1. Whales And Whale-Watching In Costa Rica
For thousands of visitors to Costa Rica whales and dolphins are a fantastic part of their vacation
experience. The country's marine waters are home to or visited by 35% of all the remaining species of
these creatures.
In fact, there are 30 different species inside Costa Rica's warm waters, ranging from the particular
mighty Blue Whale---the largest animal the world has ever seen---to a recently discovered fresh water
porpoise, the Tucuxi---previously thought to exist just in the Amazon water.
And, of course, there are Humpbacks, always a whale-watcher crowd pleaser. At 50' and 40 tons,
many of these great creatures, among the world's great underwater singers, spend their particular
Northern Hemisphere summer season as far north as Alaska and winter off the c. R. coast.
Not to be outdone, the Antarctic Humpbacks swim further so that, during the the southern part of
Hemisphere winter, they migrate to c. R. , too.
The result ? Costa Rica has the best Humpback whale-watching time of year on earth.
While whales can sometimes be seen off the entire Pacific coast of the country, the main and
southern coasts are particular suited for whale-watching.
Humpbacks tend to be more regularly seen coming from Jaco, Costa Rica, south to the Osa
Peninsula (and magnificent Corcovado National Park) in between December-March and once again
from August-October.
A particularly good destination to see Humpbacks are at Marino Belleno nationwide Park (Whale
marine National Park) a few miles south a f Dominical, a popular surfing area.
From November-April, false Killer Whales and Pilot Whales is seen along the southern coast , too.
And, needless to say , there are many varieties of porpoises, many of which are year-round residents,
often numbering in the dozens and sometimes seen in the particular hundreds or more, particularly
along the southern coast around Drake bay or the Osa Peninsula.
Turning to the some other coast, the Caribbean, tourists might see the Tucuxi (also called Guyana)
porpoise, one of the country's tiniest , but very distinctive , species of porpoises. These creatures are
found in both fresh and sodium waters of the Gandoca Manzanillo National wildlife Refuge.
Sometimes they're found far upriver in the Sixaola water close to the border together with Panama.
Not just are they the only fresh water porpoise north with the Amazon River, they're the only known
porpoise that shares a standard language with another species of porpoise: the particular Bottlenose
Porpoise.
To see these critters it's best to hire a local guide but with a bit of luck, you might find them almost
any day of the entire year.
Dominical Costa Rica