I live on Bocas del Toro and I can say the diving is not very good. The dive operators have no radios, no oxygen, no water and offer no fruit between dives. The island is close to the mainland and the water is often very cloudy form the runoff of many rivers. There is no dry season here, it rains about 300 days a year. Not good for vis. Hotels can be inexpensive, but no one is giving anything away. A $15 hotel room is a $15 hotel room because that is all it is worth and maybe more than it is worth. Cozamel can be had for the same price and offers great diving. You don't see divers from Panama here, they go to other places in Panama; Coiba Island for sharks, very big fish and sometimes whales, Portobello for spanish ship wrecks and the Canal to see the trains and leftover equipment to build the canal and left in place to be flooded by the canal. You can dive the Caribbean, the canal, and the Pacific on a one day dive trip. Panama is a very nice place to live and visit and if you are in Bocas take a dive, but is diving is the main reason for your trip, don't look to Bocas, look elsewhere. Pete