Snorkeling & Scuba Diving

Isla Coiba in the Chiriquí Gulf of the Pacific Ocean, is simply the best diving site in Panama, often described as a cross between the Cocos Islands in Costa Rica and the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador. Isla Coiba was the site of a notorious penitentiary until 2005, which kept visitors away, and therefore the surrounding waters are untouched. The snorkeling here is outstanding, too, but diving puts you close to pelagics such as white-tipped sharks, sailfish, manta rays, and dolphins. Coiba is also surrounded by one of the largest coral reefs on the Pacific Coast of the Americas. Other islands such as Islas Secas, and the islands within the National Marine Park in the Chiriquí Gulf, also provide outstanding diving.

On the Caribbean coast, Bocas del Toro is where you want to go to view some of the best and most colorful hard and soft coral in the world. In the Caribbean, visibility is best from March to May, and during September and October. The reef at Baja Escribano, between the San Blas and Colón, is the new talked-about dive site for its clear waters and colorful sponges.

Some of the best snorkeling in all of Panama is in the waters surrounding the Pearl Islands, for the abundance of marine life found here. Expect multitudinous schools of tropical fish and large pelagics such as white-tipped sharks. Bocas is billed as a top snorkeling site, but you'll need to get away from the standard tours to find the good stuff. Isla Iguanas, off the coast of Pedasí in the Pacific Ocean, is excellent for snorkeling, too.

Diving Outfitters & Operators

The outfitters listed below offer diving trips around Panama, including multi-destination trips. The resort Islas Secas in the Chiriquí Gulf and the Coral Lodge in the Caribbean are two lodges with on-site dive shops and personalized tours for guests only.

Panama Divers (tel. 314-0817 or 6613-4405; www.panamadivers.com) is the premiere dive operation in Panama, based in Panama City and Portobelo. The company plans to open a marina and dive center next to the Coral Lodge, in the Kuna Yala, in 2007. Panama Divers, which is fully insured, has decades of experience and an attentive staff, and they plan trips to Coiba, Escribano, and Portobelo, where they have a dive center and PADI instruction facility.

Exploration Panama (tel. 720-2470; www.explorationpanama.com) has multiday scuba-diving excursions around the Chiriquí Gulf and Isla Coiba, with a chartered live-aboard ship for six passengers. It's run by a friendly American who has lived in this area intermittently for more than 25 years, and he knows the area well.

Scuba Panama (tel. 261-3841; www.scubapanama.com) has a bicoastal dive that starts in the Caribbean Sea -- visiting a sunken B-45 plane -- and then goes to the Pacific Ocean for a dive there. They also have a unique (and spooky) dive in the Panama Canal, and dives around Portobelo and Isla Grande.