skiff Driver. After a short ride, each of the skiffs will reach a different dive site that is switched on the following dive allowing the two groups to dive the same areas but at different times of the day.

On the way to or from the divesites it is very common to find exciting snorkeling opportunities with Pacific Mantas, Bottlenose Dolphins or even a Bait Ball that will keep the adrenaline brewing all day long.
Between the dives, as the tanks are being refilled there is time for Sea Kayaking or to go back on the skiffs for a photo tour or land excursions.

The dive skiffs on-board Sea Hunter and Undersea Hunter are an asset worth mentioning. At times when a rubber inflatable would be crippled in the wind-blown vastness of the Pacific, these large, heavy-duty fiberglass dive cruisers provide the stability and safety that is essential at Cocos Island. We put nine or fewer divers in each skiff and move them safely and efficiently to diverse dive sites around the island.

Each measuring twenty four feet in length and with over nine foot of beam, these boats are extremely stable in any sea conditions. Our skiffs are powered by twin 90HP 4-cycle fumeless outboard motors. These modern engines provide the power and redundancy required to reach any of the remote dive sites within a safe radius of the mother ship. At the end of the dive, boarding is made via a solid and stable ladder.

These boats are equipped with integrated racks for scuba diving equipment, separate camera storage area, VHF radios, depth sounders and T-Roof, which offers shelter from the tropical elements to the crew and camera equipment. They further hold all the necessary safety equipment, oxygen first-aid kit, spare dive gear, and tools.
These extra large skiffs also serve as a dive platform throughout the duration of the trip. Personal dive gear is kept onboard the skiffs during the dive days. This eliminates the need to carry heavy scuba tanks back and forth and reduces wear and tear.

Due to the remoteness of both Cocos and Malpelo, safety is an absolute priority at all times.

Our Captains are qualified with internationally recognized seafaring licenses. Many of our crew are Medic First Aid Instructors or are trained for basic first aid and as DAN O2 providers. All our crews maintain peak performance skills for emergencies like Man Overboard, Lost Diver Searches, Fire at Sea and more.
Since the nearest hyperbaric facility in San Jose is 1.5 sailing days away, we must maintain a safe diving practice within the recreational diving limits. Thus decompression dives are not permitted and a maximum depth of 130 ft. / 40 m. is imposed. To increase safety and bottom time while maintaining safe non-decompression dives the use of Nitrox becomes essential. DAN O2 Emergency kits are present on all of our skiffs as well as on the mother ship.

The total isolation of these Islands and the prevailing ocean currents play a major roll in our emergency plan and readiness for when divers might drift away from the dive sites. With the frequent rainsqualls, surface conditions are unpredictable at times. For this reason we have hired and train highly skilled skiff operators who have the knowledge and the know how to search and locate divers even in the most extreme conditions.

We conduct extensive dive briefings before every dive and assign dedicated dive-masters on all dives, the buddy dive system is highly recommended and a 60-minute maximum dive time is enforced.
We further provide all guests with our Safety Kit that includes an extra-large orange dive sausage, a powerful storm whistle and a special safety light. Furthermore after one year of testing several Radio Diver Locator systems, we have found the symbiosis that fully satisfies our rigorous standards. The ACR miniature Personal EPIRB together with a high-tech Radio Direction Finder from SimradTaiyo will help locate a drift diver more than five miles away. These electronic units are fixed to the individual divers BCD. An on-board homing receiver will guide the vessel towards the missing diver, and these units will also transmit the marine international distress signal that is monitored by all ships and coast guard vessels.