The Best Coiba Island Snorkel Tour

Coiba Island Snorkel Tour – Santa Catalina, Panama

The Coiba Island Snorkel Tour is one of the top things to do in Santa Catalina, Panama. This full day adventure allows you to explore the Coiba National Park above and below the water! The national park is comprised of 38 islands, with Coiba Island being the largest. The tour combines snorkeling, dolphin spotting, hiking and secluded island hopping. I had the opportunity to partner with Unlimited Adventures Coiba and it was the best snorkeling tour I have done. This post will dive into the Coiba Island snorkel tour adventure and give you all the information you need to book your tour!

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What is Coiba National Park

Coiba National Park is natural gem located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Panama. The Coiba National Park includes Coiba Island along with 38 smaller islands and the surrounding marine area. It is 2,700 sq meters making it one of the largest marine parks in the world. The park is home to a variety of flora and fauna including sea turtles, sharks, howler monkeys, dolphins, rays and countless fish. Coiba National Park was dedicated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 and the parks protective status aims to preserve the pristine ecosystems and unique biodiversity for future generations. After snorkeling all around Panama, I think Coiba National Park offers the best snorkeling in Panama.

How to Book the Coiba Island Snorkel Tour?

In order to visit the Coiba National Park you need to organize a tour from Santa Catalina, Panama. There are a ton of dive and snorkel shops in Santa Catalina, but I highly recommend Unlimited Adventures Coiba. I had an incredible experience with them and they delivered a seamless tour experience with fantastic guides, knowledge, safety and fun! The Coiba Island Snorkel Tour was fun and exciting from start to finish.

All of the equipment was in top form, which is so important for a snorkel tour (leaky masks are the worst). From the minute we met our guide, Natalie, I knew it was going to be a great day. She brought a super positive vibe and shared her love for the ocean throughout the day. I also appreciated that they adjusted the snorkeling schedule around the weather so that we had the best conditions possible for all 3 dives. Lastly, I was pleased that they have a sustainable focus and all the food was served in reusable containers!

Book Your Coiba Island Snorkel Tour: HERE

What Does the Coiba Island Snorkel Tour Include

All necessary snorkel gear
Coffee/Tea in the morning
Bi-lingual snorkel guide who actually does the snorkels with you
Experienced boat captain
3 snorkel dives (approx 45 mins each)
Fruit snack
Lunch on Coiba Island (Pasta with tuna)
Hike to the Coiba Island Lookout point
1 hour on a secluded beach
round trip boat transportation

Key Tips for the Coiba Island Snorkel Tour

Bring Sunscreen and reapply regularly throughout the day
Having a rash guard is really helpful to prevent sun exposure
Eat a good breakfast before
Bring water and some snacks
Sunglasses helped prevent water splashing in my eyes on the boat
GoPro or underwater camera!
Some cash to tip your guide

Coiba Island

Coiba Island Snorkel Tour Itinerary with Unlimited Adventures Coiba

Arrival and Meeting Point

The Coiba Island adventure begins at 750 am when you arrive to Unlimited Adventures Coiba’s office in Santa Catalina, Panama. Here you will be greeted by the friendly staff whole will help you register and start getting you fitted with snorkel gear. You can help yourself to coffee and tea while everyone arrives and I highly recommend applying sunscreen at this point.

Once everyone has arrived, one of the guides will lead a safety briefing and go over the itinerary for the day. They will place you into a group (we had 12 people) and assign you to a guide and captain. From the office you walk a couple minutes to the beach where you will load up on the boats to Coiba Island.

Journey to Coiba National Park

What makes this tour awesome is how remote and protected Coiba National Park is. That being said, it is a bit of a journey to get out there and can take about 1.5 -2 hours to arrive at the first snorkel location. The views along the way are beautiful and there is a high chance to see dolphins. We encountered multiple pods of dolphins and saw two different species. This definitely made the journey more exciting and the time passed quickly.

Snorkel #1, 2 & 3

Due to the weather conditions, our guide made the decision to do all 3 snorkels in the morning so that we would have the best conditions. Normally the third snorkel takes place after lunch. I really appreciated that they altered the normal itinerary to ensure that we had the best snorkel experience. Our lovely guide, Natalie was also very knowledgeable about the areas we were snorkeling in and chose them specific to the conditions.

After snorkeling all around Panama, I can confidently say that Coiba National Park provides the best experience in regards to animals/fish and beautiful coral. The protection of the marine park and its remoteness create an environment that is abundant with sea life (much more than I experienced in the San Blas and Bocas Del Toro).

Snorkel #1

Our first snorkel was in a calm shallow area and we saw so many sea turtles here. Everywhere I looked there was a sea turtle. The reef was colorful and there was even some regeneration projects going on underwater. I really liked that our guide was in the water with us and helping to find new creatures and answer questions we had about what we were seeing. This dive covered a large distance between a couple islands and it was my favorite dive of the day.

White Tipped Shark

Snorkel #2

Our second snorkel was in more open ocean around a couple rock outcroppings. This dive was specifically targeted to see some of the reef sharks. It definitely did not disappoint. We saw over 10 white & black tipped reef sharks. They were over a meter long! The funny thing is they sleep during the day so most of the time you could only see their outline on the sand. Thankfully a couple came to life and we got to witness them swimming around the reef. This was really awesome and I appreciated having our guide in the water so we felt safe.

Snorkel #3

Before we started the third snorkel, we had a quick Watermelon snack break on the boat to catch our breath between snorkels. The third snorkel was also really great and a mix of the first two spots. I saw more turtles and sharks here as well, in addition to eels and a lot more fish.

Lunch on Coiba Island

After we finished all the snorkeling we headed over to the main Coiba Island for our lunch. This is the largest island in the National Park and a good spot for lunch. It used to be a penal colony, but now there is only minimal infrastructure to house the park rangers and a couple navy officers. We all sat around a big table and our guide passed out our pasta with tuna and veggies. There was also some soda and cold water available. I really liked the lunch and want to replicate it when I get a chance.

Hiking Coiba Island

After we ate lunch, our guide took us on a short hike up to a lookout point. The whole thing took maybe 30 minutes. It’s a good opportunity to see some of the land animals like monkeys. Unfortunately we did not see any animals on our hike, but we learned more about the history of the national park, the animals and the conservation efforts. At the top of the hike we were rewarded with beautiful views looking over some of the islands in the distance.

Coiba Island Mirador

Relaxing Beach Paradise

After the hike, our captain drove us the quick distance to a picture perfect beach. I’m not sure if it has a name, but it was perfect with turquoise water, white sand and lush palm trees. We had a hour to chill here, take a swim or walk along the beach. I didn’t leave the water the whole time! This is a good opportunity to relax before the big ride back.

The Journey back to Santa Catalina

Okay, so the ocean was very rough on our way back. It was a windy day so probably worse than usual. We were flying over the waves, getting splashed and catching a lot of air. I was sitting on the front bench so it was definitely most rough here. I’d sit closest to the back if you want a less bumpy ride. It took about 2 hours to return to Santa Catalina. By this point I was tired and zoned out most of the ride thinking about all the epic things I had seen. I was definitely happy to make it back to the beach, but I’d go again in a heartbeat. The journey is definitely worth it!

Relaxing Beach Spot

Overall Review of Unlimited Adventures Coiba

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour with Unlimited Adventures Coiba and feel that they offer a very fun, professional, informative and safe tour to Coiba National Park. I felt totally safe and looked after by our guide and captain who clearly had years of experience exploring the Coiba National Park. They made it their priority to ensure we had an awesome day and they brought super positive vibes even though the weather wasn’t ideal. I thought the tour is definitely worth the money and provides great value. Snorkeling in Coiba National Park is an amazing experience and the biodiversity is incredible. Coiba Island Snorkel Tour is definitely the best place to snorkel in Panama. I highly recommend making a stop in Santa Catalina, Panama if you love snorkeling or diving!

Book Your Coiba Island Snorkel Tour: HERE

Do you Have Travel Insurance?

Travel Insurance is the number one thing I make sure to have before I start any adventure. Most people don’t realize how critical travel insurance is and it has personally saved me a few times on my travels. I’ve needed it when I got a parasite in Peru, when I needed to be hospitalized in Bali, and when my phone was stolen. Most home country health insurance does not cover you over sees so if you are in an accident or fall ill then all the fees will be out of pocket unless you have travel insurance. On top of medical coverage most plans provide coverage for travel interruptions, stolen property and lost luggage.

I currently use Heymondo for all my travel insurance needs. Their policies are priced well and they have great support. I like that I can use the app to chat with a doctor at any time, and their team are easy to reach if you need help seeking medical treatment. In addition, their base policies already cover a ton of adventure sports or you can add on their adventure cover if you’ll be doing more extreme activities.