Dive Review of Scuba Coiba in
Panama/Isla Coiba

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Scuba Coiba, Nov, 2007, by Laszlo Ilyes, OH, USA ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 3749.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	- While the drive from Panama City to Santiago is quite easy (via the Panamerican Highway), getting from Santiago to Santa Catalina (where Scuba Coiba is located) is far more difficult than I was led to believe in Undecurrent's May 2007 article (Vol. 22, No.5). It is absolutely impossible to make the "pleasant" drive in 4.5 hours as stated, unless you exceed the speed limits by 25% and risk a blowout in the pothole-rutted pavement between Santiago and Santa Catalina. If you make the drive, do it in daylight and count on at least 6 hours to make it a "pleasant drive." Or hire a private driver through Scuba Coiba. - The diving off Santa Catalina (outside of the National Park) is good. The sea life is rich and varied, though there were few if any pelagics to be found there. The visibility was fair and the conditions were better suited for macro and "narrow angle" photography. The dive sites are, for the most part, undersea mountains with large schools of jacks, snappers, and grunts. Look for the Panamic Sea Cushion! They are common and are unusually nice to photograph. - Within the protected marine zone of Coiba National Park, I found the visibility to be much better, although highly variable. I always saw at least one white-tipped reef shark on any dive and on some dives I could see three at a time. Giant frogfish are not uncommon and I was delighted to see my first guitarfish and my first whale shark in the waters surrounding the Coiba. There were large schools of all types of fish, including angelfish, eagle rays, large-eye jacks, blue & gold snappers, and several species of grunts. Be prepared for all of the Panamic Green Morays you can handle. They are everywhere and grow very large. We also saw a Goliath Grouper (several hundred pounds). It was the largest grouper I'd ever seen. On one dive, we were serenaded by a humpback whale, though we never actually spotted it. - The accomodations on Isla Coiba were dorm-style with clean bedding provided, along with air-conditioning and non-private bathroom accomodations. There was running water but there was absolutely no difference in temperature between the hot and cold taps during my stay. The food was excellent. We ate seafood-rice (paella without the saffron), fresh steamed lobsters, chicken stew, pork chops, Panamanian corned-beef, and a delicious lentil soup that was often ladled over rice. Breakfasts were always too big, featuring scrambled eggs, tortillas, fresh cut papaya or pineapple, and fried plantains. It was all delicious! There are many cabins on the island, along with a visitor's center and a fully staffed ranger station. The photo in the undercurrent article is also a bit deceiving, showing a single cabin described as "Coiba's Only Accomodation." Fiction... - On a sour note, my fellow divers from DiveTulsa had to cut their visit short. They are avid videographers and brought 2 cameras that they were intent on using on all of their dives. After our first day of diving Coiba, the police became aware of the equipment and decided to enforce a law requiring them to buy a permit for $3000 USD per half hour of "filming." The law is supposed to only apply to commercial video, but the officials insist that they don't know how the video will be used so they enforce this law for ALL video. DiveTulsa was allowed to keep their video for the first three dives without paying any fees, but they opted to leave, as the fee was to be assessed on subsequent dives if they took their cameras. You'll never see this law mentioned anywhere (online or in print) when you research your Coiba scuba trip. So, if you plan to shoot video on your dives, this is NOT the place for you. - In summary, I experienced some of the best diving of my life in Coiba National Park. Scuba Coiba provided me with excellent service, great food, and excellent, economical diving. Photo opportunities abound for still photographers, but do not plan on shooting any video in Coiba National Park. I plan to return some day.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Bonaire & Curaçao (N.A.); Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, & Puerto Vallarta (Mexico); Cayman Islands; Guanaja (Honduras); Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Maui (Hawaii); Arraial do Cabo (Brazil)
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	81-84°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-70 Ft/ 6-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	For still photography, there is a wide range of subject matter, from tiny macros to large pelagics. The visibility is highly variable, sometimes even during the same dive, depending on depth, location, and current. Conditions are usaully better inside the National Park, as opposed to the waters outside of it. Search under "laszlo-photo" on the Flickr.com photo website for my still-shots from this trip. NO VIDEO is permitted in (or around) Isla Coiba without an expensive permit ($3000 USD per half hour). This is not advertised anywhere but it was enforced during my visit. Ignore anyone that tells you this applies only to commercial video. The park rangers and police said it best themselves... how do they know how you plan to use your video?

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Dive Review of Scuba Coiba in Panama/Isla Coiba

Scuba Coiba, Nov, 2007,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Scuba Coiba in
Panama/Isla Coiba