Punta Uva Dive CenterResort

Punta Uva Dive Center sits right on the beach at Punta Uva, on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast near Limon, in a two-story house backed by rainforest. Sloths, monkeys and toucans are easy to spot from the shop, and howler monkeys are part of the soundtrack.

The PADI resort dives a fringing reef inside the Gandoca Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge, only minutes from the door. Expect sea fans, brain coral, parrotfish, barracuda, eagle rays and the odd nurse shark. The training area has a lounge for videos and a hammock corner for reading, and the shore dives suit open water lessons.