Diving in Panamá!

[mddyver]

We spent the holidays in Bocas Town and dove with Boca Water Sports last December. Intentionally stayed downtown to experience a Panamanian Christmas celebration. From our balcony we "watched" the fireworks displays as each shop owner attempted to outdo their neighbor. I say "watched" because we felt like we were right in the middle of the show. Very cool. Fireworks and music lasted till the wee hours of the night, so be prepared. If you want peace and quiet stay clear of midtown. Good mix of high end and inexpensive local restaurants.

Bocas is a lovely town and we loved the vibe. The diving was relaxed, safe and varied. Plenty of critters to photograph. Boat rides were short and dive profiles flexible. We were lucky insofar as sea states allowed us to dive the outer reefs past the surf break. Bocas is a world class surf destination. This adds to the mix.

John and Stacie at BWS will take great care of you.

Highly recommended.

Mike

 

[coibadiver]

The journey to Santa Catalina from anywhere in Panama can be challenging and that is just fine. it takes a certain person to do it but the rewards are that there are no crowds and amazing diving.

Getting to Coiba may not be the long journey that has been stated several times during this thread. We are usually in the water one hour from the shop. Three tank dives can be done between 8:30 and 4:30 with lots of surface time. Coiba Dive Center now has two boats each with 200hp. Comfortable and fast. Last season we had 31 days out of 45 with Whale shark sightings and usually two per day.Things may have changed since your last visit in the area.

 

[jlevine]

Hi Sheena,

The diving in Bocas is wonderful. The water temperature is between 83 and 88 degrees year-round (although someone's computer registered 90 yesterday!),

Wow....I missed this part before. I'm sold already! I definitely have to go down there. All of the reports sound great. It sounds like CappyJon has a first class op!

jsl