**If you’re ready to book the Caño Island snorkeling tour, scroll to the bottom of the post to fill out your booking request!*
I peered over the side of the boat to check out the water, as the rest of the group started getting their snorkel gear ready.
From first glance, I could already see schools of fish swimming around in the brilliant blue waters.
Flashes of bright yellow from the stripes on large Sergeant majors winked at me from below the water, while streaks of dazzling silver from jacks glimmered deeper down.
Excitement came over me, erasing any sign of sleepiness I had on the 1 and a half hour boat ride.
I quickly donned my mask and snorkel to dive into the warm welcoming waters and I have to be honest, I had high hopes for snorkeling at Cano Island.
It didn’t disappoint.
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Snorkeling at Caño Island
Designated as the 2nd best snorkel and scuba diving site in Costa Rica, Caño Island, Isla de Caño in Spanish, sits in the Pacific Ocean about 52 kilometers (32 miles) from Marino Ballena National Park.
This biological reserve is home to a copious amount of marine wildlife such as sharks, eagle rays, fish and turtles.
On any given day, visibility is fairly good and visitors have the chance to see all sorts of wildlife.
On the boat ride over, we saw dolphins and turtles. Sometimes you can see humpback whales if it’s the right time of year!
Best Snorkeling in Uvita
Scuba diving and snorkeling at Caño Island is one of the top activities to do in Uvita and the Osa Peninsula and it was one of our favorite experiences in Costa Rica so far.
From the moment we jumped into the water, we were surrounded by all of those who call the ocean home.
Our guide called us to follow him, and no less than a minute later we were swimming with a juvenile Hawksbill turtle, grazing on the reef.
It didn’t mind us at all, focusing only on finishing his lunch.
It swam with us for a bit, even coming all the way to the surface to take a breath and dive back down.
I could have watched him all day and been very happy.
But after 10 minutes or so, our guide signaled for us to follow him. He opened his hands to show us the size of the fish swimming ahead.
They were huge.
And there were so many of them.
All the Fish!
A large school of Bigeye Jacks were swimming around underneath us, with so many dashes of silver my eyes couldn’t quite focus just on how many there were.
The only way to find out was to dive down and swim with them, so I did just that.
Going deeper into the water makes everything so much clearer and more vivid. I love snorkeling, but only when you dive as far down as you can to get a much better view of all the wildlife.
The Jacks quickly sprinted out of my way as I approached, but there were so many they ended up surrounding me.
I could also see my favorite angel fish and purple parrot fish slyly swimming around with the jacks, taking advantage of the big school to hide.
As I was happily floating alongside a very long trumpet fish, I bumped into Yeison. We had lost each other when we were swimming with the Jacks, as he was taking the pictures and videos.
We couldn’t believe that it took us 3 years to finally go snorkeling at Caño Island! Especially considering how much we love snorkeling and the ocean.
Our guide then waved us over to our next spot to look for white tip reef sharks but to no avail.
As we were snorkeling, we couldn’t see all the way down in the crevices of the reefs. However, the group next to us happened upon a large group of eagle rays.
Either way, the snorkeling at Caño Island was beyond anything what we had expected.
The Second Best Snorkeling in Costa Rica
I can definitely see now why the snorkeling at Cano Island is one of the best in Costa Rica.
The clarity of the water was absolutely insane, even though it looked cloudy and dark above water! Underneath was as clear as day.
Watch our video to see what snorkeling at Cano Island is like!
Tips for Snorkeling at Cano Island
- Wear a rash guard. I forgot mine and got stung a bunch of times by those annoying jellyfish!
- Put on sunscreen! And please use reef safe sunscreen.
- Take anti-nausea medicine if you get sea sick.
- The boat ride from Uvita is around 1.5 hours.
- Bring a waterproof camera like a GoPro or DJI Action Cam.
Where to Stay in Uvita
Hotel Cuna del Angel: Charming hotel off Costanera Sur close to Uvita. Spacious rooms with resident sloths!
Los Laureles Cabinas: Budget friendly cabinas on a beautiful property with a river and nature trail. Excellent restaurant.
Hotel Uvita Forest: Near downtown with a pool, gated parking and standard rooms with air conditioning and hot water.
Manoas: Villas and glamping resort up in the mountains. The glamping tents are awesome and is located by a river.
Book Your Tour!
Use the form below to book your Caño Island snorkeling tour from Uvita!
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Joanna says
We are visiting next week, I’d like to book. I know it rains most days, is it primarily in the afternoon?
Sammi says
Hi Joanna, its normally rains in the late afternoon for this time of the year, this tour starts early in the morning and gets back around 2 PM.
Terra says
Hi- I’m not sure which day we can go. Can we just book when we are there at Cano island? I prefer to wait to see what day the weather is the best. Where are you located?
yeison says
Hello Terra,
Yes you can wait to book, especially you can wait to see how the weather is. We will be happy to assist you booking the tour, we do need at least 24 hours notice to process it.
SL says
Do they offer floating rings for not-so-great swimmers/kids? We had that when snorkeling in Hawaii and helped a lot. Thanks.
Sammi says
Hi SL, everyone has to wear a life jacket, if you wish to bring other floaties, you may
Nicole Tangkjaer says
We are going to Costa Rica in 3 weeks and all your information is very helpful! We are a family of 5, mom, dad and 3 kids (11,14,17). If we only wanted to do one boat trip, would you then recommend snorkeling at Cano Island or the Playa del Coco boat tour ? We love snorkeling, beautiful beaches, fishing, anything outdoors really. Thank you ahead of time!
Sammi says
If you will be in the Coco / Papagayo Gulf area, I would say the private boating tour in Coco . Beaches are prettier (white sand, clear turquoise waters), and as a private tour you can add on fishing and then you can stay as long as you want at the beaches or each snorkel spot. The Cano Island snorkeling tour is super nice if your main goal is just to snorkel and see the island, it’s a shared tour so it’s on a set itinerary and you can’t customize it or add fishing, but the snorkeling is better at Cano Island.
Laurie says
Are there any places – even if they aren’t the best – to snorkel right off of the beach without a boat ride? I love to snorkel and can spend hours doing it, but my husband is good for about an hour and then wants to head back to solid ground. We are coming the first 2 weeks of October 2024 if that matters. Rain doesn’t stop us from our travel adventures 🙂
Sammi says
Yes you can snorkel off the rocks inside the Marino Ballena National Park but be careful of the rip tides. The beaches in this area do not have great snorkeling right off the shore. If you love snorkeling, I’d recommend the Cano Island tour. Oct can be quite rainy though so the water clarity may not be good at all if it has been storming.
Paul says
Thank you for arranging this tour for us it was a fantastic day and real amazing tour. Our tour guide was the best and full of energy and really made the trip special. The Snorkeling was fun and the Island beautiful. We had a great lunch on the beach and the boat ride encountered a family of whales.
Thank you to all your team that made the arrangements and assisted throughout. I would not have found so many amazing places to see if it had not been for the MytanFeet.
Sammi says
Hi Paul, we’re glad you had a great time!! Thanks for your feedback!