PADI Beginner Courses in Panamá

  Highlight of our trip ! - This was, hands down, the most special time of our road trip from California to Panama.
We found out about Kevan and Dive Base Coiba randomly. After exploring his... read more web site, and reading comments here on trip advisor, we decided it was right up our alley : a secluded, small village, at the end of a challenging dirt road our 4X4 was made for, a place untouched by mass-tourisme, a postcard paradise beach, and a professional diver with massive knowledge and love for what he does.
We made that decision last minute, on a Sunday night, send an email in the middle of the night, and drove out there without waiting for an answer.

We got to Pixvae Monday afternoon, were stunned by its beauty, and drove across the sleepy village, all the way to a beautiful beach where we set up camp. We were quickly welcomed by a very friendly local family, who helped us understand how things were working here, where and when we could get online to communicate with Kevan. Without news we spent our Tuesday free diving in 4 différents beautiful location, and the afternoon cooking with the family.

Kevan had been out on sea on an 8 days scientific diving mission, and only got our message on Tuesday. Needless to say, we were his first ever « walk-in » customers ! He was super responsive to us, and after a very short night with his family, drove from Santiago to Pixvae on Wednesday morning, to take us on what was gonna be the 2 most epic days of diving of our life.

Playful jumping humpback whales and dolphin on our way to and back from the dive sites, incredibly beautiful and rich marine life during the dives (countless colorful fish, sharks, turtles, garden eels, lobsters, barracudas, and to top it off, a majestic Manta Ray ).

Kevan is a true, passionate professional, with both his head and his heart in the right place. He uses the local community for his diving activities, and strives in many way to have a long lasting positive impact here. He loves the ocean, and it radiates in all the stories he will share with you. He is one of the most knowledgeable diver I have ever met, and his very long history working with scientists and production crew in the area makes him, without comparaison, the most in depth specialist of the underwater area. He is also safety oriented, in ways you probably have not very often encounter in « diving in paradise » type of operation.
Over all, he has been beyond helpful, welcoming and accommodating with us.

I could not recommend him more, and we’re already making plans to come back to this very special little corner of the world!