Catalina Islands

Dive Sites

What You’ll See While You Dive the Catalina Islands

Nature lovers who want to get up close and personal with a variety of marine creatures will absolutely love scuba diving in the waters surrounding the Catalina Islands. Schools of fish of various sizes are found living here, including barracudas, spiny scorpion fish, lemon-coloured barberfish, king angelfish, and bright-striped Cortez angelfish.

A variety of rays are also abundant in these waters, including manta rays, stingrays, bat rays, bullseye rays, spotted rays, and mobular rays. It is not unusual to see schools of these incredible creatures gracefully swimming past you as you spend time in the water exploring the undersea world.

You may even find yourself looking up from the depths to see giant manta rays flying over you, with wingspans that range from 4 to 6 meters, or 14 to 20 feet across. When diving the Catalina Islands you should not mis a dive or two at Bat Islands where you can dive with the Bull Sharks between May and November.

Sea turtles, as well as sharks, are also common in the waters off the Catalina Islands. You may be lucky enough to encounter tiger sharks and white-tip reef sharks during your dive, so definitely be sure to bring your underwater camera with you. The photographs that you can take will be absolutely stunning and a testament to this incredible place.

Dive Sites at Catalina Islands in Costa Rica

Some of the most popular dive sites are Santa Catalina Island , dive at El Clasico to see the white tip reef sharks at their favourite resting place and south point to find the Manta rays at the cleaning stations.

Surrounding the Catalina Islands include Big Cupcake, where you can swim alongside schools of angelfish, as well as Little Cupcake, where parrotfish are abundant. Dirty Rock is popular for its great visibility, whereas Two Hats is the go-to destination for incredible wall diving.