Cost Rica Diving out of Playa del la Coco

I do not post about my dive adventures very often but when I do they
are typically to give a positive plug about an operator that I have
used. Unfortunately, this report is not postive. I am posting it
because I feel too many errors were made by the operator, Rich Coast
Diving that others should steer clear until they clean up their act
and act like a proper operation.

We decided to dive out of Playa del al Coca because of reports that
great criters could be found even though the visability was not be
like other dive areas. This was the case we saw everything from frog
fish to giant mantas. Great diving.

However the divemasters need a bit of improvement. Overall they were
fine but on the day we went out to the Bat Islands at a cost of $60
per dive they did not bother to check the tanks. 10 of 12 tank were
shorted by 250-350 psi. This may not sound like much. But the seas
were a bit rough and with the currents it was not a day to push the
tank down. As such most of our three dives were 30-40 minutes for
40-80 foot dives. Normally we would have stayed downed 50-60 minutes.
The operator gave us a paltry 15% discount because of being shorted. I
had suggested that we just be charged for 2 instead of 3 dives which
would have been a 25% discount.

Other than that the on water operations were good although I am pretty
sure my knife got knicked as it did not come back after a night at the
dive operation with the rest of my gear. Each night gear was taken
off the boat, rinsed and then placed back on the boat in the morning.

Where the real problem was with the front office. The office always
seemed a bit chaotic, with no real consistancy. Case in point, the
operator offered dive packages. However, the packages were hardly
that. The first time I asked for a package price it was for their
standard package of 7 nigthts and 5 days of diving. We wanted six
nights with five days of diving so I asked for that and I was given a
price that was $15 less than the al-a-carte price. Not much for the
amount of diving and a hotel. Pretty paltry actually. So not much of
a discount but since they seemed pretty flexible and the diving was
not too expensive so we continued our plans. When we finished diving
we asked for our bill. They charged us full price. After raising a bit
of stink we got a $25 discount. $25 is what the B&B operator, Villa
Flores would have given us for paying cash. Absolutely no discount for
the diving. This seemed rather shady.

The final blow was when we gave them our credit card to pay for the
bill. They informed us that it would be an additional 5% to use our
credit card. A big no-no as the credit cards prohib this practice. We
have since reported this and are actively working to get the 5% back.

My reccomendations would be to search out other dive operators in the
area. I highly reccomend the Villa Flores as a place to stay. The
owners were very friendly and have a great staff.

Cheers,

Allen

Unita wrote:
> I do not post about my dive adventures very often but when I do they
> are typically to give a positive plug about an operator that I have
> used. Unfortunately, this report is not postive. I am posting it
> because I feel too many errors were made by the operator, Rich Coast
> Diving that others should steer clear until they clean up their act
> and act like a proper operation.
>
> We decided to dive out of Playa del al Coca because of reports that
> great criters could be found even though the visability was not be
> like other dive areas. This was the case we saw everything from frog
> fish to giant mantas. Great diving.
>
> However the divemasters need a bit of improvement. Overall they were
> fine but on the day we went out to the Bat Islands at a cost of $60
> per dive they did not bother to check the tanks. 10 of 12 tank were
> shorted by 250-350 psi. This may not sound like much. But the seas
> were a bit rough and with the currents it was not a day to push the
> tank down. As such most of our three dives were 30-40 minutes for
> 40-80 foot dives. Normally we would have stayed downed 50-60 minutes.
> The operator gave us a paltry 15% discount because of being shorted. I
> had suggested that we just be charged for 2 instead of 3 dives which
> would have been a 25% discount.
>
> Other than that the on water operations were good although I am pretty
> sure my knife got knicked as it did not come back after a night at the
> dive operation with the rest of my gear. Each night gear was taken
> off the boat, rinsed and then placed back on the boat in the morning.
>
> Where the real problem was with the front office. The office always
> seemed a bit chaotic, with no real consistancy. Case in point, the
> operator offered dive packages. However, the packages were hardly
> that. The first time I asked for a package price it was for their
> standard package of 7 nigthts and 5 days of diving. We wanted six
> nights with five days of diving so I asked for that and I was given a
> price that was $15 less than the al-a-carte price. Not much for the
> amount of diving and a hotel. Pretty paltry actually. So not much of
> a discount but since they seemed pretty flexible and the diving was
> not too expensive so we continued our plans. When we finished diving
> we asked for our bill. They charged us full price. After raising a bit
> of stink we got a $25 discount. $25 is what the B&B operator, Villa
> Flores would have given us for paying cash. Absolutely no discount for
> the diving. This seemed rather shady.
>
> The final blow was when we gave them our credit card to pay for the
> bill. They informed us that it would be an additional 5% to use our
> credit card. A big no-no as the credit cards prohib this practice. We
> have since reported this and are actively working to get the 5% back.
>
> My reccomendations would be to search out other dive operators in the
> area. I highly reccomend the Villa Flores as a place to stay. The
> owners were very friendly and have a great staff.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Allen
Seems consistent with a lot, but not all, dive operations on the Costa
Rica Pacific side. Ask them about the dive package advertised and they
say "what dive package" or about the discount offered and they say "what
discount". Then when all that has been sorted out and after the dive
they try to charge you full price again. As for the +5% for credit
cards, I usually tell them to stuff it and pay cash. Lots of ATM's
around that accept US or Canadian or British bank cards.
But do not let that deter you, some of the diving is fantastic, and as
you said there are some fine marine specimens to see, but make sure
beforehand that you find out the water conditions in regard to
visibility. Some days it's down to 20 odd feet, then on others its over
80 feet. Just ask around and plan ahead.
Cheers,
William.

"Unita" <unita@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:63148ea9.0412050923.e24b45d@posting.google.co m...
Unfortunately, this report is not postive. I am posting it
> because I feel too many errors were made by the operator, Rich Coast
> Diving that others should steer clear until they clean up their act
> and act like a proper operation.
>

That's really unfortunate about your experience with Rich Coast. I dove
with them a few years back and also stayed at the same Villa Flores. I had
no problems with either operation. I thought that their divemasters were
great. Oh well ...

Clint

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