Scuba Diving

[greg.johnson6@gmail.com]

My wife and I enjoy scuba diving. Are there any good scuba diving areas in Panama? Any resorts around that area where we might can stay? When is the next International Living planned trip to Panama going to take place?

[COUNTRY EXPERT- JESSICA RAMESCH]

Yes, there are scuba diving areas in Panama, the best known is Coiba, regarded by many as the best dive site in Central America. The island of Coiba is kept pristine so there are no resorts on it, just some rustic cabins.

Here’s some more information from your Panama Insider website (this and more attractions listed at https://internationalliving.com/country_clubs/panama/travelers-panama/#must):

Coiba Island National Marine Park: Considered Panama’s top diving and snorkeling destination, this park consists of one huge island and eight smaller islets off the Pacific Coast. Coiba is its own Galapagos—a bastion for endangered sea life and home to plants, monkeys, and birds that exist nowhere else.

It went unnoticed for many years because from 1919 until 2004, Coiba Island housed Panama’s most infamous penal colony. Rumors of violence, madness, and gruesome torture kept Panamanians from being too curious, and as a result, Coiba remained utterly pristine.
Now that the prison is long gone, Coiba may well be Panama’s most valuable natural resource. It is part of a national park protecting Cebaco and over 30 other islands, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Visits to Coiba are limited to help keep the environment pristine. You’ll need a permit from Panama’s Environmental Authority to visit. To arrange a trip, your best bet is to contact any of the operators that offer ecotours and take care of obtaining permits, such as luxury fishing outfit http://www.CebacoBay.com or charter outfit http://www.SantaCatalinaBoatTours.com.

Don’t expect luxury; the only permanent structures available for overnight stays are modest cabins at the ranger station on Coiba. This is the only place in the world where you’ll find ancient forest populated with endemic species (meaning you won’t find some of these critters anywhere else in the world). These include a delicate, long-beaked bird species called the Coiba spinetail, the Coiba Island howler monkey, and the cute furry Coiba Island agouti. It is one of the last places in the region where the scarlet macaw abounds in the wild and threatened species such as the crested eagle still remain. The marine park is home to the second largest coral reef in the Eastern Pacific and, according to Lonely Planet, the best diving to be found along the Pacific Coast from Mexico to Colombia.

Divers and snorkelers are liable to see a huge variety of sea life, including sea turtles, sperm whales, humpback whales, orcas, dolphins, stingrays, angel rays, moray eels, and much more.

Read more about Coiba tours at review sites like this one: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g298427-Activities-Isla_de_Coiba_Veraguas_Province.html.

Though IL does not organize trips per se, International Living does hold highly informative seminars in Panama City every year. The event is called Fast Track Panama. Exhibitors and speakers range from legal and real estate specialists, to expats who have already made the move, to tax and insurance experts…everyone you’d want to talk to prior to relocating. Exhibitors usually offer post-seminar tours, some of which are real estate tours. Information on these options is usually sent via email to attendees prior to the seminar. (These tours are organized by participating exhibitors, not by International Living.)

The 2015 Fast Track Panama event has been slated for April 9-11, check your inbox for Early Bird offers coming soon!

To contact IL Events, visit https://internationalliving.com/events/contact-us/.

Best regards,

IL Panama Editor Jessica Ramesch

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