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Together with my two daughters, we dived with PDC for three days at the beginning of January.
We spent two days at Coiba on relatively easy dives, perfect for Open Water divers like my daughters, and one day I went to Contreras, which offers slightly more advanced dives.
In total, I completed nine dives over the three days.
Location
Panama Dive Center is located in Santa Catalina, a small fishing village that attracts divers and surfers. The town has basic but sufficient infrastructure, offering several lodging and dining options.
Getting to Santa Catalina is straightforward. You can drive from Panama City, with the most challenging part being the last 40 minutes. However, road improvements are underway, which will make the trip even better in the future. (IMHO there's no need for a 4x4 vehicle, contrary to some recommendations I've seen on the net).
Alternatively, buses are available, with several daily services from the nearest city, Soná.
Panama Dive Center
The dive center is well-equipped and highly organized. It’s evident that they are accustomed to hosting divers from around the world, whether solo or in groups. Their professionalism is complemented by their warm and welcoming atmosphere, making you feel at home.
As I was only diving for three days during a longer trip, I opted not to bring my gear and instead used the equipment provided by PDC, which is included in their pricing. They requested our sizes in advance, and upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to find everything prepared. Each diver had their equipment ready including a mesh bag labeled with their name for fins and masks. Additionally, they lent me a dry bag (yes…I truly brought nothing with me! lol)
The provided equipment included Shearwater Perdix dive computers for each diver, which was another fantastic surprise. All the gear was in good condition, and aside from minor size adjustments, we didn’t encounter any issues.
Note that Santa Catalina doesn’t have a dock, so boat departures are always from the beach—either from the sea or the nearby river. All the boats I saw were fiberglass speedboats with a single engine (around 300 hp). It seems that the different operators—whether for diving or tourism trips to Coiba—don’t own the boats but contract them daily. Therefore, you shouldn’t expect significant differences in the boats used by different operators.
Diving Trips
Coiba
The dives are around 20 meters deep and last approximately one hour. We were lucky to have good weather and minimal currents (Coiba dive sites are near to coasts, which I think help to minimize currents ).
Visibility was excellent, often exceeding 20 meters. Between dives, surface intervals were spent on nearby beaches, with fruit and water provided. Lunch was included (e.g., chicken and rice or vegetarian options), served in labeled containers.
After lunch, an optional third dive, costing $25, is available. I highly recommend it.
Contreras
In this case, the boat follows a route along the jungle coastline, which makes the journey more enjoyable.
Nitrox is mandatory for these dives, which are typically around 30 meters deep. Surface intervals and lunch are similar to Coiba, but slightly shorter, allowing time for a third dive. The dive sites are farther from the islands, resulting in stronger currents. During one dive, we encountered mobula rays, green turtles, and white-tip reef sharks right at the start. Although hammerheads didn’t appear, Contreras is a spectacular dive site full of surprises.
Marine Life
In Coiba, we saw Mobula rays, white-tip reef sharks, green turtles, octopuses, frogfish, stingrays, wahoo, moray eels (green & jewel), seahorses, barracudas, and various reef fish.
A special note about the Buffet dive site: here, you can see several very large schools of fish. Awesome spot.
Although I hoped to see bull sharks, hammerheads, or even a whale shark, we didn’t have that luck. However, the marine life, the rocky bottom and the coral landscapes reminded me of Galápagos.
At Contreras, stronger currents meant greater unpredictability. We encountered mobulas, big green turtles, and a couple of big white strip sharks but hammerheads didn’t show up. The dive sites here are pristine and teeming with potential.
Summary
We left with a strong desire to return and wouldn’t hesitate to dive with Panama Dive Center again. They are a top-notch, professional, and incredibly friendly operation. And Coiba and Contreras are a first-class diving experience.
(I'm still processing pictures, so I'll add some later)
We spent two days at Coiba on relatively easy dives, perfect for Open Water divers like my daughters, and one day I went to Contreras, which offers slightly more advanced dives.
In total, I completed nine dives over the three days.
Location
Panama Dive Center is located in Santa Catalina, a small fishing village that attracts divers and surfers. The town has basic but sufficient infrastructure, offering several lodging and dining options.
Getting to Santa Catalina is straightforward. You can drive from Panama City, with the most challenging part being the last 40 minutes. However, road improvements are underway, which will make the trip even better in the future. (IMHO there's no need for a 4x4 vehicle, contrary to some recommendations I've seen on the net).
Alternatively, buses are available, with several daily services from the nearest city, Soná.
Panama Dive Center
The dive center is well-equipped and highly organized. It’s evident that they are accustomed to hosting divers from around the world, whether solo or in groups. Their professionalism is complemented by their warm and welcoming atmosphere, making you feel at home.
As I was only diving for three days during a longer trip, I opted not to bring my gear and instead used the equipment provided by PDC, which is included in their pricing. They requested our sizes in advance, and upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to find everything prepared. Each diver had their equipment ready including a mesh bag labeled with their name for fins and masks. Additionally, they lent me a dry bag (yes…I truly brought nothing with me! lol)
The provided equipment included Shearwater Perdix dive computers for each diver, which was another fantastic surprise. All the gear was in good condition, and aside from minor size adjustments, we didn’t encounter any issues.
Note that Santa Catalina doesn’t have a dock, so boat departures are always from the beach—either from the sea or the nearby river. All the boats I saw were fiberglass speedboats with a single engine (around 300 hp). It seems that the different operators—whether for diving or tourism trips to Coiba—don’t own the boats but contract them daily. Therefore, you shouldn’t expect significant differences in the boats used by different operators.
Diving Trips
Coiba
- Departure around 7:45 AM
- Return around 4:00 PM
- Travel Time: 1 hour
- Dive Sites: La Viuda, Frijoles, Iglesia, El Faro, Bajo Piñón, Buffet.
The dives are around 20 meters deep and last approximately one hour. We were lucky to have good weather and minimal currents (Coiba dive sites are near to coasts, which I think help to minimize currents ).
Visibility was excellent, often exceeding 20 meters. Between dives, surface intervals were spent on nearby beaches, with fruit and water provided. Lunch was included (e.g., chicken and rice or vegetarian options), served in labeled containers.
After lunch, an optional third dive, costing $25, is available. I highly recommend it.
Contreras
- Departure, around 7:00 AM
- Return, before 5:00 PM
- Travel Time: 2 hours
- Dive Sites: Montaña Rusa, Sueño del Pescador, Sombrero del Pelo
In this case, the boat follows a route along the jungle coastline, which makes the journey more enjoyable.
Nitrox is mandatory for these dives, which are typically around 30 meters deep. Surface intervals and lunch are similar to Coiba, but slightly shorter, allowing time for a third dive. The dive sites are farther from the islands, resulting in stronger currents. During one dive, we encountered mobula rays, green turtles, and white-tip reef sharks right at the start. Although hammerheads didn’t appear, Contreras is a spectacular dive site full of surprises.
Marine Life
In Coiba, we saw Mobula rays, white-tip reef sharks, green turtles, octopuses, frogfish, stingrays, wahoo, moray eels (green & jewel), seahorses, barracudas, and various reef fish.
A special note about the Buffet dive site: here, you can see several very large schools of fish. Awesome spot.
Although I hoped to see bull sharks, hammerheads, or even a whale shark, we didn’t have that luck. However, the marine life, the rocky bottom and the coral landscapes reminded me of Galápagos.
At Contreras, stronger currents meant greater unpredictability. We encountered mobulas, big green turtles, and a couple of big white strip sharks but hammerheads didn’t show up. The dive sites here are pristine and teeming with potential.
Summary
We left with a strong desire to return and wouldn’t hesitate to dive with Panama Dive Center again. They are a top-notch, professional, and incredibly friendly operation. And Coiba and Contreras are a first-class diving experience.
(I'm still processing pictures, so I'll add some later)
