Santa Catalina Beach, in front of Scuba Coiba
Scuba Coiba headquarters
Scuba Coiba washing and fill area
Scuba Coiba washing and fill area
Scuba Coiba Office
Scuba Coiba gear and bannana staging area
For perspective:
Experience: Over 1,500 dives
Many many dive trips all over the world
Level of training, Course Director
Vis: 15 to 50 Feet. Water: 76 to 80 Fahrenheit, choppy, currents.
Very little good to say on this trip. I have travelled all over the
world and have been to many third world countries to dive. That was my
expectation for this trip. However, in addition to so many things
being difficult due to the lack of infrastructure, the dive operator made it
intolerable. The claims on the website of such great things as orcas
is absolutely false. We were told orcas were seen once, several years
ago, far north of the island. The boats we used were substandard, with no
facilities, no ladder, no radio, no oxygen, and no body that cared,
except for one divemaster Luis. Boat rides to dive sites are long and
can be rough. That would be OK, if we would have seen anything close
to what others claim to have seen, or been treated with respect and as
good customers. We paid for our dives and lodging in advance and in cash.
When our trip ended abruptly due to the most bizarre set of
circumstances I have ever encountered, no refund whatsoever was offered
or been received, despite repeated requests by all 3 of us.
Herbie Sunk, the owner of Scuba Coiba, was only present twice during
our trip, and one of those was to collect our cash up front. His lead
divemaster, Jeremy, was surly and expected us to do work for which he
would have received a significant tip, had he earned it. I always tip
more than expected, when it is earned. We made 2 dives with Luis, a
hardworking and pleasant divemaster. While Jeremy expected us to carry
all of our own gear, and did not go out of his way before, during, or
after any dive, Luis was just the opposite. He had my gear carried
back to the dive shop before I had time to give it a second thought. I
appreciated his attitude and hard work, especially in light of how bad
everything else was with this operation. There was very little to
enjoy with this dive operation.
As for the fish life, we did see some interesting schooling behavior
and on several occasions enjoyed a great deal of sea life. But, for the
most part, this was sub-par diving on the world-wide scale. The
absolute highlight for me was hearing the humpback whale songs
underwater during our final dive, then observing a couple of full
breeches in the far distance. Other than this wonderful whale
experience, the diving was just not worth dealing with an
unprofessional dive operator, on top of all the difficulties of getting to Coiba and
the third world environment. The attempted extortion by the gun-toting
rangers on Coiba made the entire experience surreal.
My honest recommendation: Your money will be much better spent going
to Costa Rica, the Galapagos or the Pacific. Even most Caribbean diving
is, overall, much better.
UW Photography Comments: Virtually nothing for U/W photographers.
Staff seemed put out at having to deal with my 2 dive buddies photo gear and
needs. No rinse tank of any kind for photo gear on boat or on shore.
You are on your own here - and wait until you get to Coiba. Panamanian
law, so we were told, would require a $3000 cash payment per dive for
my friends to utilize their gear. My dive buddies have invested a great
deal of money in their gear, and it is "professional" looking.
However, they are amateurs and video for pleasure only. Yet, because they have
wonderful equipment, the Panamanians would not permit them to shoot and
ran us off the island. Our tour operator, Scuba Coiba, did absolutely
nothing on our behalf. We were not told of this extortion until we
were getting on the boat to go over to the island, and even then in an
almost backhanded way. My dive buddy told Herbie Sunk, Scuba Coiba owner, it
would be a "deal breaker" if he were not allowed to video, and Herbie
shrugged it off.
Santa Catalina Beach, in front of Scuba Coiba
Scuba Coiba headquarters
Scuba Coiba washing and fill area
Scuba Coiba washing and fill area
Scuba Coiba Office
Scuba Coiba gear and bannana staging area
Welcome sign on Coiba Island
Coiba Island Ranger Station guest quarters