Bocas Del Toro Diving

[Gdog]

Any input on diving in or around Bocas? Planning on moving to Panama, and would love to hear from people who have dove there.

 

[islandboysrule]

Dove coiba couple weeks ago. Heard great things about Bocas. A few good you tube videos out there

 

[Gdog]

Dove coiba couple weeks ago. Heard great things about Bocas. A few good you tube videos out there

Tell me what you thought of Coiba

 

[islandboysrule]

Tell me what you thought of Coiba

Unbelievably scenic. Jurassic Park!
Whale watching was the highlight, diving was 7/10. Not much to see that was epic - except while sitting in a cloud of plankton and a whale shark cruises by. Again - all seasonal.

I think it’s bucket list to go there. Santa Catalina is a brilliant small town. Great food and not very expensive

 

[gb_williams]

I have dove Bocas del Toro at various times over the past 20 years. Before the lionfish, overfishing and bleaching coral (in some places), I liked Bocas better than Roatan. It had more species of coral than anywhere else in the Caribbean. For most of the year, you'll dive inside the barrier islands (Bastimentos, Zapatillas). The diving will be shallow -- 15' to 60'. Visibility will vary from 10' to 60'. The water is very warm, so you won't need anything more than rash guard. From September until mid-November, the sea will be calm enough that you can go out to the barrier reef -- the one that starts in Yucatan and ends in Colombia. The diving will be deeper and you're more likely to see larger marine life. I'd recommend going with La Buga.

I dove Coiba a couple of years ago, when you could still stay at the ranger station, which made the western dive sites reachable. It's very definitely for advanced divers, as most dives are deep and you have to deal with very strong currents and rapid changes in visibility. I've never seen more sharks in my life! At one site, we peered over a ledge to see 10 white-tipped reef sharks on the sand just below us. I also loved being immersed in huge schools of jacks and barracuda. The neon frog fish were amazing, too.

 

[GetDownScuba]

Dived with Bocas Dive Center. Great op. Fun town. Dives were just meh, not much sea life. Reef was pretty beat. But, Hospital Point was the most scenic (surface) dive site I’ve ever been at.

 

[RyanT]

Topside, Bocas tends towards the tourist/party destination. If that's your thing, great. For me, I much prefer diving with Golden Frog Scuba in Portobelo. It's a pretty easy drive from Panama City. It's small and laid back and you'll get great personalized service with Golden Frog.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I didn't dive at Portobelo but we stopped in on our way by to and again on our way back from Isla Grande. I thought it was lovely and wondered at the time about the diving.

 

[Gdog]

All good stuff. Portobelo area interests me also.

 

[vicky-g.]

Dove Coiba two months ago and asked the guides about Bocas ( one of them born there) and they said it's absolutly trashed by now and they would not recommend diving there anymore.