ScubaPortobelo

I’m from Denver, Colorado. Skiing and scuba diving mean the world to me. I’m 28, originally from Venezuela.
This place is basically the ski-in / ski-out of scuba diving, without the fake luxury markup. You wake up, walk downstairs, eat, put your wetsuit on, and you’re on the boat. No shuttles. No chaos. No stress. They do everything for you. That alone is priceless.
The dive sites are 10–20 minutes by boat, easy rides. We were diving inside the national park and the sites were EMPTY, just us, except for the very last dive where we ran into a random group of divers near the bottom of the sea. The beaches had some people, but nothing remotely crowded. We were there at the start of dry season (Christmas through Dec 29), and the weather was money. Great visibility, almost no rain, and when it did rain it was five-minute tropical showers and done.
Marine life was legit: rays, lobsters, lionfish, angel fish, parrot fish, crabs, sponges, coral, and even a big grouper. The works. Visibility was excellent.
They handle everything from tanks, gear setup, rinsing, storage. I offered to help because I’m a capable adult, but you don’t have to lift a finger if you don’t want to.
Safety-wise it was rock solid. Detailed briefings, double checks, conservative profiles. The dive masters each had 1, 500+ dives, carried computers, and the captain tracked us the entire time. I always felt safe.

We had a wonderful 2 nights at Scubaportobelo. This was our 3rd or 4th time there. The location can't be beat, right on the water with an amazing view. Luzmila the onsite manager went out of her way to make sure our stay was pleasant and comfortable, especially for my older inlaws who were with us. They stayed in one of the second floor rooms and my family stayed in one of the bungalows. The AC rooms are comfortable and clean. The restaurant has great food, and they do scuba and snorkelling tours from the hotel. I would highly recommend staying there even if you are not going on a scuba tour.

This is the best place to stay. It offers everything: great food, excellent lodging, swimming in the water or in the pool, boat rides to snorkel or scuba, a lovely dock & gazebo to have fun with others at the hotel, especially staff like Lusmila. It’s close to tourism or places of interest. This whole spot is quite a nice set up.
Our stay was fantastic, even though we got stuck in a storm. We had a blast. My husband & I were celebrating our anniversary & had a beautiful, romantic room overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Watching the sea on our balcony was so peaceful & serene. Going to bed (in the nice air conditioned room), with the sound of the waves hitting the embankment allowed us to sleep like babies. The room was clean as a whistle & had everything we needed, with bright colors even in the bathroom for that beachy vibe. Waking up to the sea was stunning. Our friends & their daughter were in a cabin that they loved! It had a a front porch with a hammock & chairs. There are several gazebo’s to give you that privacy or romantic feel or just to hang out by the water.
The kitchen served all 3 meals & was delicious. Since it was pouring rain, we ate there & were very happy we did. Each meal was wonderful. But if you want to go out elsewhere, there are many places to eat.
Scuba diving or snorkeling are offered & boats take you to the islands & bring you back.
Everyone is so friendly & kind. I was so loved by this entire experience, even though it was cut short by the storms.

Brilliant location overlooking the sea in a very poor part of Panama. The cottages are fairly basic but adequate and clean. We did feel the rooms were rather expensive for two people. The kitchen only appeared to do breakfast — if they opened the restaurant in the evening they could do really well. There is a good restaurant nearby.

There are too many issues experienced to list.
We had cockroaches in our bed! Staff never changed our towns or made the bed once.
Restraunt closes early with no warning and opens late. The Night Diving was poorly managed and put our lives at risk.

My family and I have a wonderful time. Thank you very much to Mrs. LuzMila and Mrs. Querube, also the gentleman that was keeping the area in good condition and the pool nice and clean. ✌🏽💞✌🏽💞✌🏽💞✌🏽✌🏽💞✌🏽💞✌🏽

I absolutely loved my stay at Scuba Portobelo. The rooms and views were beautiful and the staff were so lovely. My first night we got there a little late and I needed to warm up some food and the guys in the kitchen warmed up my food for me, chatted with me, and would not let me help with my dishes. I ended up getting sick my last night and the women who work the front desk made me tea and brought me medicine to help me make it back on the journey back to the city. Truly a one of a kind experience that made me feel like I was at home.

Nice clean rooms, the employees are very nice and they are always working to keep the place in good shape. Site is a bit far from Portobelo downtown (50 minute walk), but in 2024, the taxis are 2$ to get you there (ask price before getting in to be sure). You can also hop onto a diablo rojo to get there for 30 cents.
Side note, but not about the hotel : most people and huge trucks drive around the little roads like they are in a formula 1 race. Be careful if you are walking around!

Had a great time today with the people of Scuba Portobelo. They did a great job of explaining everything and being advocates for the reef. I really appreciate what they were doing!

This is my second trip to Scuba Panama, my first was by myself waiting for my family to travel back from Colombia. This was a family trip and my wife who can be very stubborn is ready to come back again. Everyone at the hotel was very friendly. If you want to learn to dive Raphael is a fantastic teacher. I had prepared my son and daughter and Raphael took care of their final parts to certification.
You come as tourist, but you leave as FAMILY. Yes, water may cut out… AC may not run 100%, but you are in paradise! We saw wild monkeys, 3 toe tree sloth and even dolphins on our stay. PLEASE DISREGARD THE NEGATIVE NANCYS!
As long as you have an open heart and mind this place can’t be beat!
The red pizza place in town had fantastic food!

Thank you Qurube for a wonderful stay. Very comfortable room with a great view of the sea. We had a couple of issues with the water in our room but they were resolved in a few minutes. The location is excellent. Friendly staff was willing to help with everything we ask. Hope to see you again soon.

The people running the scuba tours were very nice and we loved our boat trip to the island. However, the young staff that runs the hotel and restaurant are very rude and lazy. Particularly the women resent tourists. I travel a lot and have rarely experienced anything like it. They were equally unpleasant to native and non native people. It seemed like the hotel was run by a large group of sullen teenagers with nobody in charge. Getting a coffee took 20 minutes. I dreaded ordering food. Also, when I arrived and asked if a room was available the two women at the reception were uncertain, and gave each other meaningful looks before agreeing to give me a room. When I asked if there was a problem with the room they said "no". Well, the air conditioning stopped working at the same time as the water did. So no water for the shower or toilet, or air conditioning. I recommend making use of the tours but not staying here, and definitely not using the restaurant.

It’s a beautiful place to relax and watch the sunset and the sunrise they also have individual cabins so you can lay on the hammock. The food is ok it was served cold the service is very good as well the staff is really friendly but if you’re expecting fast service lol this is island time. The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars is because there’s no place for you to bathe in the beach it’s not that accessible and the beds are not comfortable at all. But overall it’s a beautiful place.