Diving Coiba
Calle principale, en frente de la iglesia, 00000 Santa Catalina, Panama
Explore Panama
Panama offers a striking variety of dive experiences within a compact country: warm Pacific currents, Caribbean coral gardens, steep walls, and scattered wrecks. Divers can drift along nutrient-rich channels that attract schooling pelagics—jacks, tunas, and sometimes hammerheads—or explore lush reefs teeming with hawksbill and green turtles, octopus, and colorful reef fish. Visibility and species vary regionally and seasonally; the Pacific season (dry months) often brings clearer water and large animal sightings, while the Caribbean side rewards macro photographers with gobies, nudibranchs, and sponges.
Operations range from quick shore entries and day boats to multi-day liveaboards for remote offshore seamounts and islands. Many sites feature dramatic topography—vertical walls plunging into blue, pinnacles alive with life, and historical wrecks that invite exploration. For visiting divers, Panama’s mix of accessible shore dives and adventurous boat or liveaboard itineraries makes it a compelling, diverse destination that surprises with both small wonders and big ocean encounters.
Power Plug Type
A, B
Payment Method
AMEX, DC, JCB, Cir, Plus
Tipping
Tipping is customary but not mandatory.
In restaurants, 10% is standard if service is not included. Some restaurants may automatically add a service charge. Tips are typically given in cash.
Airports
PTY
Currency
Panamanian Balboa (PAB) & US Dollar
Dial Code
+507
Electricity
110V / 60Hz
Time
Eastern Standard Time (EST) – UTC −5
Dive Centers
Dive Sites
Top Wildlife Sightings in Panama
Panama’s reefs host abundant reef fish: parrotfish, surgeonfish, sergeant majors, snappers and grunts are common, with moray eels and cleaner shrimp frequent on coral heads. Near rocky outcrops and mangroves you may also see seahorses and small reef predators.
Seasonal highlights include regular sightings of green and hawksbill turtles (common in foraging grounds), rays such as southern stingrays and eagle rays (occasional), and reef sharks (common at specific Pacific and Caribbean sites). Larger migratory sharks or mantas are occasional to rare and depend on site and season.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
520 Sightings
J
77
F
60
M
74
A
87
M
38
J
13
J
40
A
29
S
10
O
12
N
13
D
67
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
Green Turtle
325 Sightings
J
36
F
49
M
56
A
77
M
17
J
5
J
23
A
18
S
10
O
6
N
8
D
20
Shutterstock-Andrey Armyagov
Hawksbill Turtle
190 Sightings
J
36
F
11
M
21
A
31
M
22
J
4
J
16
A
13
S
8
O
8
N
5
D
15
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 300
Alamy/Reinhard Dirscherl
Octopus
188 Sightings
J
36
F
8
M
29
A
34
M
25
J
1
J
29
A
11
S
4
O
1
N
2
D
8
iStock/HakBak1979
Bull Shark
179 Sightings
J
3
F
21
M
31
A
36
M
23
J
12
J
13
A
14
S
6
O
4
N
7
D
9
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 27
iStock-Global_Pics
Barracuda
165 Sightings
J
32
F
13
M
9
A
19
M
10
J
10
J
23
A
10
S
7
O
8
N
8
D
16
iStock/Extreme Photographer
Whale Shark
67 Sightings
J
0
F
22
M
27
A
5
M
4
J
1
J
0
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
3
D
5
Alamy/National Geographic Image Collection
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
59 Sightings
J
2
F
7
M
4
A
13
M
3
J
2
J
17
A
4
S
3
O
1
N
2
D
1
iStock-crisod
Reef Manta Ray
32 Sightings
J
0
F
14
M
14
A
0
M
1
J
2
J
0
A
0
S
0
O
1
N
0
D
0
iStock/Divepic
Giant Oceanic Manta Ray
27 Sightings
J
2
F
8
M
0
A
4
M
6
J
1
J
3
A
1
S
1
O
0
N
0
D
1
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 25
iStock/Juliosanjuan
Eagle Ray
23 Sightings
J
2
F
6
M
10
A
1
M
0
J
1
J
0
A
3
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0
