During my round trip through Central America, I spent a few days in the small fishing village of Santa Catalina on the Pacific coast of Panama. There is not much to do in Santa Catalina itself. But it is the starting point for many tourists who want to go to the Coiba National Park. The park comprises the largest island in Central America – Coiba – as well as 38 other small islands and the surrounding marine area. With 760 different species of marine animals, 147 bird species and almost 1500 plant species, the national park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was of course a must-see on my trip to Panama. In this blog article, I’ll tell you what to expect when booking the Isla Coiba tour.
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How to get to Santa Catalina and Isla Coiba
The small coastal village of Santa Catalina has just 300 inhabitants and is not yet as well developed for tourism as other places in Panama. As the small village is very remote and the road is in particularly poor condition on the last few kilometers before the village, many tourists prefer to avoid Santa Catalina. However, this snorkeling and diving paradise is definitely worth a visit!
With the right rental car (4×4), you can definitely make the trip, even in the rainy season. You should just allow a little more time and avoid arriving in the dark. Most tourists come either from the west of El Valle de Anton or from the east of Bajo Boquete. As I didn’t have my own rental car on my Panama tour, I took the 5-hour shuttle bus ride from Bajo Boquete. It all worked out well. The shuttle with the company Hello Travel Panama runs daily and costs $35.
Where to stay in Santa Catalina
For an unforgettable stay in Santa Catalina, Bambuda Santa Catalina is a top choice. This eco-friendly hotel offers stunning ocean views, a refreshing swimming pool, and a lush garden. It’s the perfect retreat for nature lovers and adventure seekers alike. The property features air-conditioned family rooms with private bathrooms, a spacious terrace, and cozy outdoor seating areas, making it ideal for solo travelers, couples, and groups. Just a 9-minute walk from Santa Catalina Beach, this hotel is perfectly located for surfing, scuba diving, or simply soaking up the laid-back coastal vibe.
Visiting Coiba National Park
To visit Coiba National Park, the main attraction off the coast of Santa Catalina, and see the diverse and colorful underwater world, it is worth booking an Isla Coiba tour with one of the local tour operators. I opted for the provider Unlimited Adventures Coiba and can only recommend this tour, which I will now report on in detail.
Isla Coiba Snorkeling Tour – What to Expect
One day after my arrival in Santa Catalina, the time had come. The snorkeling tour to Isla Coiba with Unlimited Adventures Coiba was about to start. At 8 a.m. we were picked up by a small bus at our hotel Bambuda Santa Catalina. It took us to the meeting point, which was the tour operator’s office. Here we met the other participants and were split into two groups. Our group consisted of a few Spanish-speaking people and another German couple. We were given our snorkeling equipment and life jackets and received a short briefing on how to behave in the park. Don’t touch any corals or animals, always follow the guide, etc. First everything was always explained in Spanish and then there was a much shorter summary in English for us Germans.
Some minutes later, we were crammed into the small boat that was speeding over the waves. The journey to Coiba Island took just under 1.5 hours, but was anything but boring. We hadn’t been underway for too long when I was greeted by shouts of “Ballena, Ballena!” (“Whale!”) shouts tore me from my daydreams. And indeed: not far from our boat, the huge back of a humpback whale surfaced and then disappeared again a short time later. When I pulled out my cell phone to take a photo, all we could see was the tail fin sinking and the whale moving away from us again. We continued to search the surface of the water, but it didn’t surface again. From now on, we looked out to sea a little less dreamily and even spotted a few dolphins a little later – what a lucky day!
Sharks, Turtles and Beaches at Isla Coiba
Finally, the mainland of the huge island of Coiba came into view. And when we reached the shore and could see the seabed in the clear water, it was time for the first snorkeling stop. There was barely room on the boat to put on our fins and pack away our clothes. Somehow we got everything sorted and hopped off the railing into the sea. The water was pleasantly warm and we could see starfish right at the bottom. We snorkeled along the reef behind the guide and observed the coral landscape and countless fish in all shapes and colors. A little later, we even saw two reef sharks and a large sea turtle, yay!
Once everyone had climbed back up the boat’s swimming ladder and found their place in the boat, we continued on to the second snorkeling stop of the day. Here, too, we swam through colorful schools of fish and watched a reef shark wriggling along the rocks.
We then drove to a large beach on the main island and had our lunch – a mixture of noodle and tuna salad. Before getting back on the boat, we had some time on the island to visit the small museum where we could learn more about the national park and Coiba Island, which used to be a prison.
Together with the guide, we walked up a few steps to a viewpoint. Then we made our way to the last snorkeling stop. Here we spotted a total of four or five sea turtles slowly gliding through the water or nibbling on the coral. Unfortunately, we had no luck on our turtle tour on the beach in Costa Rica a few weeks earlier. But here we saw all the more of these beautiful, calm sea creatures.
As a final highlight of the day, we drove to another paradisiacal beach with white sand and tall palm trees, where we ate pineapple and walked through the sand. What a wonderful end to the Isla Coiba tour!
Final Words on the Isla Coiba Tour in Panama
I can highly recommend both the visit to Coiba National Park and the tour with Unlimited Adventures Coiba. The snorkeling really wasn’t neglected and we were able to get to know the underwater world around Coiba very well. You can also see that a lot of importance is attached to the conservation of the nature reserve. The guides are very strict about only snorkeling in the permitted areas and educating visitors about nature conservation. For me, the sea turtles and the last stop on the beach were the highlights of the tour. Even though the guides’ English was a bit bumpy, we were always able to understand the instructions and got on well with them and everyone in the group. In my opinion, the Isla Coiba tour is an absolute must on any Panama bucket list!
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