Coiba is a large island located 20km from the coast of Panama. The former prison, it is now a vast nature reserve, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This island is the largest tropical island in the world, it is covered with a lush tropical forest and bordered by white beaches.
In the Coiba Marine Park, there have been 760 species of fish, 33 species of sharks (white tip shark, hammerhead shark, tiger shark, bull shark, guitar shark), and a very wide variety of rays and species of cetaceans.
The protected beaches are nesting places for four species of sea turtles, and humpback whales are present in great numbers from July to October.
Coiba is a great destination for a diving trip.
Some Coiba diving cruises are combined with Coco and Malpelo.
Diving in Coiba
Some diving areas are subject to extraordinarily strong currents, and the nutrient-rich waters can affect visibility. The water can sometimes be cool too.
Diving on Coiba is accessible to divers of all levels.
Coiba dive sites
Roller Coaster. North of Coiba, in the Contreras archipelago. This area is home to large schools of barracudas, jacks, and a myriad of reef fish. It is also frequented by hammerhead sharks, white tip sharks, and bull sharks. In depth the black coral is superb.
Fisher’s Dream. This submarine mount is inhabited by an abundant fauna: barracudas, groupers, hammerhead sharks, bull sharks. The divers will feast on the activity of the reef fauna in the cleaning station.
Contreras Ridge. At the tip of a small island in the archipelago, this area is sometimes subject to extraordinarily strong currents. It is a beautiful drift dive, where you can observe beautiful coral formations, hammerhead sharks, bull sharks, but also manta rays and harlequin shrimp.
Octopus Rock. It is a small rock that surfaces at the low tide. The reef slopes gently. Get your cameras ready, it is a macro dive. We observe beautiful sponges and soft corals, seahorses, octopus, and frogfish.
Twin Peaks. One of the most beautiful diving sites in the marine park. These are two pinnacles that are protected from the current. Corals and sponges are abundant, with lots of reef sharks and giant manta rays. The whale sharks frequent this place.
Hannibal Rock. A superb drift dive in a pelagic environment. The currents attract large schools of fish such as snappers and trevally, or even huge amberjack. In the blue, it is the tiger sharks that maraud.
Washing Machine. At low tide, the top of the seamount skims the surface. The currents around are reminiscent of the action of a washing machine. The volcanic architecture is spectacular. In the blue, we can observe hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks, Galapagos sharks, or even sailfish.
The Monster. On the eastern tip of Jicarita, this site offers a fine collection of soft and hard corals. It is also home to many scalloped hammerhead sharks and large schools of barracudas, and snappers. Groupers and sailfish are also common.