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Scuba Diving in the Santa Catalina Area​

Scuba divers visiting Santa Catalina have two major options; Local diving within 15 minutes of Playa Santa Catalina or trips to the Coiba National Park. Both are spectacular diving, offering excellent examples of Panama's Pacific Ocean riches.

Isla Coiba

Scuba Dives

Santa Catalina is currently the best mainland base from which to launch day scuba dive trips to Isla Coiba. With an hour to an hour and a half boat trip to Isla Coiba from the beach at Santa Catalina, time to access to the national park is cut by at least half compared to most other launching points along the Panamanian Pacific coast.

Because of the cost of park admission and extra gas and time for the boat and crew, day trips to Isla Coiba run roughly 60% to 70% more than local Santa Catalina dives. For the extra money, you are offered world class diving that has been favorably compared as a combination of the Galapagos and Cocos Islands.

In addition to the great variety and quantity of fish and coral offered in the local dives, Isla Coiba offers opportunities for viewing large quantities of pelagic, such tuna, various rays, sailfish, marlin, whales, dolphin and sharks. Surface intervals are opportunities to explore the unique wildlife and unspoiled beaches of Coiba and surrounding islands.

Another option offered from Santa Catalina is two to three day combination scuba dive and eco-tour trips to Isla Coiba. Overnights will be at the ANAM ranger station. Access to this area is very limited and arranged by reservation by your dive guide. This option provides multiple world class dives with eco-tours through one of the world’s finest virgin rainforest and all the unique plants and animals it has to offer. Still relatively unexplored and unknown even to the scientific community, Isla Coiba offers an unspoiled and uncrowded adventure available from few other places in the world.