Staying Home Sucks, home

Montana Rusa

Dive site · Panama

Experienced divers only

Is it worth the trip?

71Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Mon 2: Sea 0.6 m, Visibility about 10 m, Water 28 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 74 out of 100

Sea
0.6 m
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
27°C

Tue 3 · 71 out of 100

Sea
0.6 m
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
26°C

Wed 4 · 66 out of 100

Sea
0.6 m
Wind
8 kn
Gusts
17kn
Air
27°C

Thu 5 · 67 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
12 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
27°C

Fri 6 · 70 out of 100

Sea
0.6 m
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
15kn
Air
27°C

Sat 7 · 71 out of 100

Sea
0.5 m
Wind
8 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
27°C

Sun 8 · 72 out of 100

Sea
0.5 m
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
28°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 178, good
  2. Mon 274, good
  3. Tue 371, good
  4. Wed 466, good
  5. Thu 567, good
  6. Fri 670, good
  7. Sat 771, good
  8. Sun 872, good
  9. Mon 978, good
  10. Tue 1078, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 40 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Experienced / deepexperienced divers only
  • Water 28 °C3 mm wetsuit
  • Faces Wswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it. Scored for experienced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Montana Rusa
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov78, good0.6 m2 kn5kn28°C
Mon 2Nov74, good0.6 m6 kn9kn27°C
Tue 3Nov71, good0.6 m5 kn8kn26°C
Wed 4Nov66, good0.6 m8 kn17kn27°C
Thu 5Nov67, good0.7 m12 kn16kn27°C
Fri 6Nov70, good0.6 m7 kn15kn27°C
Sat 7Nov71, good0.5 m8 kn12kn27°C
Sun 8Nov72, good0.5 m2 kn8kn28°C
Mon 9Nov78, good0.4 m5 kn13kn28°C
Tue 10Nov78, good0.4 m5 kn8kn28°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovLow 01:44 −1.2 mHigh 07:53 +1.3 mLow 14:14 −1.4 mHigh 20:37 +1.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:50 −1.1 mHigh 09:00 +1.1 mLow 15:20 −1.2 mHigh 21:46 +1.2 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:04 −1.0 mHigh 10:15 +1.0 mLow 16:32 −1.1 mHigh 22:59 +1.2 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Montana Rusa

A pinnacle dive. It goes down to 40 m. You get in from a boat. It suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces W: swell from the W reaches it, and wind from the E blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 39 km away. The sea is about 28°C in October, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Las Lajas.

  • What it is Pinnacle.
  • How deep Down to 40 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 39 km away.

Water about 28°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 10 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb and Mar (about 20 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$690–US$1,320 each

about US$690–US$1,320 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to DAV, estimated from distance and season, changing at PTY, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$301–US$630
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$74–US$127
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$147–US$248
Food7 days eating outabout US$167–US$315
Totalabout US$690–US$1,320

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Las Lajas

Closest

Las Lajas

59 min by car · 1 place to stay

about US$54/nightcountry average

See 1 place to stay in Las Lajas · Booking.com

About Las Lajas its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$54 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 14h 50m

About 14h 50m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → DAV, changing at Tocumen International Airport (PTY), then 1h 50m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

No dive centre mapped within 25 km.

Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility about 15 m, about usual for the month (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.