Why Diving Isla del Cocos (Cocos Island) Has Been on My Bucket List for Years

In just over a month, I'll be boarding a live-aboard boat headed for Isla del Coco (Cocos Island), Costa Rica, and honestly, it still doesn't feel real.

This isn't a trip I decided to take on a whim. It's been on my bucket list since I was young, for years! Long before I booked it, long before I started saving for it, and long before I knew if it would ever actually happen.

I've always been drawn to experiences that make me feel alive. Maybe that's the ADHD in me, maybe it's just part of who I am, but I've never been someone who dreams about sitting on a beach for a week with no adrenaline hits. I love adventure. I love unexpected experiences and challenges. I love exploring. I love those moments that make your heart beat a little faster and remind you how incredible this world really is. Because it really is fucking incredible!!

For as long as I can remember, the ocean has had that effect on me. The moment I drop below the surface, the world above fades away. The familiar sounds of everyday life are replaced by the liveliness of the underwater world - the crackling of the reef, the rhythm of my own breath, the endless sounds of an underwater world that feels both peaceful and incredibly alive.

Under the water, it's easy to lose track of everything happening on the surface and become completely immersed in the present moment. There is nowhere else that makes me feel so connected, humbled, inspired, and at peace all at once.

I've had some incredible dives and I've been lucky enough to encounter animals that most people only ever see in documentaries. One of my biggest dreams was to dive with whale sharks, and I was fortunate enough to make that happen. It was every bit as magical as I imagined, but even after that, there was still one experience that sat at the very top of my diving bucket list - Hammerhead sharks.

There's just something about them. Maybe it's their unique shape, maybe it's the mystery of seeing entire schools of them swimming together, or maybe it's because they're one of those animals that seem almost unreal until you're face-to-face with them.

And when divers talk about the best place in the world to see hammerheads, one destination keeps coming up over and over again - Cocos Island.

One of the reasons Isla del Coco fascinates me isn't just because of the incredible diving. It's because it represents what can happen when a place is protected. The waters around Cocos Island support an astonishing amount of marine life, from hammerhead sharks and whale sharks to manta rays, dolphins, and countless other species. Places like this remind us why marine conservation matters.

For decades, Isla del Coco has served as a refuge for migratory species that travel vast distances across the Pacific Ocean. The island's protected waters provide critical habitat for sharks, rays, turtles, and countless other marine species, making it one of the most important marine conservation areas in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

That's one of the reasons I'm excited to be traveling with Aggressor Adventures, on their Okeanos Aggressor II live-aboard. Beyond providing access to one of the world's most incredible dive destinations, these expeditions help connect people to the ocean in a way that inspires respect for it.

When you witness a school of hammerhead sharks in the wild, conservation stops being an abstract concept and becomes something deeply personal. It's not just about the sharks - it's about experiencing an entire ecosystem thriving as nature intended, from the largest pelagic species to the smallest creatures hidden in the reef.

Moments like these reveal the true value of protecting our oceans and the wild places that still remain. Surrounded by thriving reefs, graceful manta rays, countless species of fish, and an ecosystem that still feels wild, you begin to understand what is truly at stake. Places like Isla del Coco are a reminder of what our oceans can look like when nature is given the chance to flourish.

The more time I spend in nature, whether on land or underwater, the more I realize that these experiences come with a responsibility. If we want future generations to experience places like Isla del Coco, we need to support conservation efforts and sustainable tourism practices that protect them.

The island itself is legendary among divers. It's remote, wild, and located hundreds of kilometres off Costa Rica's Pacific coast. Getting there isn't easy. You spend almost two days crossing open ocean before you even arrive.

Although I'm incredibly, beyond excited, I have to admit I'm pretty nervous about the journey over to the island, only because I always get sea sick on boats. ALWAYS. And with it being the rainy season during the trip, with rain often comes bigger waves and a rougher trip, I'm hoping I can manage my sickness and not be vomiting for four days of travel total. Only time will tell...

This Trip Became About More Than Diving

The funny thing is that this trip has become about much more than diving. Costa Rica has been my heart and home through some of the most important chapters of my life.

It's where I got married. It's where I raised my babies. It's where I built a life that I genuinely loved to the core. It's also where some of the hardest chapters happened.

Eventually life changed, and I found myself back in Canada, rebuilding in ways I never expected. The last few years have been filled with growth, uncertainty, healing, learning, and figuring out who I am now and that's also why this trip feels so meaningful.

I'm not going back to Costa Rica as the same person who left. I'm going back as someone who has been through a lot, learned a lot, and slowly started creating a new version of her life.

When I committed to this trip on my birthday in 2024, it felt impossibly far away. Deep down, I knew this was something I needed to do because I needed a dream. I needed something that belonged entirely to me. Something exciting to work toward.

Now, almost two years later, I'll be boarding that boat on my birthday.

This trip has already given me something valuable. It gave me something to believe in while I was rebuilding. It gave me a goal when I needed one. It reminded me that it's okay to choose myself sometimes.

Of course I want to see hammerheads. I want to see the fascinating marine life that makes Isla del Coco one of the most sought after dive destinations on Earth. I want to witness a place that shows what's possible when conservation is taken seriously. Places like Isla del Coco are becoming increasingly rare, and I feel so so grateful for the opportunity to experience it while supporting the protection of the ecosystems that make it so special.

But, just as much as that, I want to stand on the deck of that boat, look out across the Pacific Ocean, and remember that there is still a vast, wild world beyond our routines, responsibilities, and everyday worries. A world that reminds me how small I am, how extraordinary this planet truly is, and that there is more out there than we think, and more in us than we think.

And after all these years, Isla del Coco is finally within reach.

Thanks for following along on this adventure! I'll be sharing the journey every step of the way, so if there's anything you'd like to know, let me know in the comments below.

Let's go!

Shaya

Costa Rica Corner