Coiba or Bocas del Toro Panama in May

[Nettie-NZ]

Curious to hear people's comments about diving options in Panama in May. I'm heading there to Panama anyway so thought I should see what the diving is like at the same time.
I don't have many options for my timing due to work commitments so it's looking like my trip has to be May.
From the little bit of reading I've done I like the sound of Coiba, but keen to hear from people who have first hand experience.
Cheers!

 

[Sushi Boy]

We did a trip to Coiba last April and absolutely loved it. Well worth the effort to get there. I have a trip report posted here.

If you have any questions, just let me know.

 

[gb_williams]

I've been visiting Panama for various lengths of time for over 20 years, and I've been diving there for the last 15. Last year, I finally dove Coiba for the first time, and I'm looking forward to going back.

Coiba is an adventure. What you'll see there has very little in common with Bocas del Toro and the Caribbean side. Coiba has deep dives, thermoclines and lots of large animals. Bocas (in May) has shallow dives (max 20 meters), bathtub warm water and small animals. Off Coiba, you'll see lots of reef sharks, large schools of barracuda and jacks, turtles, a large variety of eels, frog fish and coral in small patches. In Bocas, you'll see the smaller Caribbean reef fish, a large variety of coral, and you'll be very lucky if you see a nurse shark or a turtle.

Bocas was once a backpacker's haven (it still is), but over the last 10 years -- and especially the last 5 -- it has seen a surge in development with lots of condos and "natural" resorts that have turned it into much more of a tourist location. Santa Catalina -- the gateway to Coiba -- is still a small, undeveloped haven for surfers and divers and some who never left. It doesn't even have a gas station, so make sure you fill your tank in Santiago or Soná while on your way to Santa Catalina.

If you do choose Coiba, stay on the island. There are limited amenities (you'll sleep in an open barracks room with your fellow divers, and the electricity only available between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM), but just the wildlife alone makes the stay worthwhile.

You also need to consider how you're going to get to either location. There are three ways of getting to Bocas del Toro. One, take an hour-and-15 minute flight on Air Panama from Panama City. Round trip tickets are over $200. Two, drive a rental car to Almirante where you'll park it and take a water taxi to Bocas Town. The drive from Panama City to Almirante takes over 10 long hours, and you have to get to Almirante before the last water taxi leaves at 6:30 PM. (Almirante is not a place you would want to stay overnight.) The cost of the rental car will probably make the Air Panama tickets look like a bargain. Three, you can take the bus. There is a direct, overnight bus from Panama City for something like $10 - $15.

Getting to Coiba (Santa Catalina, actually) is also an all day event. It's a 7 hour drive from Panama City. Or, you can take a series of busses. You catch the last one in Soná, and it only goes to Santa Catalina two or three times a day. Even though the bus is far cheaper, I recommend driving.

I also posted a trip report here.

 

[Nettie-NZ]

Thanks Guys - really appreciate the input. I've got a new twist I'm considering, which is to go to Nicaragua instead. I have to admit that Coiba sounds like awesome diving. Do you know anything about the Corn Islands in Nicaragua?

 

[gb_williams]

Do you know anything about the Corn Islands in Nicaragua?

Unfortunately, no, I don't. Hopefully, someone who has been there will chime in.

 

[Nettie-NZ]

I'm really struggling with my decision. At the moment it's 50/50 - both places have pros and cons.

It sounds like the island of Little Corn is nice - rustic, but the diving is a bit average. However Nicaragua as a whole sounds like a great travel destination for someone like me who's not really into staying in big hotels/resorts. I get by speaking Spanish so that doesn't faze me.

On the other hand I'm an engineer so the Panama Canal really interests me. The diving around Coiba sounds really interesting. The conditions you have described don't worry me (so long as currents aren't too strong and there arent any real up currents/ down currents as well) especially if it means that there are more interesting things in the water to see. How would you rate the diving overall? Do you know if any of the dive shops have Nitrox?

Any other general tips for Panama? Thanks!

 

[gb_williams]

There are lots of places where you can stay in Panama -- throughout the country and within the city -- that are not big hotels or resorts. As a matter of fact, my wife and I avoid the All Inclusives like the plague. We prefer local, non-chain hotels. No Hiltons, Hard Rock, etc. I can offer recommendations if you like.

Panama doesn't have the tourism of Costa Rica or the crime of Costa Rica or Nicaragua. It has a much better infrastructure (like roads) than either country.

I was amazed by the diving in Coiba. I would also say that it was the most adventurous diving I've done. Most of my diving has been in the Caribbean and the majority of that has been Grand Cayman. Coiba is very different, from the types of coral to the marine life to the conditions. We didn't encounter any up or down currents, but we did hit some very strong currents. I loved being in the middle of a huge school of jacks, and on the edge of a huge school of barracuda, and seeing so many reef sharks, and the frog fish. Honestly, I really want to go back again. (With my own, fully intact wetsuit, this time.)

At the time we went to Coiba, none of the dive shops offered Nitrox.

As for the rest of Panama -- what else interests you? You can see the Canal and the major highlights around Panama City in one or two days. To me, the real Panama is in the mountains and along the shores. One of my favorite places is Cerro Punta, in the highlands, near the border with Costa Rica. Hiking around Panama's tallest mountain, Volcán Barú, is a great experience for both what you see close-up in the jungle and for the vistas -- being able to see both the Pacific and the Caribbean and all the great mountains in between from the same spot. Cerro Punta also has thoroughbred farms as beautiful as anything in Kentucky, one of the world's most renowned orchid nurseries, hundreds of species of birds and a coffee mill.

I could go on and on, but I won't for now. Please post any specific questions and I'll try to answer them.

Good luck with your choice!

 

[Tonya Jo]

Hi, I have a dive shop on Big Corn Island in Nicaragua. If you have any questions about the islands or diving just let me know.

 

[Michaelszippy]

I dove two days in Coiba last June and had what I understand was an atypical experience. The first day, first dive, the visibility was simply awful (maybe 20 feet), borderline unsafe. We saw nothing and elected to do our second dive off the mainland where things were a little better. Second day, the visibility was improved, although still not great. We saw some large rays and that was about it. The current was extremely strong (apparently the rays like this); going across it required pulling yourself along the bottom with your hands...going against it demanded the same technique and was difficult. A couple of people in my group had brought hand-held hooks to facilitate the process. The locals said that the visibility was usually much better, but that many Coiba dive sites have powerful currents.

I used rental equipment and the condition was so-so. You need to inspect things very carefully and insist on replacements when they tell you that they have been diving with that torn boot for six months and it's not a problem. Of six divers, three of the tanks leaked at the regulator connection and the boat had no spare o-rings.

On the positive, our divemaster was a marine biologist and was probably the most knowledgeable marine life person I have ever dived with. On the inshore dive, he took us to a cleaning station where we hung out for about 15 minutes watching the fascinating symbiotic relationships unfold.

I travelled in both Nicaragua and Panama last year, although I haven't been to the Corn Islands. I'm going to assume that the latter are more developed than the rest of Nicaragua. Panama and Nicaragua are night and day different. In a nutshell, Nicaragua is very very poor and Panama is pretty middle class. For the most part, the roads in Panama are paved and you can always find a good cup of coffee. The canal is fascinating, particularly for an engineer. If you're just staying on the Corn Islands, you'll miss a lot of the experience of Nicaragua. We found it to be very safe and very inexpensive. It's definitely a 'developing economy' place to travel, which is not everyone's cup of tea.

Either way, you'll have a great experience.

 

[gb_williams]

Michael, which dive op did you go with to Coiba?