Besides fishing, surfing, swimming or just hanging out, scuba diving is becoming very popular in San Juan del Sur.
San Juan del Sur is a good place to dive as it is considered a natural reserve and is protected by the government of Nicaragua, so the natural marine life is left to go about its business with no interferance from humans. Some of the marine life you can see while scuba diving in San Juan del Sur includes: Snappers, Groupers, Manta Rays, Eagle Rays, Ridley Turtles, Jacks, Honey Combs, Starfish, Tarpoons, spotted eels, Gobbies, Butterfly Fish, Barbers, Cortez angelfish, Bermuda chubbs, Parrot fish, lobsters, octopus, whales, dolphins and Morey eels. Not to mention the marine life that can be seen in and around the coral reefs around the islands of San Juan del Sur.
Another point of interest when scuba diving in San Juan del Sur is the sunken Russian shrimp boat just off the La Paloma Island. This boat has become the habitat for many species of marine animals, and is a great place to observe these animals in their natural habitat. Sitting at a depth of about 52 feet (16 meteres), this is an easy dive that even beginners can do.
The best time to go scuba diving in San Juan del Sur is between late December and Early March, this is when the water clarity is at its optimum to allow for greatest visibility on your dive. While you can scuba dive in San Juan del Sur at other times of the year, the visibility may be poorer due to rain storms and currents which could possibly make the waters murky.
The only diving school which is PADI certified is Neptune Watersports (the instructors name is Fidel Lopez), however there are also other Scuba Instructors and Dive shops in the area as well.
The pricing varies for scuba diving in San Juan del Sur, depending on what you want to do.
Here are some examples of prices for scuba diving in San Juan del Sur from Neptune Waterports: 2 fun dives including the gear, these are not classes they are for experienced divers only, 1,700 cordobas or $85, Open Water Diver course (includes 5 dives) 7,000 cordobas or $350, Discover Scuba Diving Beginner Course (2 Dives) 2,100 cordobas or $105, Advanced Open Water Diving Course (5 Dives, PADI certification) 5,000 cordobas or $250, Rescue Diver Course (6 dives) 8,000 cordobas or $400 and the Divemaster Course (lasts 2 weeks) 12,000 cordobas or $600.
Neptune Watersports also provides all the gear you need to go scuba diving in San Juan del Sur as well as transportation to the locations (the regular dive shops such as Scuba Shack do not do this) and even pick up and return to the airport in Managua, to make it even more convienent and easy to get to San Juan del Sur.