3 curated Scuba Diving spots in Panama, each with its own note and source.
Las Perlas (Panamá) · Best time: Dec–Apr · Beginner
Pacific diving around Pacheca and Pachequilla, plus the Boyarena sandbank. Visibility runs 7 to 12 metres, water 24 to 29 °C. Strong Pacific current means a lot of drift diving — buoy, line and reel are part of the kit. Humpback whales are run as their own boat trips.
Sources: Pearl Islands Panama
Colón · Best time: Dec–Apr · All levels
Caribbean-side diving at Isla Drake, a few boat minutes from town, plus Isla Buenaventura and the Pared de Huerta wall. Water holds at a constant 27 °C. The tourism authority rates August and September as the calmest at sea, because hurricane-season weather sits further north. Elkhorn, fire and brain coral, turtles, moray eels and eagle rays.
Sources: Autoridad de Turismo Panamá
Karibik · Best time: Dec–Apr · Beginner
Scuba diving is not permitted in Guna Yala: the Guna ban it in their waters because they fear for the fish stocks they live on. Snorkelling stays open — the reefs sit just below the surface, and a wreck off Isla Perro can be snorkelled.
Sources: San Blas Islands