Trip Dates: May 21-30, 2026
Trip Leader: Shev
Challenge Level: 🟠Medium
Adventure Level: 🏔️MHT Adventure
Dive Support Level: 💪 Supported
Hello Panama!
We have been looking for the ideal destination to dive in Coiba, so this year we tried Santa Catalina.
It may be a very small fishing village on the Pacific Coast of Panama, but Santa Catalina is actually one of the more developed options for staying on the mainland and still having access to Coiba National Park.
This trip combined culture, remote island life, and some of the best diving in the Eastern Pacific. From exploring Panama City to spending a week in a jungle lodge on the Pacific coast, this was a trip full of wildlife, connection, and moments that reminded us why we love dive travel.
Panama City
The adventure began in Panama City, where the group spent time exploring one of the most vibrant cities in Central America.
Through a guided walking tour, we wandered through historic streets, learned about the country’s unique history, and enjoyed a Panamanian Feast together before heading west toward the coast.
Our city tour ended with the Panama Canal Museum and educating ourselves on the long and storied history of this engineering marvel.
The following day, we packed up and made the journey to Santa Catalina, a small surf and fishing village that serves as the gateway to one of Panama’s greatest treasures: Coiba National Park.
A Week in the Jungle
Now it’s time for adventure! We journeyed Central America style. Stopping along the way for snacks, shopping, and lunch our journey took about 7 hours to reach our final destination of Santa Catalina.
For the next 7 nights we stayed in a cozy jungle lodge overlooking the Pacific, surrounded by nature.
Each morning started with homemade breakfast and cappuccinos, and a short walk to the beach to get in our dive boats.
After diving we would hit the pool where our good friend would bring us fresh beverages while we shared our dive stories from the day and enjoyed the space together.
Diving Coiba National Park
🌡️Water Temps: 27-30c/80-86f
🌊Conditions: Clear! Beautiful visibility. Some sites had medium current
Why did we journey all this way? To dive Coiba National Park!
Often called the “Galápagos of Central America,” Coiba is one of the largest marine protected areas in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Its isolation and protection have helped create a thriving marine ecosystem filled with life.
Many of the same currents that pass through the Galapagos, Cocos Islands, and Malpelo also pass through Coiba, so there is always a chance to see some big wildlife!
Coiba consists of 38 different islands. From Santa Catalina, the boat rides took about 30-75 minutes to get to our first dive site of the day, depending on where we were going.
Over the course of the week, we did 15 boat dives around many different islands.
Highlights included:
- Reef sharks cruising the reefs
- Schools of barracuda
- Mobula rays
- Octopus (so many)
- Frogfish
- Schools of spadefish
- Reef sharks & moray eels hunting together
- so many fish!
The variety was incredible.
One dive might be spent watching a colourful reef full of octopus and small fish. The next could bring giant schools of jacks or barracudamoving through the blue or an unexpected encounter with a whale shark.
That unpredictability is part of what makes Coiba so exciting.
Speaking of unpredictable – we were surprised by a juvenile whale shark after our first dive!
Surface Intervals Done Right
The magic happened not only underwater, but also on our surface stops among the islands.
We spent our breaks between dives snacking on private beaches. Some had start, black, volcanic sand that gave the area a somber look.
While other beaches looked like a National Geographic cover with palm trees, white sand, and turquoise water.
We felt like the only people on the planet out there in the middle of the Pacific.
Community Impact
On our last night of the trip, we adventured to an even smaller, nearby fishing village called Arrimadero.
Comprised of just a few dozen families, Playa Arrimadero is ideally located in a protected bay and river mouth.
We had a freshly caught & cooked seafood dinner, learned about the area, met the local dogs, and appreciated the serenity and beauty of someplace so remote.
Why We Love Panama
Panama provides a unique experience that makes you feel like you’re at the end of the world, but is still accessible from most of our travellers in North America.
The diving is full of life and full of surprises. And the time in between dives is full of natural beauty.
This trip is also the perfect stepping stone to bigger destination trips.
The conditions prep you for Socorro & Malpelo
The style of the trip is a great trial to see if a big adventure trip like Mozambique might be of interest to you.
