Great Trip, well organized, safe and exciting!!! - My second three day trip with scubacoiba!! Corey was our host and master diver on my first trip and we stayed at Simca Isla in the old Smithsonian laboratory. Second... read more trip was led by Cedric a multi lingual master diver in September 2024 to sites around Contreras Isla group. We stayed in pixvae and the food was very good. The trip was absolutely incredible!! Hammerheads and fish everywhere on sueno. Very large sea rays on montano Russo and loads of bull sharks and coral at punta peligro. All three dive sites were within a ten minute cruise. I will be back!!!!

  Best dive trip ever!  - The best people and guides- just Amazing! They were professional and served luches and snacks! The dive site are beautiful!

  Amazing experience with scuba coba  - It was an amazing experience. With Heavy everything was really easy to get sorted out. The Guides are really professional. Together we had a lot of fun. We saw sooooo... read more many amazing animals from sharks, Wales and turtles. I would highly recommend you to book with this company. We would always do it again.

  Amazing diving but some issues with the dive shop  - The diving in coiba national park is really exceptional. The spanish lady working at the dive shop was very friendly and the lunch on the day was good.
... read more /> However, during a dive the head strap on my mask completly snapped off (Due to the mask being older and well used, not due to me, I was not touching the mask). The dive shop forced me to pay for the broken mask despite it not being my fault. I should not have to pay for the dive shops faulty gear, this slightly ruined the experience for me.

The boat crew assembled all of our gear for us, I would have like to assemble and check the gear myself before the first dive as we were using rental gear. When I tried to check the gear the boat crew told me 'no it's ok' and rushed me to get off the boat. Also there was no buddy system and no time to do buddy checks.

  Safari submarino  - AMAZING SHARK DIVING AT FRIJOLES E IGLESIAS. PLENTY OF WHITE TIPS, A BULLSHARK, TURTLES AND BARRACUDAS???? 5 STARS FOR HERBY.

  The best  - I loved diving with ScubaCoiba, the communication to make a reservation with Herbie was clear and fast; Cory is a super experienced dive master with lots of experience in the... read more area, she knows the dive sites very well and showed us the best. The dive in Contreras Islands with Hammerheads was sttuning cause all the crew take care of the smallest details to have perfect dives.

  Spectacular - This was my favorite diving day ever. I dove with Ben who was an exceptional guide. He is incredibly experienced and just lovely to talk to. The diving was spectacular.... read more We went up to Contreras and saw more sting rays than I could count, countless white tip reef sharks, an octopus, and many eel. The highlight was a bull shark on dive two. Amazing!

  Great dive experience and local food / habitat!  - We had a great time on our 2 day, 1 night trip excursion from Santa Catalina to diving Coiba Islands, staying in Pixvae for 1 night! Upon arrival the day... read more before to set up our scuba gear, we were excited to learn that Herbie had just purchased a membrane for filling Nitrox. We always had good fills, too. Our dive guide was very knowledgeable about the best dives sites for us to see in the Contreras Islands. Between dives, they find a beach on one of the rock islands to get in the shade and have a snack or lunch and explore the natural habitat. The stay in Pixvae was really fun, too, with great local food. This is a great set up for diving the more northern islands in Coiba National Park to avoid the long boat rides! We got to see white tip sharks, hammerheads, sting rays, eagle rays, big schools of snapper, jacks, and barracuda, turtles, and moray eels, We would highly recommend diving with Scuba Coiba!

  Nice experience  - Cynthia was a very nice diving guide. Great experiencie. Food was also good and the stops on the little islands were gorgeos.

  The first and one and only dive shop in Santa Catalina  - The first and one and only dive shop in Santa Catalina. I dove with them 14 years ago and at that time, there was no other shop. Now there are... read more many but you still get the EXTRA with Scuba Coiba. Such as one hour dives (which others often don't offer and finish after 45min, even if you still have lots of air) and a great crew. Diving with Cynthia was perfect ❤️ and then of course l love to hear stories from Herbie, which found this paradise for us. Big thank you!

  Scuba Coiba gave us the best diving of our lives  - Best diving ever! Thank you to Scuba Coiba owner,Herbie, for setting this up for us.

Scuba Coiba truly gave us the best 3 days of diving we have ever... read more had. Our multi-day trip - 9 dives total over 3 days - exceeded our expectations. We also stayed a 4th day for a snorkel day on Coiba. Super.

We had fabulous diving, a great divemaster (Cory), and a unique and fun experience on a private island (Simca) near Isla Coiba. Having lodging on Simca Island (instead of on the mainland at Santa Catalina) enabled us to get more Coiba diving time each day and dive in more remote sites. Because of this we were almost always the only dive boat at each site. Scuba Coiba is the only company that does these trips.

The fish, the sharks, the corals, the beaches, and everything on Coiba is 10 out of 10.

We highly recommend Scuba Coiba and their multi-day trip for a wonderful experience. Thank you, Herbie and team, for giving us an outstanding experience.

  Friendly & professional - TOP  - Great and professionally organised dive trips with friendly staff.
Gear in good condition, comfortable boat, lovely dive sites.

  Amazing day doing 3 dives. Equipment all perfect. Brand new wetsuits and BCDs. Friendly and nice staff and dive master who shared her GoPro videos with me free of charge.... read more Cooked me a tasty vegan lunch of vegetables rice beans and salad (my partner got the same but with chicken) and provided lots of snacks and fresh fruit. Saw lots of wildlife and also got to go to amazing white sand beaches.

  Open water course - Did my open water certificate. Corry was an excellent guide. Always felt safe around her.
I can highly recommend the place

  Awesome experience !

Good instructor, nice environment.
Small group when doing course, individual advices.

Would totally recommend it

  Excellent guides and instruction. Cory our instructor was an absolute pro and made our open water certification a blast! I can wait to come back and dive with these folks... read more again!

  Cynthia Made this Dive Great - We had 3 dives in early February during the dry season, smooth ride out to Coiba and a nice ride back in the afternoon. The water was 82* but there... read more were a few times we went through 77* currents, I just was comfortable with just a rash guard and no jellyfish issues. Cynthia was our guide, she was very good and handled severe office issues adroitly and saved our trip. We had a home made chicken, rice and vegetable lunch, one of the best meals I have had in my 200+ dives. She also took pictures and videos, as well as trying her best to find whale sharks. We did see a very un-bashful octopus, sharks, turtles and so many fish! The air was very good. The boats are cramped but the boat staff were able to set up our gear well.

  I had such an amazing time with Scuba Coiba. I did many dives in different places and Cynthia from Scuba Coiba was definitely by far the best instructor I had... read more so far. Our group of divers were all experienced advanced divers, nonetheless she made sure everyone was doing okay all the time - as it should be - but which I have not experienced all times at other diving schools in the past few years. I felt so safe diving with her, she showed me great spots, pointed out so many special marine life and was just a pleasure to dive with. The people of Scuba Coiba in general are all so nice, great in communication and their equipment is amazing: all new and in such a good shape. Also, the lunch included was great (I’m vegetarian and had such a nice meal with a lot of veggies) and so were the snacks (fresh pineapple yummie). I highly recommend diving with Scuba Coiba!

  Couldn’t be any better! Herbie was the original dive shop in town and has been there since 2003. He was the one to discover and mark the dives at a... read more time when no one thought it possible.
We dove with them for 4 days, each day was a 3 tank dive and they couldn’t do anything better. All of the dive shops in town use the exact same boats, they are called panga’s. So the variables that can change would be primarily the dive masters, crew, equipment and dive site selection. We found our dive masters, Cynthia and Cory to be fantastic and easy to spend the day with. It felt more like diving with really knowledgeable friends who were there to keep you safe and show you everything that the ocean has to offer. Their diving skill was fantastic, their knowledge of the dive sites and marine life exceptional. The food for lunch was great and is made locally in town every morning. The beaches you stop at for breaks and lunches are remote and beautiful.
I can’t recommend this operator and his crew enough, if you come to Catalina to dive then dive with the original, Scuba Coiba

  Very good. diving was good. Unfortunately visibility is not that great. And there are bull sharks. We had a great time but I think that visitors should know that. Also... read more water is cold past the thermocline. Bring your own full length wetsuit.

  We booked well in advance and Herbie, the owner, gave us many useful information ahead and organized also our Hotel Iguanito before and after the divingtrip. The hole trip was... read more very good organized and professional. Cory, our dive guide, showed us a lot of marine life , the option to stay overnight on Simca Island is great as you have less boat transfer, Lunch on the beaches everyday different, healthy and very good. I expected Sandwiches but got salads, faijitas etc Dinner and Staff on Simca very nice, too. We can highly recommend Scuba Coiba and its Staff. Special thanks to lovely Cory and of course Herbie Monika and Markus

  Great experience with Scuba Coiba! - We had a fantastic time. We booked for two days. After the first we booked a third day. It was a great experience. The diveinstructors were just amazing and really... read more professional. We felt very save at all times. It was the highlight of our trip! We'll try to come back and would definitely recommend Scuba Coiba to anyone looking for a great adventure in Santa Catalina. A huge thank you to Herbie and his team

  Lovely time diving with Cory and Cynthia on two different days. Both are professional and great at pointing out/explaining the wildlife in the area. The boat captain and mate were... read more clearly monitoring the locations/water conditions and were very helpful.
Herbie was very responsive in emails so it was easy to get questions answered and to book.
Scuba Coiba facilitates longer dives while some of the competitors have a max 45 minutes.
One note - we were diving in mid December and the thermoclines were just starting. If you are prone to getting cold, you may want to put on the additional hoodie and gloves. The temperature of the water is fine until you hit a thermocline and then the temperature drops.

  We made 3 dives with Cynthia. She ‘s a great dive-master, enthusiastic, nice and professional. The boat wAs fast, gear was good and the lunch nice. Highly recommended.

  Great diving experience. Corey was a great guide, Coiba Islands were beautiful. Great diving, good equipment, lovely team. Thanks so much.

  We had a great diving experience with Cory and Scuba Coiba! We were a small group and did three dives, all at beautiful sites. Cory is an amazing dive instructor,... read more who is responsive to the skills of all dive group members and makes the most of every dive. The booking was very easy and smooth and the crew (boat crew) is also really nice. We will definitely come back. Absolutely recommended.

  We had the best time diving with Scuba Coiba! Herbie, the owner, was one of the first people ever scuba diving in Coiba national park (and his was the first... read more Scuba shop in Santa Catalina). They are for sure the best value dive centre in Santa Catalina, because they allow you to dive for as long as you have air, and then you have longer enjoying the islands around Coiba in between dives. The other dive shops limit dives to 45 minutes, so they’d only get 2h15m underwater maximum, whereas we had almost 3 hours. The team know exactly how to deliver the best trip for divers - particularly Corey who has been diving Coiba for 8 years pretty much seems to be friends with all the critters you’ll encounter underwater. We also did our Rescue Diver Padi course with Ben around Isla Gobernadora which was excellent. Can’t wait to come back to dive with the team one day for a Hammerhead encounter!

  Fantastic experience with Cory and Scuba Coiba! We did three dives, each one more incredible than the last. The boat ride was long, but the surface intervals on the beach... read more were wonderful, as were the crew. My friend was able to come along and snorkel while the rest of us dived. Loved that our group was small and personal!

  We did a diving trip to Coiba with Scuba Coiba. We felt immediately comfortable with this organization. They gave us clear information (in English) and the diving gear is in... read more good state. We had Ben as a diving instructor, who is very professional and enjoyable. The groups are not too big and safety measurements are respected. We saw a lot of wildlife! I would highly recommend booking with Scuba Coiba for your diving trip around Coiba!

  Great service and beautiful dives. Few divers in each trip. So many fishes and underwater wildlife to see.

  Excellent experience!!! I saw three times in two days whale sharks. Wonderful coordination and very professional guide!

  Amazing dive school, very well organized, passionate people, vegan food, caring for our environment!! we even did a beach clean up, which I LOVED! Definitely recommended :) would come back... read more any time!!

  I went diving to Coiba islands with scuba coiba and it was awesome . They are trustworthy and passionate about what they re doing. I went with my son who... read more is 9 and was snorkeling and with another friend

  Scubacoiba is the best choice to explore Coiba's breathtaking underwater world.
The entire team is professional, friendly and takes care of you and the environment.
The only thing you... read more have to do is relax and dive!
Between the dives, you will be provided with really good food and you can chill on beautiful one of the beautiful islands around.

  I dove two days (6 dives) with scuba coiba and it was a fabulous experience !
The instructors or others people working there are really nice and cool... you just... read more feel good with them!
The spots are amazing !
Little bonus : the lunch is delicious!

  It was my first time diving and it was awesome. We saw so many animals and the guides prepared us really good

  Great diving. Top day out. Jose and Angelina were brilliant and perfect dive guides. Amazing marine life. Highly recommended!

Lee

  Great experience !! I had a 3 dives days. Everyone was friendly. I am vegetarian and I had a nice meal with big quantity for lunch break on a beach... read more where there was just us. Good atmosphere and taking care of customer !! So good ! Equipment is as it used to be in tourist place bit out of date but nothing worst than everywhere I have been before. (Indonesia Thailand Vietnam Philipinnes)

  Wonderful first diving experience with Herbie and Ben in Coiba.

They are a great team, professional as well as funny. And furthermore, respectfull and in love with nature.... read more

We definitively recommend them.

Caroline and Julie.

  We ( 3 very experienced divers) booked for a 3 day/ 2 nights trip around Coiba with them.Booking and payment went flawless ( well, the owner got the bill wrong... read more by 1000 US, but let's say it was a typing error).
Upon arrival, the Dive shop had moved location, everything was a real mess....nobody found the necessary equipment, nowhere to sit or try on the equipment. I had clarified in advance that my daughter would need gear in XS and myself in 2XL, which had been confirmed.
Nothing was available, everything had to be borrowed from other dive shops. I was given a really old and rotten wet suit and finally had to dive in a shorty which led to the fact that I got heavily stung on legs and forearms by the omni present Jellyfish. In consequence I couldn't dive a full day (3 dives!) Everything was stowed on a " boat" ( bottles were loose, no dry places for a 3 day trip...) for 6 persons. This chaos led to the fact that we could dive only 2 out of 3 dives on that first day.

I thought about the scene in Jaws " we need a bigger boat" whilst the 90 minute ride to the first dive site.
The onboard team was really good though, our Guide, Ben was simply fantastic and balanced out the total lack of professionalism of the Dive Shop itself. The owners wife is an excellent cook and Orlando was a real brilliant and helpful Captain.

I still wonder if it makes sense to stay overnight in Baya Honda, as prices are really steep and there is still at least 45 minutes on the boat to the nearest and 75 minutes to the mid range dive sites.Ypu might be better off going back/forth each day and stay in the comfort of your hotel in Santa Catalina, eventually it'll be even cheaper!

On the third day Myriam (cook & wife to the owner)got so upset about my Jellyfish burns (and me not wanting to dive in a shorty anymore) that she took the innitiative to call her husband, the owner, and wonder over wonder, a new, perfectly fitting suit had been borrowed from Panama Divers and brought to me, so I could dive the last day.I'll remain ever thankful to Myriam for this!
Upon our return the owner simply asked me smiling "seems you got stung" and that it was all my fault as I dove in a shorty, by purpose ignoring the fact that he hadn't provided a fitting suit until the last day. After such a "warm" greeting I decided not to discuss any further on the matter and to help the crew to unload the boat.

Would I dive Coiba again?
Absolutely, it's an overwhelming, fantastic dive (for experienced divers though), would I recommend this Dive Shop? Obviously not, check with Panama Divers, I have discussed with other Santa Catalina guests, they loved their service and equipment.