Snorkeling and Dolphin Watching Tour

This is an exciting tour combining sea adventures in one day. You will have the opportunity to snorkel at a reef and enjoy watching dolphins play in their natural habitat. A boat will take you just off the western coast of the Nicoya Peninsula from a beach called Playa Samara.

Your tour begins with transportation from your hotel to Samara Beach. You will meet your friendly guide who will pass out life jackets and explain where you’ll be going and what you will be doing. Then you will board a typical Costa Rican open motorized boat cruising up to 6 miles out into the Pacific Ocean to a coral reef.

While en route to the reef you will also be watching for dolphins who are known to enjoy playing in the wake of speedboats. The Bottle Nose Dolphin is a common sight year round and are very entertaining. Many other species of dolphin also frequent these waters. You will get a very close look at their smiling faces if they come up to swim around the boat. Be sure to have your camera ready!

During certain months you might even be lucky enough to see a whale on their annual migration from Antarctica and Alaska escaping the colder weather. Typically they can be seen between the months August and October then again between December and March as they come to these warm waters to rest, feed and mate.

Next you’ll arrive at a living coral reef. After putting on high quality, clean snorkeling gear, you will plunge into the clear aquamarine water to swim around the reef and explore the underwater realm of colorful marine life. Your guide will help point out and identify some of the tropical fish and other sea creatures you may encounter.

Afterward you’ll head back by boat to Samara, having a second chance to watch for dolphins along the way. At some point, a fresh fruit snack will be offered and bottled water will be made available.

Samara is a small beach village that is a favorite for tourists and locals alike. Here you’ll find a beautiful beach that stretches about 3 miles tucked in a cove surrounded by shady palm trees. Its calm, warm waters are perfect for swimming, boating and snorkeling.

This tour includes boat transport, bilingual guide, snorkeling gear, bottled water, fresh fruit and transportation from Punta Islita, Nosara, and Samara. One way transportation from your hotel to the beach can take between 10 and 45 minutes depending on where you are staying. Combined time for round trip boat ride, snorkeling and round trip transportation to your hotel can take between 3.5 and 4 hours.

Please wear your bathing suit and sun protective clothing as the sun can be quite strong when you are out in an open boat. You’ll also want to have a towel, sunblock, sunglasses, camera and maybe your binoculars. This is a perfect opportunity to take photos with an underwater camera if you have one.