Costa Rica Whale Watching
Every year a humpback whale swims more than 11,500 miles from Antarctica to mate in Costa Rica, while another swims all the way from the Arctic Ocean to breed as well.
35% of all whale and porpoise species on earth are found off the coasts of tiny Costa Rica.
Does Costa Rica have the longest humpback whale watching season in the world (no other place is even close)?
Yep. Even whales take Costa Rica vacations to rest and recuperate.
Off Costa Rica’s Southern Pacific Coast lies a huge shelf called “the Dome” (its longer name is the Costa Rica Thermal Convection Dome).
It’s like no place else in the world. Shallow warm waters lie atop low-oxygen cold water that wells up, creating the perfect ecosystem for an enormous richness and variety of marine life. A magical place and, until just a few years ago, virtually unknown to people who travel Costa Rica.
No more.
Today, a humpback whale-watching trip is an essential part of more and more Costa Rica vacations—thanks to the Dome.
Here’s one reason whale watching is becoming so popular.
Costa Rica has the longest humpback whale watching season in the world.
Why? Because during the winter in Antarctica, humpbacks migrate from there to Costa Rica (August to October or so), and during the winter in the Arctic, their cousins migrate from the far north to Costa Rica for romance and baby-making (approximately December to April).
So. . . you’re likely to see these magnificent animals when you visit Ballena Marine National Park—a whale sanctuary between Dominical and Coronado along the southern Pacific coast.