Pacheco Tours - Snorkeling Tour in Caño Island from Drake Bay
Recommended by 94% of travelers
Drake Bay, Costa Rica
- 6 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Caño Island is a remote island off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Take a boat ride from Drake Bay to the island where you’ll spend time snorkeling with provided equipment, followed up with some relaxation time at San Josecito beach back on the mainland. Places on this small-group activity are limited to 12 people.
- Caño Island full-day boat trip with a licensed tour guide
- Snorkeling at two different sites off Caño Island
- Snacks and lunch provided with vegetarian and vegan options available
- A small group allows for a more personal experience
What's Included
- Use of Snorkeling equipmentUse of Snorkelling equipment
- Snacks
- Lunch
- All Fees and Taxes
- Transportation
- Guide
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Rancho Corcovado LodgePuntarenas Province, Osa, Costa Rica
We meet at Rancho Corcovado Hotel in Drake Bay... we will meet at 7:15 am to try equipment.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.7:30 am
Itinerary
1
Cano Island
5 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Playa San Josecito
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Alessandra_A
Very well organized tour, left on time with a group of 14 and two guides direction Isla de Caño, 40ish min ride. Beautiful snorkeling, with a short break with sneak and fruits on the island and a second at the Playa San Josecito. Back on town for lunch. Highly recommended!
Reviews
4.7
based on 239 reviews
Michele_B, Feb 2026
It was a wonderful experience! Our guide showed us so many fish, turtles, and sharks. O think we were really lucky to see so many different creatures in such a short time. Everything was good organized, and good food at the end!
Gabriel_O, Feb 2026
We saw everything, including wales. Was an amazing tour, really enjoyed it. Would definitely recommend.
Alessandra_A, Jan 2026
Very well organized tour, left on time with a group of 14 and two guides direction Isla de Caño, 40ish min ride. Beautiful snorkeling, with a short break with sneak and fruits on the island and a second at the Playa San Josecito. Back on town for lunch. Highly recommended!
sasha_C, Jan 2026
We saw dolphins on the way there which was lovely - we kept a respectful distance.
We saw turtles, sharks and lots of colourful fish.
The guide and captain were great - felt very safe the whole time. The captain follows along as you snorkel keeping an eye out.
It is a small boat, there is no ladder to get in and out - the guide helps to pull you up into the boat. You need to be fit for the snorkelling and to get into the boat. You need to move quickly and jump off the side of the boat ideally due to the current. Wasn't an issue for us but thought useful to note.
The lunch is provided at the end of the trip - back in the main town and down a hill. In hindsight we would have given this a miss, as at the end of the trip you just want to go and relax and get dry. The food was okay (pesto pasta).
Aleksi_K, Dec 2025
Knowledgeable and nature respecting guide. We saw one turtle and many fish. Visibility was ok, but that is not anyone's fault. Good to know that because Caño island is a nature reserve you are not allowed to swim everywhere. Guide is with you in the water making sure everybody is fine and following the rules. And also pointing out interesting fishes and other creatures.
Angie_Y, Jun 2025
Excellent experience!! Saw dolphins on the ride out, although viz wasn’t awesome still saw turtles and lots of fish! They let you out at a couple beautiful beaches and then an excellent lunch!! Guide was good.
Akshay_E, Apr 2025
Overall a good experience. We were able to see turtles and exotic fish when snorkeling. There was apparently a shark visible but the sighting was very fleeting. There was perhaps a bit too much downtime on the beaches, but overall a worthwhile experience
April_H, Apr 2025
We spent a lot of time in the ocean. Swim leggings and rash guard are highly recommended! Alvaro was a great guide. He was able to point out several sea creatures including sharks!
Katherine_C, Apr 2025
Highly reccomend! great guide and experience. Bring a dry bag and lord of sunscreen. We saw pacific green turtle and many fish
Amina_K, Mar 2025
Great experience, my partner and I really enjoyed the snorkeling and the crew was very helpful and reassuring and kept us safe. The instructor was experienced and made sure all goes smoothly. We saw some beautiful fish, manta ray and turtles and the beaches we stopped at were simply breathtaking. I would only recommend to take good pills upfront if you are getting easily seasick as the sea could be rough:)
Dalia_G, Mar 2025
I’m so disappointed because I spent almost $100 and I was so frustrated because we don’t see almost nothing. the corals are dying there AND almost no fish and even the Guide told us :” it was boring the snorkelling”. It’s so expensive for nothing.
Krystal_L, Mar 2025
Incredible tour, we saw sharks, manta rays, sting rays, turtles and a myriad of fish. It was perfect and excellent value for money
Jonas_V, Feb 2025
Nice activity to do from Drake Bay. Well organized and smoothly run by the team of Alvaro from Pacheco tours. We were well taken care of and snorkeled two times as advertised: once before our stop at caño island and once after. The second time was particularly nice, since it was in deeper water, a bit further away from the island: we saw a lot of big sharks and other big fish species. The water was so clear, we could see the rocks and the associated sealife even at large depths. That is of course entirely depending on the weather and sea conditions, but it is definitely possible. Take note that this snorkeling trip is guided, since it is in national park protected waters so no "free roaming" during snorkeling. The upside is that you can profit from the experience of the guide to show you where the nice stuff is. I would have missed the turtle and sea eel without him. Remember to protect yourself well from the sun as it can be brutal to your exposed back and backside of your legs. I would absolutely recommend wearing at least a long sleeved shirt and shorts since sunscreen eventually gets washed off regardless its advertised "water resistance".
Victor_G, Jan 2025
We really enjoy! Kind team, calm and professional. We recommend. Dolphins and égales were seen on bonus!
Yueran_M, Oct 2024
The tour is nicely organized. But in my personal opinion snorkeling in Belize is a lot better in terms of water visibility, colorful corals, and marine life. I give 4 stars not because anything is wrong with the tour group, but because I can only give up to 5 stars for Belize.
Meredith_K, Mar 2024
Itinerary was as advertised. Good mix of snorkeling and relaxing on Cano Island and San Josecita beach. Guide and boat captain spent time when dolphins were spotted. Water was not super clear but good amount of fish and guide helped to point out turtles.
Ingrida_K, Mar 2024
Description not clear of where the location is. Very disappointed, got no refund. Money and time wasted.
Chastastic, Feb 2024
Did get to see dolphins and turtles. Started a little late for a .mechanical issue but switched boats and were on our way. Had a good lunch at one of our my favored restaurants in town. Good guide..we'd definitely go again.
Stephen_G, Feb 2024
Seeing 3 hawksbill tortugas. A pair of scarlet macaws, muchos hermit crabs. Windy, choppy waters. Engine trouble at first. Fixed quickly.
Nathaniel_T, Dec 2023
Amazing experience, well paced, multiparty journey with experienced tour operators. Note the tour is bilingual.
We departed on time, after being offered some tea and coffee, and embarked on a dmall transport ship from the Rancho Corconvado beach.
From there our experienced captains took us about 1.5 hours to Isla de Caño. Note the passage can be turbulent, as it's a small ship moving at high speed over the open sea. It's a beautiful ride, and the crew was accommodating.
We disembarked about 500 metets from Isla de Caño, where we explored the undersea volcanic ridges and corals. Sadly, almost all the coral was dead (typical now with climate change), however there was still a lot of life in the area. Even during rain, the clarity of the sea was about 70%.
I swam with dolphins, sea turtles, lemon sharks, parrot fish, angle fish and many others. There were numerous sea turtles that allowed us to get quite close.
Our guides were very experienced, Adrian was a fun, upbeat person. The tour didn't have dive flags, so we had to tie use life jackets as dive markers, and it was a bit hard to keep track if the group while in the ocean, because several other tour groups arrived after us. They could benefit from the use of dive flags or a visual way to identify the ship and group at sea.
I felt I had a good amount of freedom to leave the group and follow animals, as well as free dive into the volcanic rocks. I saw a number of animals the group missed this way, as large groups will scare off marine life.
We did a one hour dive at on area, then spent about an hour on Isla de Caño, where we hiked up to a look out. We were not permitted to enter the trails, as it is a protected site for archeological and biological reasons.
After that we dove in a second area for another hour, with a good mix of deep water and shallow areas. Note the volcanic rocks are sharp, and you need to remain careful to avoid hitting them.
We then crossed the bay and returned to the mainland, at Playa de Josecito, a small cove with an island. After a half hour we returned to Bahia Drake, where we had a great buffet lunch at the Drake Inn..
Overall it was a great experience, and the tour operators were really helpful and accommodating. The experience was great, and I saw many unique marine animals.
Stijn_B, Mar 2026
Snorkeling is beautiful! Only there is no drinking provided... that's a minus the snack is 1 cookie bit unfortunate. And lunch is 1 pizza for 2 people at a restaurant back at drake not even on the beach bit disappointing.
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Johan_M, Dec 2025
Cozy atmosphere, good communication.
Many seen by professional guides who swim with us.
Lunch was also well arranged and tasty.
You can book this tour with confidence.
If you're sailing, you need to put on a life jacket.
Don't have to be. In the water you can take it off but keep it on the string with you.
You can just swim down and loosen the choir. Not experiencing any obstruction.
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Brian_J, Aug 2025
The snorkeling itself was great where we saw a lot of beautiful fish including a small shark and also a lot of turtles!
In terms of snacks we only got a few cookies and a piece of pineapple at a beach. There was no drinking until lunch. So important to bring your own drinks (so we had not done because it said that snacks were provided).
End was a bit vague where we were left at a restaurant and we had to find our own way back (taxi or walking). Missed the chance that, unlike other groups, the guide didn’t take pictures/videos underwater, I would have liked to have bought them. However, they actively searched for whales and also found one for us.
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Isabelle_U, Aug 2025
Very cool tour! Super nice guide who told us a lot. Have seen humpback whales, dolphins, turtles and many fish, among others.
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Viola_L, Dec 2024
Leuke afwisselende activiteit met grote kans om haaien en schildpadden te zien bij de duiken bij Isle del Canõ. Op de heenweg kans om dolfijnen te spotten.
Je verblijft tussendoor op mooie stranden en de lunch aan het eind is echt goed.
Philippe_S, Jul 2024
L'équipe a été formidable..
Je recommande grandemant cette journée ...
Mais pour se rendre à la bay Drake planifier 25 km de route un brin difficile ..mais le village typique de ce beau pays .
Casper_B, Dec 2023
Super veel schildpadden en vissen gezien. Kundige gids die ook filmpjes onder water maakte met één van de telefoons. Zeker een aanrader!
Nathalie_H, Nov 2023
Todo estuve super bien organisais. Guida super sympaticos y hemos visto varias tortugas, monton de pesés ..
Fue un dia increible.
Rmi_B, Apr 2022
L'eau était calme mais brassée. La visibilité était assez réduite dans l'eau.
On voyait assez bien autour des rochers avec quelques poissons et un petit requin, mais malheureusement le guide était assez pressé et on ne pouvait pas s'attarder au niveau d'un point de vue avec une bonne visibilité.
La 2ème session de snorkeling était assez courte.
Pour le déjeuner, à peine nous avions fini de manger, on a été prié de quitter la table après un "Pura Vida" assez déplacé pour laisser la place à des personnes qui voulaient manger...
From $95.00
per person-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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