Dive into the Pacific's last wild sanctuary.

The island that stayed closed to the world for a century.

Isla Coiba was once home to a penal colony, cut off from the mainland. That forced isolation, paradoxically, preserved one of the last intact tropical forests on the Pacific coast — and some of the most pristine waters in Central America.

Since the penitentiary closed in 2004 and the park's UNESCO World Heritage listing, Coiba National Park has become Central America's largest marine protected area — a crossroads of nutrient-rich currents that draws an unusual density of pelagic life to the eastern Pacific.

Our trips depart from Santa Catalina, in small groups, with guides who know every pinnacle and channel in the park.