Are you stressed and feeling overwhelmed about an upcoming scuba diving trip? Whether you’re going on a quick weekend getaway or an epic adventure abroad, careful planning is essential for a successful dive trip.
Our guest speaker for our April meeting is Vanessa Wiling from Bill Beard’s Costa Rica. Bill Beard’s Cost Rica has been planning dive trips for more than 45 years. They know a little bit about what it takes to plan a successful scuba diving trip. They’ve learned the key things to consider before you leave and on April 13th,2023, they will share their expertise with us.
It will be an exciting presentation filled with valuable tips that will help you confidently plan your next diving trip.
Meeting Details:
Date: 04/13/2023
Time: 7:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Speaker: Vanessa Willing
Please reserve my seat for “Tips for Planning a Successful Dive Trip”
Attendance is limited
Because we want everyone to have a chance to ask Jay any questions they may have, we are limiting the number of attendees for this class.
Our Speaker:
Vanessa Willing
Born and raised in Oregon and California, Vanessa moved to Costa Rica in 2001 and founded Wave Rafting Adventure Company and Find My Costa Rica Travel Agency with the motivation to create personalized trips throughout Costa Rica. In 2013 she also joined Bill and Nadine Beard in managing operations for Bill Beard Costa Rica. Her love for diving, rafting, and all things adventure combined with her expertise in Costa Rica allows her to take over all the complexities and logistics of planning a Costa Rica vacation, so her guests can simply enjoy their trip! She is constantly traveling throughout Costa Rica to source every activity, operator, and experience featured within our products.
One of her favorite locations in Costa Rica is Bajos de Toro waterfall region with mountain landscapes, crystal clear rivers and waterfalls, and a natural landscape like no other in Costa Rica.
Bill Beard’s Costa Rica
The name, Costa Rica, aptly given by Christopher Columbus, means “Rich Coast,” but when Bill Beard first visited Costa Rica on Mother’s Day, August 15, 1970, virtually no one had heard of this tropical rainforest paradise. Bill fell in love with the “Ticos” and their Pura Vida way of life. Being a scuba diver, he searched for a dive shop or even a couple of scuba tanks to rent, but there weren’t any to be found in the country. With opportunity staring him in the face, he traveled home and then quickly bought a one-way ticket and returned to Costa Rica with scuba gear and a couple of tanks in hand.
Bill began teaching scuba to university students in the capital city of San Jose. He opened the first dive shop in Costa Rica and later the first resort dive center in the country. One of his biggest obstacles when starting a resort-based dive center was convincing the local free divers that it was more profitable to learn scuba and show the tropical fish over & over again to the tourists rather than collecting them once to sell. With this one action, sustainable dive tourism in Costa Rica was born.
Costa Rican dive masters continue to make a living today showing those same fish to thousands of tourists. As more and more divers began to come to Costa Rica, Bill wanted to share more of the natural beauty both below and above the water. The company started working with naturalist guides for wildlife expeditions such as visits to see nesting sea turtles and also worked on adding adventure tours such as white-water rafting, zip-lining, and canyon rappelling to the program.
With more than 45 years in the dive and travel industry, Bill Beard’s Costa Rica is widely recognized as one of the leaders in dive and adventure travel in Costa Rica. With knowledgeable destination experts, exceptional ground staff, and strong local relationships you know you are in good hands when you travel with us. Our business practices are designed with continual education of locals and tourists and close involvement within the community of Costa Rica to ensure it will remain Pura Vida– a “pure life” place to visit and vacation.
See the complete list of upcoming meetings of “Uncle Cal’s Dive Club”.