Summer-Salt Dive Center

Summer-Salt Dive Center is situated in Playa del Coco, a coastal town approximately 25km from Liberia Daniel Obert International Airport. The centre operates in the North Pacific waters of Costa Rica, an area renowned for its high nutrient levels and diverse marine life.

Since its establishment in 2020, the centre has focused on providing a human-scale experience. By prioritising small groups, they aim to maintain a close connection with the natural environment while ensuring a safe and organised diving programme.

The centre is owned and operated by Céline and Michael, who bring years of global diving experience to the Guanacaste coast. They have built Summer-Salt to function as a professional yet family-oriented environment where divers are treated with personal attention.

The team consists of certified instructors who are able to conduct training and guided dives in French, English, and Spanish. This multilingual capability makes the centre highly accessible for international divers looking for clear communication during technical briefings or training sessions.

Summer-Salt is a PADI affiliated centre offering a comprehensive range of training programmes. Beginners can start with Discover Scuba Diving or progress through the Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver courses.

For more experienced divers, the centre provides Rescue Diver and Divemaster training, alongside Emergency First Response (EFR) certification. They also offer various PADI Specialties and refresher courses, such as Reactivate, to ensure your skills are sharp before heading out on drift dives.

The centre utilises fast boats to reach the offshore dive sites. These vessels are designed to minimise transit times to the Catalinas Islands and Murcielagos, allowing for more time in the water.

On board, divers are provided with snacks, fruit, water, and non-alcoholic beverages to maintain energy levels between dives. The setup is geared towards comfort during the transit to the more remote, high-current sites.

A full range of diving equipment is available for hire, covering all the essentials from regulators to wetsuits. This allows divers travelling light to access the local sites without needing to transport their own heavy kit.

For those undertaking training, the centre includes all necessary pedagogical materials, such as digital books or e-learning modules, within their course packages.

The region is a magnet for large pelagics. Between November and May, you can encounter giant manta rays, while the period from May to November is the best time to see bull sharks. Whale sharks and various species of whales are also present depending on the season.

In the shallower local sites and around the reef flats, you will find a consistent presence of white-tip reef sharks, turtles, and various rays. Large schools of jack and platax are common, alongside eagle rays and other pelagic fish.

For macro enthusiasts, the nutrient-rich waters support a wide array of smaller life. You can find seahorses, nudibranchs, and clown shrimp amongst the reef structures. The biodiversity extends to various crustaceans and other small organisms that thrive in the volcanic habitats.

Diving in the area involves varying conditions depending on the chosen site. The offshore islands of Catalinas and Murcielagos are subject to strong currents and significant swell, which can make these expert-level dives challenging.

Local dives in the Papagayo Gulf are generally more sheltered, though visibility can fluctuate between 5 and 25 metres due to high plankton levels. This plankton is a key driver of the area's immense biological productivity.