2025 Cocos Island

In August 2025, I traveled to Cocos Island (342 miles off the coast of Costa Rica) with @InsiderDivers (Simon Lorenz). My dive buddy, Milana Reiche, and I traveled on the Nautilus Explorer, a boat that has recently been given access to the Marine Park at Cocos. The last time I visited Cocos, nine years ago, I was on an Aggressor Fleet boat with the same awesome Captain (Captain Beto, aka Alberto Munoz) and a few of the same staff. Cocos Island Marine Park is in the middle of deep, deep water. Pelagic animals take a break from their journeys here and relax, clean, or feed off the steep drop-offs. We traveled there in August because, although this is the wet season, it's smack in the middle of the best time for the massive school of hammerheads. The island is famous for its Tiger sharks, and we had quite a few visits from these famous ladies. However, the highlight for me was those schools of hammerhead sharks, which were largely absent last time I visited, likely due to El Niño. The diving in Cocos is advanced, with deep dives, strong currents, choppy to rough seas, and big animals. You never know what you will find below until you back-roll off the panga (rubber raft)! One of the most "calm dives" we were set to do turned into a tornado of current, complete with a huge pregnant whale shark! This was an awesome trip - we made some wonderful new friends and dive buddies and left with only bubbles and photos! Included below are pictures by @SimonLorenz of Insider Divers and "Big G" Gautam Kattak. Thanks guys! Pura Vida.