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Canales de Afuera
Dive site · Panama
Experienced divers only
Is it worth the trip?
72Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: Sea 0.3 m, Visibility about 15 m, Water 28 °C
Tue 3 · 77 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 28°C
Wed 4 · 69 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 10 kn
- Gusts
- 18kn
- Air
- 28°C
Thu 5 · 69 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 15kn
- Air
- 28°C
Fri 6 · 71 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Air
- 28°C
Sat 7 · 69 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 13 kn
- Gusts
- 17kn
- Air
- 27°C
Sun 8 · 73 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 2 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 29°C
Mon 9 · 73 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Air
- 28°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Tue 378, good
- Wed 470, good
- Thu 569, good
- Fri 671, good
- Sat 771, good
- Sun 873, good
- Mon 973, good
- Tue 1080, good
- Wed 1180, good
The site in five facts
- Down to 30 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Experienced / deepexperienced divers only
- Water 28 °C3 mm wetsuit
- Faces SEswell 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.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 3Nov | 78, good | 0.3 m | 4 kn | 8kn | 28°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 70, good | 0.3 m | 10 kn | 18kn | 28°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 69, good | 0.4 m | 9 kn | 15kn | 28°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 71, good | 0.3 m | 6 kn | 11kn | 28°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 71, good | 0.3 m | 13 kn | 17kn | 27°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 73, good | 0.2 mflat | 2 kn | 8kn | 29°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 73, good | 0.2 mflat | 5 kn | 9kn | 28°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 80, good | 0.2 mflat | 3 kn | 10kn | 28°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 80, good | 0.2 mflat | 1 kn | 8kn | 28°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
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:04 −1.0 mHigh 10:15 +1.0 mLow 16:32 −1.1 mHigh 22:59 +1.2 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 05:20 −1.0 mHigh 11:32 +1.0 mLow 17:44 −1.1 m
- Thu 5 NovHigh 00:07 +1.3 mLow 06:29 −1.1 mHigh 12:41 +1.1 mLow 18:48 −1.1 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, its town, photos
Canales de Afuera on Google Maps · Directions
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.
Photos of Canales de Afuera
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About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Canales de Afuera
A reef dive. It goes down to 30 m. You get in from a boat. It suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces SE: swell from the SE reaches it, and wind from the NW blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 41 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 Santa Catalina. Within 5 km we also list 1 dive site.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 30 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 41 km away.
Water about 28°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 15 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Jul, Aug, Sep and Dec (about 15 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$691–US$1,320 each
about US$691–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 2 November 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to DAV, estimated from distance and season, changing at PTY, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$302–US$631 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$74–US$127 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$148–US$248 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$168–US$315 |
| Total | about US$691–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: Santa Catalina
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 1h 15m by car · 30 places to stay
about US$54/nightcountry average
About Santa Catalina 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 2 November 2026.
Getting there: about 15h 20m
About 15h 20m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → DAV, changing at Tocumen International Airport (PTY), then 2h 20m by road
Flights ORD → DAV on your dates · AviasalesAdeSIM for your phone · Search on AiraloAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Santa Catalina · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Santa Catalina · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
No dive centre mapped within 25 km.
Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Animals divers and surveys have recorded within 2 km of this site in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it here, not that you will.
Whitetip reef shark Triaenodon obesusShark
Seen in 18 records, mostly Feb to Apr.
Common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatusWhale or dolphin
Seen in 3 records.
Cortez rainbow wrasse Thalassoma lucasanum
Seen in 49 records, mostly Feb.
Purple surgeonfish Acanthurus xanthopterus
Seen in 36 records, mostly Feb.
Beaubrummel Stegastes flavilatus
Seen in 36 records, mostly Feb.
White-spotted puffer Arothron hispidus
Seen in 29 records, mostly Feb.
Black-nosed butterflyfish Johnrandallia nigrirostris
Seen in 20 records, mostly Feb.
Coral hawkfish Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus
Seen in 19 records, mostly Feb.
Redlight goby Coryphopterus urospilus
Seen in 13 records, mostly Feb.
Spottail grunt Haemulon maculicauda
Seen in 13 records, mostly Feb.
Mexican hogfish Bodianus diplotaenia
Seen in 12 records, mostly Feb.
Bluechin parrotfish Scarus ghobban
Seen in 12 records, mostly Feb.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO) and GBIF.org (1 November 2026, doi:10.15468/dl.jeesns), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS and GBIF; common names from the Catalogue of Life, the GBIF Backbone and Wikidata. Largest datasets here: UNESCO eDNA expedition in Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection (Panama), February 2023; iNaturalist Research-grade Observations; Unesconia coibensis, gen. et sp. nov., a miniature sponge-associated shrimp from a biodiversity hotspot in the tropical eastern Pacific (Decapoda: Palaemonidae); Type locality distributions from the World Register of Marine Species. Credits
This week's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.