1 month of following the surf through Panama
Boquete
Small mountain town. It was amazing to escape the constant humidity and heat in this literally cool town with a misty rain that made me feel like a vegetable in the supermarket shelf (in a good way).
Stay: Hostal Garden by Refugio del Rio
- Volcano Baru
- Hiking up there might get you a really cool singlet 😉 and a stunning view of the Caribbean and Pacific oceans at the same time at sunrise. Also it might happen that you only get the 30km night hike on gravel street and see nothing at the top. I haven’t done it, but the most compelling option is sharing a cab with other travelleres to the top and doing one of the more beautiful hikes instead.
- Soul cycling
- Cheesy name, but this was awesome. A fat tire mountain e-bike took exploring the beautiful mountains to the next level.
- Coffee
- If you’re a coffee lover, or want to impress your coffee loving friend like me, try the Geisha Coffee. It’s world renowned, but I was happy to share my cup.
Bocas del Toro
On the main island the funky Caribbean – Expat mixture results in great parties and a good infrastructure to get around. I wanted to explore the islands more, but I ended up surfing my brains out instead as the swell of the decade rolled in. All of that made me a little stupid and only hid my phone and camera at the beach and pretty much everything got stolen. That’s also the reason why there aren’t any pictures (sorry, but it is very pretty, I promise!).
Stay: Skullys (walking distance to Paunch) or Twin Fin (in town)
Surf
- Careneros
- Point break works best mid tide, long with some size.
- 3$ boat per way to the spot. Hide the money in your leash and bring nothing else. It’s a pretty and untoucged island in the North.
- Paunch
- World class left with a lot of world class surfers
- Easy access from the restaurant
- The right is shorter but least crowded.p
- Bluff
- Heavy, heavy barrels with a high chance of close outs. Not my type of wave, but cool for bodyboarders.
Santa Catalina
Planned to stay 2 days ended up staying 10. A little village without an ATM, that is just starting to be developed.bthe towns infrastructure is minimal, the party usually is at Villa Vento or Bodhi hostel. I went on a snorkeling tour to the nearby Coiba National Park, which I can’t recommend enough. It was 80$ and I didn’t find a better price. The fruiteria in town does the best smoothies and coffee. There are only two, expensive supermarkets in town, so I’d recommend to go to the supermarket, while you switching buses in Sona just walk up the road to the left for 3 min.
Stay: Surfers Paradise, you can see the break from the terrace
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Panama City
City of street art and murals. I loved this high rising, history rich city. I could have spent weeks there, getting really nerdy about the history and dropping fun facts in every conversation, like it’s the only capital in the world that has a rainforest in the city area. Make sure to do free walking tour in Panama City starting every day except Thursday’s and Sundays at 10 am at the Luna’s Castle.
Stay: Luna’s Castle
San Blas Islands
These paradise islands belongs to the indegenous Guna Yala. To avoid flying I took a sailboat to get to Colombia (shoutout to Capitan Andre and Sofia). The first three days, well actually 4 due to bad weather conditions (no one was mad), we explored the San Blas Islands. It was ridiculous stunning with turqouis water and blue sky surrounding the 300+ coconut-farm islands.
Need more travel tips for Panama? - I got you!
