Located in the oldest settlement in Panama, Nombre de Dios, Caribbean Jimmy's offers great deals for divers who don't mind accommodations that are on the rustic side. In addition to double occupancy cabanas and equipment, dive packages include three daily meals (that may even include guest-caught lobster and crab), two daily single tank boat dives, unlimited shore diving or snorkeling, and live entertainment in the Tiki Bar. Also offered for an extra charge are horseback riding, sportfishing, jungle and birdwatching tours and visits to the beautiful San Blas Islands.
Caribbean Jimmy's Dive Resort
Nombre de Dios, Panama
caribbeanjimmys.com
Scuba Portobelo, like most dive resorts in Panama, offers spare accommodations, but they're the best available in a town that is world-renowned for its incredible scuba diving. Owned by the largest dive operation in the country, Scuba Panama, the resort offers excursions to some of Panama's best dive sites including Drake's Island, the Three Sisters, Playa Blanca and Salmedena Reef.
Scuba Portobelo
Sunset Cabins
Portobelo, Panama
scubapanama.com
There are exceptions to every rule and, in the case of dive resorts in Panama, that exception is Coral Lodge. Although pricier than its counterparts, divers get what they pay for. Coral Lodge bills itself as "a quintessential eco-adventure lodge" and offers trips to the largely unexplored outer reefs of the beautiful San Blas Archipelago. In addition to the abundant sea life (including parrotfish, manta rays, nurse sharks, and barracuda), flexible schedules and four single tank dives per day will have scuba enthusiasts coming back again and again.
Coral Lodge
Colon Province, Panama
corallodge.com
