Bocas Del Toros or Coiba, Panama ?

[keoneu]

I am going down to Bocas Del Toros for a week with my family in July. I have heard that you can see whales, whale sharks, giant mantas, etc.. in Coiba and I am wondering if it is worth the 3 days it will cost me to go over to Coiba for a day.

Otherwise, I will just stay in Bocas and dive. Does anyone know what I should expect out of diving in July in Coiba ? Am I just as far ahead to stay in Bocas ?

Thanks

 

[cappyjon431]

I am going down to Bocas Del Toros for a week with my family in July. I have heard that you can see whales, whale sharks, giant mantas, etc.. in Coiba and I am wondering if it is worth the 3 days it will cost me to go over to Coiba for a day.

Otherwise, I will just stay in Bocas and dive. Does anyone know what I should expect out of diving in July in Coiba ? Am I just as far ahead to stay in Bocas ?

Thanks

The diving in Bocas and Coiba are totally different.

Bocas offers very easy diving (warm water, flat calm seas, no currents, fairly shallow sites) with excellent macro life. We don't see a lot of big fish, but the coral life is amazing, we have about 140 species of reef fish that we see on a regular basis, and incredible invertebrate life (sea stars, crab, lobster, shrimp, nudibranchs, anemones, sponges, marine worms, etc.). Visibility averages about 35 feet, which is OK but certainly not "great."

Coiba offers much more in the way of big critter encounters and much less as far as corals, invertebrates, and tropical reef fish. You are much more likely to see large schools of fish at Coiba. The diving in Coiba tends to be a little more advanced, with colder water, strong currents, and sometimes big waves. Viz in Coiba is variable, it can be almost 100', but it can also be less than 20', depending on tides, currents, and ocean upwellings.

Both locations offer great diving, but the question really is whether you want to make an additional trip (not an easy one) over to the Pacific side. If time/money is not an object, I would suggest trying to do a little diving in both areas so you can see some of the best diving that Panama has to offer.

If you have any specific questions about Bocas (hotels, transportation, restaurants, diving, etc.) please feel free to send me a PM on Scubaboard.

 

[mselenaous]

I agree with Cappyjon. I didn't get an opportunity to dive Bocas (it's still on my must-do-list), but spent a year diving Coiba and the coastal islands of Veraguas province. Be prepared for some occasionally strong currents which might be challenging to a novice diver. Most diving there is around 60+ feet. Great vis is 100+ ft while a bad vis day is about 40ft. There are plenty of large critters to see and the Smithsonian STRI has documented some 50+ different species of hard & soft corals there. Coiba National Park (a series of islands) is more isolated, harder to get to, and of course much fewer amenities. If you decide to get, PM me for contacts in Santa Catalina.

 

[keoneu]

Thanks for the info. I might delay the Coiba trip because, as I see it, it will take about 3 days out of our 7 just for me to go over there and dive for a single day. From what I hear, I would be further ahead just to plan a trip to the Cocos Islands. Any thoughts ?

 

[cappyjon431]

Cocos is on my bucket list, but it is a long and fairly expensive trip. Approximately 36 hour boat ride out, 36 hours back, usually seven days of diving in between. Last time I checked prices, it was about $4000.