2 Days, 1 Night · Cebaco + CoibaPrivate Boat · Your Group Only
Most boats see Cebaco or Coiba and head home. You get both, and you sleep in between, on the coast right next to the national park, so day two starts where everyone else’s trip ends: in the water. Two days at sea, twice the chances to meet whales, dolphins and sea turtles.
Got a weekend? This overnight trip fits two islands into it. Day one, your private boat crosses to Cebaco for Tintorera’s coral, a beach barbecue and a lazy afternoon. Late in the day, while the other boats head home, you sail west along the coast to sleep right next to Coiba National Park. Day two belongs to Coiba: the largest coral reef in the Eastern Pacific, white-sand islets and a former island prison turned UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Leave from our home dock at the Club Náutico de Veraguas in El Bongo, 5 minutes from Puerto Mutis, crossing the mangroves of the Gulf of Montijo, or from Santa Catalina, about 30 minutes from Cebaco.
Then pick where you sleep. Bahia Honda, a simple, comfortable hostel on a quiet bay: it’s no luxury hotel, but being there is a luxury. Or Isla Simca, a private island 25 minutes from Coiba, where you sleep at its research station. Both options include the boat for two days, your night and all your meals: Bahia Honda from US$1,750 and Isla Simca from US$2,050 for 2 guests. Only the Coiba entrance fee is paid apart.
✓ Never snorkeled before? Your guide teaches you right off the beach, and gear and life jackets for all ages come on board.
Same boat, same reefs, same Coiba. The difference is where you sleep, and it is a big one.
Good to know: Bahia Honda and Isla Simca are independent places we know and trust, not run by us, so your night depends on their availability. Tell us your dates early and we’ll check both and confirm your room before we lock in your trip.
Two days, two different seas and twice the chances: the calm coral of Cebaco and the open reefs of Coiba. What shows up depends on the season, the tide and a bit of luck, but these are the regulars.
Planning around the seasons? Check our wildlife calendar, month by month.
Sleep next to the park and spend the first hours of day two at the reef, away from the rush of the day tours.
Kids from 7 get their own gear and life jackets, and two days split the boat rides into easy pieces.
Cebaco’s quiet coves on day one, Coiba’s reefs and islets on day two, with your boat waiting for you.
Boat, bed and meals are sorted before you arrive. You just bring the sunscreen (biodegradable, please).
Day one at Tintorera, on Cebaco, where the water is usually calm and shallow. Day two in Coiba, where your guide picks the spots each morning by tide, current and where the other boats aren’t.
A day trip shows you Coiba. Two days give you Cebaco too, and a night by the park.
Only have one day? See our private Coiba snorkeling tour →
Water toys come aboard only if you ask for them when you book, so we can keep the boat light for the crossing.
Coiba is a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site: no pets, no alcohol on its beaches and nothing goes home with you but photos. Granito de Oro, one of the most beautiful islets in the park, is closed for conservation, so we admire it from the boat.
Your entrance fee goes into the Coiba Fund (Fondo Coiba), which keeps the park running and sends a share back to the communities around it.
A small soft bag (it travels better on the boat than a hard suitcase), two long-sleeve swim shirts, biodegradable sunscreen, insect repellent, a light jacket for the evening and your original passport in a waterproof case.
Pay the Coiba entrance fee online before the trip, on MiAmbiente’s website.
Out here, Mother Nature calls the shots, and two days give us room to work with her. Your captain reads the tide and the wind each morning and picks the order of the stops, so you snorkel the calmest water and skip the beaches with other boats.
Want more time at Tintorera, a longer swim in Coiba or an earlier dinner? Just say so. It’s your boat.
Day 1: we recommend leaving El Bongo at 6:30 am, to reach Tintorera before the midday heat. From Santa Catalina, we set the time together.
Day 2: breakfast early and into Coiba. We head back mid-afternoon: about 1 h 15 min to Santa Catalina or 2 h 15 min to El Bongo.
You choose. Bahia Honda is a simple, comfortable hostel on a quiet bay facing Coiba, with air-conditioned rooms (no hot water) and dinner and breakfast served on a deck over the water. Isla Simca is a private island about 25 minutes from Coiba, where you sleep at The Liquid Jungle Lab research station, with air-conditioned rooms, hot showers and Wi-Fi. Both are much closer to Coiba than any hotel in El Bongo or Santa Catalina. Both are independent places, not run by us, so your night depends on their availability; we check it for your dates before confirming the trip.
It is private and priced per group, with the boat, your night and all your meals included. Bahia Honda: US$1,750 for 2 guests, US$1,900 for 4 and US$2,100 for 6. Isla Simca: US$2,050 for 2 guests, US$2,550 for 4 and US$3,100 for 6. Groups of 3 or 5 are priced in between when you book.
Your private boat with a certified captain and bilingual guide on both days, your night at Bahia Honda or Isla Simca, two beach lunches, dinner and breakfast, snorkel gear in all sizes, life jackets, water and ice. Water toys (Deepboard, SUP boards, inflatable island) come aboard if you ask for them when you book.
Yes. It is US$20 for foreigners and US$5 for Panamanian nationals and residents, free under 12, and it is paid online in advance on MiAmbiente’s website. The money goes into the Coiba Fund (Fondo Coiba). Cebaco has no entrance fee.
Bahia Honda is a sheltered bay on the mainland facing Coiba, so the ride into the park on day two is short. That is the whole point: you spend your morning in the water, not on a long crossing from the mainland.
Both have air-conditioned rooms. Bahia Honda is simple and local: a hostel with comfortable beds, clean bathrooms without hot water and a deck over the bay, in a fishing village. Isla Simca is a 278-acre private island where you stay at The Liquid Jungle Lab research station, with hot showers, Wi-Fi, jungle trails and kayaks. Same boat and same Coiba day either way; Simca simply gives you more comfort and privacy.
Yes. The boat, the captain and your bilingual guide are for your group only, up to 6 guests, on both days.
No. You float on the surface and watch the reef below. Your guide gives you a short lesson first, and there are life jackets and gear for all sizes on board.
Very often. Sea turtles feed over Tintorera’s coral and around Coiba’s islets all year, more than 80 dolphins live in the Gulf of Montijo, and humpback whales visit from July to October. Wildlife is wild, so nothing is guaranteed, but two days on the water give you twice the chances to see them.
Yes. Santa Catalina is about 30 minutes from Cebaco by boat. We also leave from our home dock in El Bongo, 5 minutes from Puerto Mutis, and on day two we can bring you back to either one.
No. Granito de Oro, one of the most beautiful islets in Coiba National Park, is closed for conservation. We sail past it so you can see it from the boat, and snorkel at other spots like Canales de Afuera or Rancheria.
Yes. We recommend it from 7 years old, based on our experience, not as a rule. Younger children are welcome at their parents’ discretion, and we carry kids’ snorkel gear and life jackets.
Your safety comes first. Your captain checks the sea before departure, and if it is not safe we move your trip to a new date, usually the next day. Once we are out, the captain and your group adjust the route or the timing together.
A small soft bag, two long-sleeve swim shirts, biodegradable sunscreen, insect repellent, a light jacket for the evening and your original passport in a waterproof case. No disposable plastics, please.
Yes. It is an overnight trip built for a weekend: Cebaco on Saturday, Coiba on Sunday, with the boat, your night and all your meals sorted before you arrive. If you are coming from Panama City, plan on driving to Santiago or Santa Catalina the day before.
For Coiba alone, see our private Coiba snorkeling tour, also available as a 2-day trip. For Cebaco alone, see our Cebaco Island day tour or the 2-day Cebaco trip.
We recommend 6:30 am from El Bongo, 5 minutes from Puerto Mutis: about 1 h 15 min through the mangroves of the Gulf of Montijo, often with dolphins. From Santa Catalina, Cebaco is about 30 minutes away.
Snorkel over Tintorera’s coral on Cebaco, then lunch on the sand while your crew fires up the grill.
Late in the afternoon, while the day boats head home, we sail west along the coast to Bahia Honda or Isla Simca. Check in, shower and catch the last light.
Dinner where you sleep, then a sky with almost no lights for miles around.
An early breakfast and a short ride into Coiba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of more than 270,000 hectares.
Snorkel spots picked by your guide that morning, like Canales de Afuera or Rancheria, and a barbecue on a quiet beach. We sail past Granito de Oro, closed for conservation, so you can see it from the boat.
Mid-afternoon we head home: about 1 h 15 min to Santa Catalina or 2 h 15 min to El Bongo.
With two days and two islands, your guide can wait for the best water at each spot instead of rushing from one to the next.
Type: Islet with small white-sand beaches and coral
Best for: Your first snorkel, in calm, shallow water
You’ll see: Sea turtles and thousands of colorful fish
Type: Coral garden between small islets inside the park
Best for: A long, easy float over the reef
You’ll see: Sea turtles, schools of reef fish and white-tip reef sharks resting on the sand
Type: Island with a beach and a reef right off the sand
Best for: A swim and a slow afternoon on the beach
You’ll see: Colorful fish, sea turtles and the island where the Smithsonian runs a research station
Type: One of the most beautiful islets in Coiba National Park
Why from the boat: it is closed for conservation, so the reef can recover. We sail past so you can see it, and snorkel somewhere just as good.
A simple, comfortable hostel on a quiet, sheltered bay facing Coiba: air-conditioned rooms, comfortable beds, clean bathrooms (no hot water) and a deck where dinner and breakfast come with a view of the water. It’s no luxury hotel, but being there is a luxury.
Isla Simca is a private island about 25 minutes from Coiba. You sleep at The Liquid Jungle Lab, a research station with air-conditioned rooms, hot showers, Wi-Fi, a dining hall, jungle trails and kayaks.
Dinner is served where you sleep, after a day at sea. Tell us about allergies or diets when you book, and we take care of the rest.
Breakfast early and back on your boat. From here, Coiba is a short ride away, so your second day starts in the water.
