Level: Resort nearby
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Last updated on April 7, 2024
Located on the southern tip of Cristobal Island, the CocoVivo is a remote accommodation in the Bocas del Toro archipelago. Accessible only by boat (and usually only by staying at the guesthouse), it gives access to a good example of a mangrove ecosystem reef. Even if the visibility can be quite bad, interesting sights of reef fish and invertebrates are possible at shallow depth.
CocoVivo is a small bed and breakfast located on the southern shore of Cristobal Island, in the Bocas del Toro archipelago.
The CocoVivo is only accessible by sea. To get there, there is little other way than to stay there, or to be in a nearby hotel and come by kayak (call the guest room beforehand to ask them for permission to attach your kayak on the guesthouse jetty). If you stay at the CocoVivo, the boat transfer will be organized by the guesthouse.
Water entrance is from CocoVivo’s private jetty. Around, the coastline is lined with almost impenetrable mangroves.
The snorkeling area covers the approximately 30-meter-wide reef that stretches out in front of the CocoVivo. Near the shore, the reef flat is too shallow to snorkel, but from the jetty, the reef gradually drops to 25-30 feet/8-10 meters.
This spot is worth especially for its seabed, where weeds, colored sponges, small corals, clams and sea anemones abound. If you like small critters, there is a fascinating little world to explore, including sea urchins, starfish, sea urchins, shrimps, worms and spider crabs.
The reef supports a diversity of fish species, including butterflyfish, hamlets, gray angelfish, snapper and barracuda. Schools of Atlantic spadefish, a species rather rarely seen in snorkeling, often wander at the foot of the drop-off. More exceptionally, you may encounter a nurse shark, impressive in size but harmless to snorkelers.
Visibility can be average due to plankton or particles.
This spot is the house reef of CocoVivo, a remote guesthouse offering sea view bungalows.
These spots are accessible to anyone with basic snorkeling skills, and feeling comfortable in the water and with his snorkeling gear. You will enter the water from the shore (beach, pontoon, ladder, rocks) or from a boat. The water height in the sea entrance area is reasonable, but you will not necessarily be within your depth. Moderate currents can occur in the area, even when the sea conditions are good. The distance to swim to reach the most interesting snorkeling areas of the spot does not exceed 200 meters. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
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Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
