Coiba Island - Know before you go!

[jimrennak]

My wife and I spent 3 nights/4 days on Coiba Island with ScubaCoiba for a total of 11 dives during the week of Oct 18, 2009. We are experienced Caribbean divers (+500/700 dives, Master Diver/Instructor).

Although the weather was exceedingly rainy (but no wetter than under water), we fully enjoyed the trip and diving; and experienced very little to comlain about (a few 'bad' tanks of air).

Herbie, Adrian (dive master), Orlando (captain), the boat helper, and cook were are very helpful and tried their utmost to met our wishes.

Although the dive equipment and boat were not new - they were fully functional and reliable.

 

[VivaCaribe]

It's fantastic diving, and a good operation for the remote location. I think you pinpointed the issue: weather. In the winter-spring, there is almost zero rain, so you had an October Problem. You can,however, get some rough seas and currents occasionally. For experienced divers, I would say GO THERE and go with Scuba Coiba.

 

[MooMoo]

My partner and I just got back from a 2 week road trip around Panama. We included a 3 day excursion to Coiba with Scuba Coiba. Before we departed we Googled the area and came across this thread started by what seems like some petty dive shop owner who threw a fit because he couldn't use his camera. It did have us a little worried but having dived some fairly remote areas and with many non-5 star operations we thought we'd just give it a go anyway.

I'm pleased to say that the initial post was way out of line and we had a fab time. The day before the dive I was not sure if we would be able to go as I had injured my foot. The owner, Herbie, assured me that he would allow us to change our dive dates if we needed to even though he had already turned down other divers for this specific 3 day trip and probably would not fill it at such late notice. In the end all was good and we left at 8am from Santa Catalina.

The Dive Master, Claire, plus the Captain, Orlando and crew were all very professional. They made sure that our equipment was well set up for every dive and Claire was an excellent underwater guide + brilliant frog fish spotter.
There were 6 divers, us 2 and 4 really nice guys from Pennsylvania.

The person who started this thread also mentioned that the boat didn't have a ladder and they had to flop onto the deck. Ours did have a ladder but we opted to just pull ourselves out the water anyway. It's pretty easy, just fin with the legs and pull with the arms, mate. You'd have to be in fairly bad shape not to be able to manage that, I did it even with one damaged foot.

Some of the highlights were:
- Humpback whale on the surface before our first dive
- Dolphin spotting on the way out to the dives
- Several frog fish
- Reef sharks on every dive and about 18-20 on one of the dives
- Turtles
- Rays
- Octopus
- More morays of various kinds than I have ever seen anywhere else
- Large schools of barracuda
- Loads of other fish on most dives

Coiba island is really interesting and although we didn't have much time to properly explore there is a lookout point which is perfect for sunrise/sunset. Also loads of iguanas, birds, aguti and vultures around the common areas. The accommodation is basic, consisting of a several dorm rooms but there were only myself, my partner and Claire in our dorm and the 4 other guys had their own so was fine.
The meals were all delicious and our cook, Belinda, happily accommodated our dietary requirements.

The others went on to dive more in Santa Catalina which I believe has some lovely sites too.

All in all it was a terrific trip and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. Throw in a bit of a tour of Panama and you've got a proper vacation on your hands.

 

[mikesafish]

I check back to this posting once in a while when I need a good laugh. I dove Coiba for 6 days, 15 dives, and had a marvelous experience. My friends and I dove with MooMoo and Valerie and Scuba Coiba and I can only echo what MooMoo has already said. There are few places left that have the undersea attractions you'll find at Coiba. Go soon, when it's gone you'll be diving Cozumel and wondering where all the fish went. It's fairly remote, the best places usually are, so don't bring dress clothes for dinner. Herbie, Claire and the gang at Scuba Coiba couldn' have been cooler.

We stayed at Hibiscus Garden and even though it's a bit out of town from the shop, we were very pleased with our accomodations.

The fellow who started this thread says he's a diving Instructor. I feel bad for his students.

 

[LazyDiver2012]

oooh...pricey! should anyone go on this boat, please do report back to this thread. we're going on the Inula in April. you'll have to google it since the cops on this site won't let me post their URL.

I was searching for "coiba island" on Google and I came across this post.

I recently came back from a Malpelo/Coiba trip on MY Yemaya II liveaboard. It has a long, comfortable shaded sundeck that lets each guest enjoy the trip in his own way; there is enough space for everyone. Its crew are highly capable and very accommodating. AND it has the best liveaboard food that I have ever tasted on the west coast of North/Central America.

Here's a comment from a guest who went on the combo Cocos/Malpelo/Coiba expedition: Coiba, Cocos & Malpelo Expeditions Sept-Oct 2012 - Rebecca Solis | Coiba Dive Expeditions

Regards,
LazyDiver