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First of all -- and most important -- where in Panama are you going to be? Panama City, Bocas del Toro or elsewhere?
Second, Father's Day in Panama is August 15, this year. However, there will probably be some local celebration on Saturday, which is the anniversary of the founding of Panama City.
If you're going to be in Bocas del Toro -- no problem! Bocas Water Sports is an excellent operator. They do a 2-tank dive in the morning, another 2-tank dive in the afternoon and single tank night dives. The 2-tank dives are $60, discounted to $55 for multiple dives and that includes all your gear.
If you're in Panama (the city), then you'll need to go to Portobelo. Portobelo is on the Caribbean, a 90 minute drive from the city. There are two operators; Panama Divers and Scubapanama. Both dive the same sites. Panama Divers doesn't do week day dives unless you make special arrangements. It's in the middle of nowhere and a long way from both Portobelo and the dive sites. They're expensive, limited in the number of dives they offer, but people like diving with them.
The only operator there that works on Friday (unless you make special arrangements) is Scubapanama. On Saturday, they will offer two, 2-tank dives. Scubapanama has a basic charge of $85 for a 2-tank dive. Then, they nickel-dime you to death ... $5 rental per tank ... another charge for the DM ... another charge for the boat ... plus rental gear. If you want a night dive and there isn't a second diver, then you have to pay for two. Scubapanama has clean but rustic cabanas available, too. Don't eat there. The food is good, but they charge way too much. Breakfast is $10. Down the road, it's $4. Next door is an excellent restaurant, Los Cañones. 1 km in other direction is the best restaurant in Portobelo, La Torre.
I contacted all of them, sadly sunday IS father's day in Panama (Día del Padre - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre), so they are not so eaguer to work hehehe
I'm staying in Panama City, and I already dived in Portobelo, is a place I like a lot.
The thing is that I like to squeeze my time as much as I can, and would like to do 2 2-tank dives a day, and no one offered me that. Bummer.
I believe I'll retry Panama Divers, they seemed a bit more open to do it, so I'll ask if they can do a "special package" (a.k.a. Ale paying more).
Whoops! Sorry about the date. It looks like my Panama calendar is wrong.
Good luck this weekend. I hope you get a chance to dive Bocas, someday. I think you'll like it better than Portobelo.
Portobelo used to be my favorite dive in Panama -- easy to get to, always lots of critters and fish to see around Drake Island and Buena Ventura. Then, about the same time that the fish and critters started disappearing, Scubapanama started charging more and more for less and less.
Bocas Water Sports is IMHO the best dive operator I have dove with in Panama. They certainly offer a lot more for less money than Scubapanama. I like their dive masters a lot better, too. The number of sites in Bocas and the macro life are far better than Portobelo. Plus, Bocas Town doesn't turn off the lights and go home by 8:00pm like everyone seems to do in Portobelo.
Good luck with this weekend! Let me know how it goes.
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