Located in the Panamanian Pacific Coast, Coiba Island is the largest of the islands within Coiba National Park, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005.
The waters surrounding this volcanic archipelago are undoubtedly the best diving destination in Panama. Because Isla Coiba was a penal colony, access to it has historically been very restricted. For this reason along with the creation of the National Park, about 80% of natural resources have remained intact so far, and both on land and at marine area offers pristine places that are worth visiting.
Among the more than 20 dive sites that exist in its waters rich in nutrient, we can observe a great variety of marine species such as whale shark, different sharks, the most common being black and white fin sharks, tiger shark and hammer, stingray, humpback whale, bottlenose or mottled dolphins and 4 different turtles species.
We will be impressed by the great schools of fish such as tuna and dorado, among others. Diving enthusiasts will not leave without seeing the frogfish, seahorses, harlequin shrimp, various species of moray eels, lobster, crabs, nudibranchs, and other species of colorful fish that shelter coral reef areas.
The diving centers are located in the town of Santa Catalina. There we will find all the necessary services to spend a comfortable stay, and it is the point from where every morning the boats leave that during an hour of navigation will make us enjoy the coastal landscape until arriving at the dive points of Isla Coiba or its surroundings. The more adventurous may choose to spend the night on the same island, with previous authorization of the park guards.
With an average of 26ºC in the water and visibility that oscillates between 15-25 meters, the National Park Isla Coiba offers a very varied, accessible, and affordable dive. It is one of those places in the world not yet exploited, with little influx of visitors and luckily remains virgin.
Thanks to Eduardo Estrada for these amazing photos:
The crystal turquoise waters of the tropics host some of the most stunning marine life on the planet 
Eduardo Estrada Diving in Coiba Mucho antes de que los primeros faraones construyeran las pirámides de Egipto, ya existían estos arrecifes coralinos en Coiba. 
Finding Nemo Movie Actors? Photo of Eduardo Estrada 
With extensive reef systems, healthy shark populations and migrant cetaceans, the waters around Coiba are a treasure of the Eastern Tropical Pacific. It’s commonly found in Coiba near reefs, or seagrass beds, around Granito de Oro and Canales de Afuera Islands. It can easily be identified by the horizontal electric blue stripes on its sides and by the fact that the inside of its mouth is bright orange. At least 4 different species of marine turtles come here to nest. In addition the islands have some of the best coral reefs of Panama Pacific. The bigeye trevally, also known as the bigeye jack, great trevally 
Marine life on the park is impressive, the extensive and healthy coral reefs are home to Giant Frogfish and other 760 fish species, the Coiba’s waters are also visited by 22 species of whales and dolphins
