Dive Review of ScubaCaribe in
Panama/Playa Blanca

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ScubaCaribe: "Surprisingly good place for a couple of dives", Dec, 2016, by Harvey S. Cohen, NJ, US ( Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 9436 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I booked a 2-tank dive one day, just to stay in practice for warm-water scuba. Based on what few reports I could find on the Web, I expected very little other than warm water. The standard dive site is a small rocky island a few hundred meters from the beach. Dives have to be timed as close as possible to high tide, because otherwise the large swings in Pacific tide can make the site very shallow. High tide today was at 7:45 AM, I dived around 9:00 and 11:00, and the bottom was around 25 feet. The dive boat was a roomy catamaran with good shade and good ladders. The dive operation was very smooth. I was the only customer. My guide Maria spoke good English on the boat and was excellent at pointing out stuff during the dive. The site is mostly rock and seaweed, with a tiny bit of coral. There is a nice swim-through at the waist of the island, and a shallow cave as well. To my surprise, the area is full of fish and critters. Large schools of jacks zipped right past me. Lots of butterflies, dozens of puffers everywhere I looked. Some big, beautiful groupers, and triggers. Three good-size octopus. Several different varieties of morays-- we saw one catch and eat a crab. A few nudies of a kind I'd never encountered. A few rays. Bring your dive light; it helps in the poor viz and it's a must in the swim-through and the cave. There are lots urchins, and dives tend to hug the bottom. Exercise due caution.
Websites	ScubaCaribe
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Eilat, Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Banda Sea, Fiji, Palau, Coral Sea, Galapagos, many Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, National Aquarium, Dutch Springs, Silfra (Iceland)
Closest Airport	Rio Hato	Getting There	We took a rental car from Tocumen Intl Airport at Panama City-- around 2.5 hours if you circle north to avoid downtown traffic. The dive shop is at the Hotel Riu. We stayed at the JW Marriott a mile down the beach, so the shop sent a boat to pick me up and drop me off.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	80-81°F / 27-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	5-15 Ft/ 2-5 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	You really want to stay with the guide. Viz is very poor, there is no dinghy chasing your bubbles, and the most of the dive is not line-of-sight to the dive boat because the island blocks the view.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of ScubaCaribe in Panama/Playa Blanca

ScubaCaribe: "Surprisingly good place for a couple of dives", Dec, 2016,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of ScubaCaribe in
Panama/Playa Blanca