May 29-June 8, 2026 | Cocos Island Trip Report | Sea Hunter

We departed Puntarenas on a calm, smooth crossing and arrived at Cocos Island ready for the first expedition of the 2026 season! On our check out dive we spotted whitetips, a silvertip, and a turtle, with a few hammerheads and marble rays making their appearance by the third dive of the day.

Day 2 we saw a huge step up in action. A manta ray joined our group at Punta Maria early in the dive and stayed close for nearly the entire time. It was one of those encounters we’ll never forget! Dirty Rock then delivered a spectacular show – as we rounded the rock to the second cleaning station, hammerheads were everywhere, moving through in groups of 10 to 20 at a time. We wrapped the day with a relaxed sunset dive at Pajara, which was a nice way to decompress after the excitement.

Day 3 was arguably the highlight of the week. Alcyone opened with a massive school of big-eye jacks so dense it darkened the entire site — then, drifting into the blue, we found a school of juvenile hammerheads, nearly all of them 3-4 feet long, and they stayed with us for the last 20 to 30 minutes of the dive. A manta passed overhead to complete the picture. Manuelita Outside followed with more hammerhead action, a group of 8–9 eagle rays gliding past, and a wall of 50+ hammerheads swimming tight together as we drifted along. This was one of our favorite dives of the trip!

Day 4 brought a mix of conditions. Big Dos Amigos offered solid fish life and white tips inside the arch. While strong current forced us to abort Small Dos Amigos, Dirty Rock stepped in and delivered a great school of hammerheads that accompanied us for the last portion of the dive. The afternoon dive at Porites Bay turned up around 8 silvertip sharks circling their rock.

Day 5 saw exceptional hammerhead activity in the morning, including a dive aborted at Punta Maria due to strong current — a decision the whole group supported. Safety first, always! We enjoyed a relaxing dive in the coral garden.

On Day 6 we returned to Manuelita Outside twice, and both dives were worth it — strong hammerhead activity at the cleaning stations, eagle rays, Galapagos sharks, and the school of hammerheads appearing in the blue again. The afternoon land excursion to Chatham Bay and the lookout point was a lovely change of pace.

Our final day of diving was quieter, but Cocos sent us off with lots of hammerheads, a manta, and a Galapagos shark on the last dive. We said our goodbyes to the island and began the crossing home. Our first trip of 2026 to Cocos Island delivered, and we can’t wait for what the rest of 2026 has in store!