Santa Catalina and Coiba

🌊 Surfing, diving, and encounters with the giants of the Pacific

Located at the far end of the province of Veraguas, on Panama’s Pacific coast, Santa Catalina has a rather unique atmosphere.

Once a small fishing village known mainly to a handful of surfers, it has now become one of the country’s top nature destinations. Yet the place has retained its simple, laid-back charm: a few streets, beaches, restaurants, surf schools, diving centers, and the ever-present ocean.

Santa Catalina boasts two treasures above all else.
The first is located right in front of the village: some of Panama’s most famous waves.
The second lies further offshore: Coiba National Park, a vast marine sanctuary that has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005. The site protects Coiba Island, 38 smaller islands and islets, and a vast marine area. UNESCO has identified 760 species of marine fish, 33 species of sharks, and 20 species of cetaceans there. UNESCO World Heritage Centre

For those who love diving, snorkeling, surfing, or simply the great outdoors, Santa Catalina is definitely worth spending several days exploring.

🚗 Santa Catalina from Casa Fofo

Since Casa Fofo in San Carlos, the drive is much shorter than from Panama City, since there’s obviously no need to head back toward the capital.
Take the Pan-American Highway westward toward Santiago de Veraguas, then turn off toward Soná and finally Santa Catalina.
According to the Panamanian tourism office, the drive from Panama City to Santa Catalina takes about six hours. From Casa Fofo, which is already much further west, the trip takes about four hours. The last leg of the journey passes through Soná before heading down toward the coast.

To really enjoy Santa Catalina—and especially Coiba—I’d recommend at least three days and two nights.

🤿 Coiba: One of Panama’s Great Marine Sanctuaries

Coiba National Park is part of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, an area of particular importance for large pelagic fish, sharks, sea turtles, and marine mammals.

Santa Catalina is one of the main starting points for visiting the park.

Depending on the dive site you choose, it usually takes aboutan hour to an hour and a half by boat to reach the first major dive sites.
The day starts early. You usually board the boat with your guide, your gear, a meal, and drinks, and then several dives are organized in different areas before a break on a beach or an island.

Coiba isn’t just for certified divers. Snorkeling trips are also very popular, especially around Granito de Oro, where the reef begins near the surface and where you can see turtles, reef fish, and sometimes whitetip sharks from just a few meters away.

🦈 What can you see while diving in Coiba?

That’s obviously the big question.
And the answer is delightfully frustrating: a whole lot of things… but never on commission.

Coiba’s appeal lies precisely in the fact that you’re diving in a wild environment. Some species are present year-round, while others are more common during certain times of the year.

Whitetip reef sharks, sea turtles, stingrays, moray eels, trevally, and large schools of fish are regularly spotted.

More exposed sites, such as certain areas of Contreras, Wahoo Rock, or Montaña Submarina, may attract larger pelagic species, including hammerhead sharks and large rays.

And then there’s the undisputed star: the whale shark.
Sightings are most common during the dry season, roughly from December to April, although of course no trip can guarantee an encounter.

📅 When is the best time to go diving in Coiba?

Here is the simplest way to select your time period:

Period	What We Can Hope For
December through April	Dry season, generally better visibility, more frequent whale sharks, good chances of seeing large pelagic fish
January through May	A great time to see giant stingrays and manta rays, depending on the year
March through May	Possible thermoclines; water is sometimes cooler at depth
June through October	Rainy season—the sea is more unpredictable, but it’s an interesting time for humpback whales
July through October	Humpback Whale Migration in Panamanian Pacific Waters
All year round	Sea turtles, reef sharks, schools of tropical fish, stingrays, moray eels, and numerous reef species

Between July and October, humpback whales can be seen at the surface during their migration through the Panamanian Pacific. The Panama Tourism Board specifically mentions this period for Santa Catalina and Coiba.

During the dry season, visibility can be excellent, but Coiba is still in the Pacific: currents, thermoclines, and temperature fluctuations are all part of the experience.

🤿 Where should you dive in Santa Catalina to explore Coiba?

Santa Catalina has several dive centers where you can explore Coiba National Park. Here are three particularly interesting options, each with a distinct style.

🌊 Diving in Coiba

Diving Coiba is the first SSI dive center in Santa Catalina. It is located on the main street, right across from the church. The center welcomes both certified divers and beginners and offers day trips to Coiba National Park as well as various SSI courses and specialties.

The team is international, and the center’s director, Boris, is French.

Standard trips to Coiba currently include two dives, a guide, equipment, lunch, and drinking water. The listed price is $160, with the option to add a third dive. The center also offers more advanced trips to Contreras for experienced divers.

📧 contact@divingcoiba.com
🌐 Diving Coiba

🐠 Panama Dive Center

Panama Dive Center is a PADI 5-Star Dive Resort based in Santa Catalina. It organizes daily trips to Coiba National Park for certified divers and also offers the full range of PADI courses, from beginner to professional levels. All trips are led by PADI-certified instructors.

So it’s a great option both for someone who simply wants to dive for a few days in Coiba and for someone who wants to take advantage of their stay to earn a certification or continue their training.

The center offers, among other things,the PADI Open Water course, with the theory portion available before arriving in Santa Catalina, followed by training dives directly in Coiba National Park.

🌐 Panama Dive Center

🦈 Coiba Expedition

Expedición Coiba is a family-run business based in Santa Catalina and led by Fredy Gaviria. It offers diving, snorkeling, and excursions in Coiba National Park, with a special focus on exploring the marine environment. Marviva

The center offers diving trips for certified divers as well as training courses. It’s very easy to get in touch directly, since Fredy can be reached by phone or WhatsApp at +507 6663-0001.

📱 +507 6663-0001
📸 Instagram: @expedicioncoiba
🌐 Expedición Coiba

🌊 There are other centers as well

Santa Catalina also has Scuba Coiba, which has been in operation since 2003 and caters primarily to experienced divers and multi-day trips, as well as Coiba Dive Center, which has been located on the main street since 2007.

The selection is therefore broad enough to allow you to choose based on your skill level, the language you prefer, the type of certification, and the number of days you want to spend diving.

💙 What about Casa Fofo?

This is where the trip can become even more interesting for divers.
Jack, your host at Casa Fofo, is himself an experienced CMAS-certified diving instructor.

He can therefore help you plan a trip to Santa Catalina in collaboration with a trusted local agency.

Depending on your skill level and preferences, we can tailor a trip that includes accommodations, dive arrangements, and excursions, based on the number of people, the number of nights, and the number of dives you’d like to do.

For beginners, this allows them to explore Coiba with reassuring guidance and a clear plan.

For experienced divers, it is possible to plan a more ambitious itinerary spanning several days to explore different areas of the park.

Recommended minimum: 3 days / 2 nights.

And since Jack knows diving inside and out, he’ll also be able to tell the difference between “guaranteed to see pretty fish, as shown in the brochure” and “today’s conditions are actually great.” 😉

🏄 Santa Catalina: Another World on the Surface

When you get out of the water, Santa Catalina simply switches boards.
Here, surfing has long been part of the village’s identity.

The destination has hosted international competitions on several occasions and features a variety of very different surf spots. Waves are present year-round, but the most powerful conditions generally occur during the green season, from April to November, when swells from the South Pacific grow stronger.

Punta Santa Catalina: For Experienced Surfers

The main wave at Punta Santa Catalina, often simply called “The Point,” is powerful, long, and can get very impressive.
The seabed is rocky and coral-covered. The Panamanian tourism office recommends it for intermediate to expert surfers, with the best conditions generally occurring around mid-tide to high tide.

This is definitely not the place to try out a board for the first time to see if it floats.

Playa Estero: Perfect for Beginners

For beginners, head to Playa Estero.
Here, the seabed is sandy and the waves are generally more manageable, especially during the dry season when the swell is smaller.

There are surf schools and board rentals here.
This is therefore the best spot for a first-time surfing experience.

Punta Brava: Expert Level

Punta Brava is in a league of its own.
The waves can be powerful and tubular, the seabed features coral and large rocks, and the spot is clearly reserved for experienced surfers.

In summary: El Estero for beginners, Punta Santa Catalina for those who’ve already mastered the basics, and Punta Brava for the truly seasoned surfers.

🌴 What if we don’t go diving or surfing?

Santa Catalina is still a wonderful place to visit even without a wetsuit or a surfboard under your arm.

You can simply enjoy Playa Estero, walk along the coastline, watch the sunset, go kayaking, or take a boat tour.

From Santa Catalina, you can also head to Isla Cébaco, go snorkeling, explore secluded beaches, or organize a sport fishing trip.

Coiba National Park itself also offers non-diving activities: beaches, wildlife viewing, snorkeling, kayaking, and nature exploration.

🍴 Where to eat in Santa Catalina?

The village is small, but its selection of restaurants has grown considerably.

For breakfast, Café Panachocolat has become one of the village’s best-known spots, offering coffee, breakfast, pastries, bowls, and light meals. The café is still going strong and is located on the main street.

📞 +507 6465-9975
📱 Instagram: @cafepanachocolat

For dinner, PanaWok offers bowls made to order with a variety of toppings and vegetarian options.

Other places currently recommended in Santa Catalina include Los Pibes, El Chillinguito, Ai Mamita, Beyond Waves, Bambuda, Mama Ines, Oasis Beach, and Costa Catalina. A Panamanian travel report published in 2026 still lists them among the village’s active restaurants and bars.

🎶 Have a drink and go out at night

Santa Catalina isn’t Ibiza under the palm trees, and that’s probably for the best.
The vibe is more like a surf village: you can grab a bite to eat, have a cocktail or a beer, chat with divers and surfers from all over, and on some nights, the music takes over.

Places like Beyond Waves, Bambuda, Oasis Beach, and some of the village’s bars and hotels occasionally host live music, DJs, or events.

Bambuda, for example, is currently listed as having a bar, cocktails, and live music, but the lineup is changing.

So the easiest thing to do is to check Instagram Stories that same day: in Santa Catalina, a party might show up on a chalkboard in the afternoon and become the town’s hot spot just a few hours later.

⛺ What about camping?

Santa Catalina remains a destination where you can find accommodations to suit almost any budget: hostels, simple rooms, bungalows, boutique hotels, and surfers’ lodgings.

Camping is also available in the area, but smaller campgrounds change more quickly than traditional hotels. I therefore recommend reserving a spot at a campground that explicitly allows tents, rather than camping freely on the beach.

💵 Some practical tips

Santa Catalina remains relatively isolated.
It’s best to bring cash, even though more and more places are accepting cards. Don’t wait until you’re running low on gas to fill up, and for trips to Coiba, reserve your spot in advance, especially between December and April.

Be sure to bring sunscreen, a water bottle, a hat, mosquito repellent, and a light jacket for the boat ride back.

For diving, centers generally provide the equipment when it is included in the package, but divers who are used to their own mask or wetsuit will often prefer to bring their own.

And during the rainy season, leave a little wiggle room in your schedule: sometimes the sea decides that the outing planned for Tuesday will actually take place on Wednesday instead.

🌿 Coiba, a park to be respected

Coiba is an exceptional but fragile protected area.

Do not touch the coral, do not collect any shells or animals, and follow the instructions of the guides and park rangers.

UNESCO rightly emphasizes that Coiba’s value lies as much in its biodiversity as in the preservation of this vast, still relatively unspoiled ecosystem.

And that is precisely what makes diving here so unique.
You’re not here to visit a giant aquarium.
You’re entering a wild environment where you never know exactly what will appear beyond the blue.
A turtle.
A school of trevally.
A stingray.
A shark.
Or, on some days, that immense spotted silhouette that instantly transforms an ordinary dive into a story you’ll be telling for a long time to come.

💙 Why stay in Santa Catalina for several days?

Because Santa Catalina ultimately brings together two of Panama’s most beautiful marine experiences in one place.
Underwater, Coiba.
On the surface, the waves.
And in between, a small village where you can walk to the beach, enjoy a leisurely meal, have a drink at sunset, and do it all over again the next day.

For divers, Jack can help organize your trip from Casa Fofo, with an itinerary tailored to your skill level and the number of dives you’d like to do.

The same goes for non-divers: snorkeling, surfing, the beach, kayaking, boat tours, and exploring Coiba make it very easy to share the same trip without having exactly the same itinerary.

So Santa Catalina isn’t just a day trip.
It’s a destination worth staying in for a few days.

Because in Panama, there are places worth visiting.

And then there are those places where, as you’re getting ready to leave, you find yourself wondering if staying one more night might not have been a great idea after all. 🌊🐋🦈🏄‍♀️🤿