Bocas del Toro · Panama · Wall · Coral garden · Night
Hospital Point
Calm coral wall on the site of a 1899 tropical-disease hospital
Area photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hospital Point is a shallow, sheltered wall off the western tip of Isla Solarte, named for a United Fruit Company hospital that once stood on the hill above it. Depth stays close to 14 metres, current is negligible, and the site is one of the easiest wall dives in the archipelago, which is why it doubles as a favourite night dive and a first stop for new divers.
Where it is and how deep
9.3000° N, 82.1833° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive follows a wall that starts close to the surface and levels out at about 14 metres, off the western end of Isla Solarte. Current is negligible, so the pace is unhurried: divers work along the face rather than drifting past it, with time to look into the cracks and overhangs that run along the coral. The shallow, sheltered profile is what makes the site a standard stop for open-water students and discover-scuba divers.
Rays and hermit crabs work the sandy patches at the base of the wall, and the site is a regular choice for night dives, when the reef's smaller residents come out to feed. It is calm enough to run alongside a snorkelling group on the surface, which is common practice for operators taking mixed groups of divers and non-divers out on the same boat.
Little remains of the hospital that gave the point its name. The United Fruit Company built the facility on the hill above the point in 1899 to treat workers suffering from malaria and yellow fever, and ran it until 1920, when its functions moved to Almirante on the mainland. The forest has since reclaimed the site, and only the point's name and the wall below it are what divers come for today.
Background
Hospital Point takes its name from a hospital the United Fruit Company built on the hill above it in 1899, to treat workers suffering from malaria and yellow fever during the company's banana operations in the archipelago. The hospital was the main medical facility in the region until 1920, when it was decommissioned and its functions transferred to Almirante on the mainland. The building has since been reclaimed by rainforest, leaving little physical trace, and the point's name is now attached to the dive site and its sheltered coral wall rather than to any surviving structure.
Marine life and season
- Stingrays
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Fair | Good |
Season follows Bocas del Toro: Dry, calmer spells run February-April and September-October, when visibility improves and swell drops enough for Tiger Rock; the rest of the year is wetter and windier.
Questions divers ask
Is Hospital Point good for beginners?+
Yes. The wall stays close to about 14 m, current is negligible, and the site is regularly used for open-water training and discover-scuba dives as well as fun dives.
Sources
- Dive Sites in Bocas del Toro — La Buga Dive & Surf
- Popular Dive Sites in Bocas del Toro Panama — The Real Deal Tours
- Solarte Island — Wikipedia
In The Logbook
- What wetsuit for what water temperatureGear & kit · 11 min read
- Diving on a budget: where it's cheap and goodTrip planning · 15 min read
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