Portobelo is the gateway to the Caribbean closest to Panama City, and its dive sites lie in the 34,000-hectare Portobelo National Park. Boats reach Drake Island a few minutes out, Buenaventura Island with the plane wreck El Avion, One Rock and the deeper current sites of Tres Hermanas and Salmedina. Lettuce leaf, brain, fire and elkhorn corals share the reefs with giant sponges, turtles and eagle rays, all within a day trip of the capital.
About diving in Portobelo
A Portobelo diving day runs by boat, and Drake Island is only a few minutes out. The sites are not fixed in advance: they are chosen on the day of the trip once the weather and the water clarity are known, so a planned site can change. Trips run daily, and the Caribbean around the bay is usually calm. The daily guided trips are for certified divers, while first-timers start with a try-dive or an entry-level course.
The national park protects shallow coral gardens, underwater caverns and an abundance of reef fish. The hard corals include lettuce leaf, fire, brain and elkhorn, and gardens of giant sponges spread between them. Turtles, moray eels, eagle rays and pufferfish move over the reefs. Buenaventura Island alone holds three sites, El Avion among them, and other sites include Padre Island, Punta Sabanilla, Chicken Point, Pared de Huerta, Parche Point and Segundo Arrecife.
Portobelo suits divers who want calm, warm-water reef dives within a day trip of Panama City, and the diving pairs easily with touring the ruins in town. The marine life is the limit: the waters off Portobelo lack the rich diversity found elsewhere in Panama, so the reefs reward divers who enjoy coral, sponges, turtles and eagle rays more than those after a long species list. Advanced divers get their depth and current at Tres Hermanas and Salmedina rather than on the easier island reefs.
Best time to dive Portobelo
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Boats run every month of the year, so no stretch of the calendar is closed. From December to February the sea can churn up and cut the visibility, and the water is at its coolest in February, at about 27 °C. March and April are good months. May is the first of the best months, and June and July sit between the two best windows. August and September are the rainy months, yet they are reckoned the best of the year, and October joins them with the water still at its warmest, about 29 °C. November rates good, and the species on the reefs shift with the seasons throughout.
Dive types & marine life
One Rock is a good place to see sharks. The species sighted change with the season, and the park is an important nesting ground for endangered hawksbill turtles.
- Coral garden
- Wreck
- Sea turtles
- Eagle rays
Best dive sites in Portobelo
- 1
Drake Island
A few minutes out by boat; legend puts Francis Drake's sunken 1596 ship here at about 21 m (70 ft)
- 2
El Avion
A sunken plane, one of the three dive sites at Buenaventura Island
- 3
One Rock
A site known as a good place to see sharks
- 4
Tres Hermanas
A deeper site with stronger currents, better suited to advanced divers
- 5
Salmedina
Another deeper, stronger-current site kept for advanced divers
- 6
Reef 2 Reef
A coral restoration project that divers can visit underwater
Site guides
Reef
Sponge-covered reef where legend puts Francis Drake's lost ship
Wreck
A sunken plane resting off Buenaventura Island
How to get to Portobelo
Portobelo is about an hour and a half by road from Panama City: the Transisthmian highway (Autopista) runs to Sabanitas, where a right turn leads onto the road to Portobelo. A dive centre stands facing Portobelo bay.
Dive videos
Portobelo, Panama - May 28, 2023 (Dive 1/2) · Scuba E on YouTube
¡Buceo Nocturno en Panamá! (Portobelo) · Dive Adventure on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can a diver without certification dive at Portobelo?+
Only on a try-dive or a course. The daily guided boat trips are for certified divers, and the deeper current sites, Tres Hermanas and Salmedina, are better left to advanced divers.
Is there a wreck to dive at Portobelo?+
Yes. El Avion, a sunken plane, lies at Buenaventura Island, and legend holds that Francis Drake's ship rests off Drake Island.
Can a specific Portobelo dive site be booked in advance?+
Not reliably. Sites are picked on the day of the trip once the weather and the water clarity are known.
Is the rainy season a bad time to dive Portobelo?+
No. August and September are the rainy months, yet they are counted among the best for diving, alongside May and October.
Sources
- Scuba Diving & Snorkeling in Portobelo — Visit Panamá
- Scuba Diving in Portobelo — Panama Casco Viejo
- Best Dive Sites in Panama — PADI
- Portobelo Average Sea Temperatures — seatemperature.org
- Panama Dive Adventure — Panama Dive Adventure
- Portobelo — Wikivoyage
- Portobelo Active Pursuits — Frommer's
- Buceo en Panamá — Holafly
Embed
Run a dive centre, club or blog? Embed this map of 2 dive sites near Portobelo on your own page.
Similar destinations
Panama's cheapest place to learn to dive, with a national marine park just offshore
Caribbean
St. Kitts
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Easy wrecks and coral-head reefs in calm, gentle water
Spur-and-groove canyons and nurse sharks minutes from San Pedro's piers
Self-guided shore diving along a calm, protected west coast