My husband and I just bought tickets to return to Panama, where we lived for seven years.
It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been back, and this time there was a deadline: we need to renew our permanent residency and get new ID cards.
Even though we moved away in 2018, we’re still Panama residents, which means we can come and go as we please, and we can stay for as long as we like. We think of it as a “backup residency.” If all else fails, we know we can always live in Panama again! We just have to show up every couple of years to maintain the status.
Plus, I enjoy spending time there. I’m looking forward to this first trip there as a family of four. We had a blast introducing our eldest to the country a couple years ago, and while my newborn won’t remember any of it, it will still be fun to have her there.
I get nostalgic when I think back over our “Panama years”…where we adopted our dog, where we slept in luxury tree houses in the jungle, where we spent countless days at the beach and at resorts, where we hiked at least once a month in the rain forest around the city, and where we visited all the islands we could in our friend’s little boat…
And where the luxury lifestyle we enjoyed cost a relative pittance…
We lived in a high rise with two pools and a gym right on the seafront. We had three bedrooms, a giant living space, and wrap around floor to ceiling windows to enjoy the views of the bay, the Old Town, the fish market, the epic thunderstorms, and the daily sunrise…
Our balcony had a table that seated six, a grill, a sun lounger, and a five-person couch. I spent every weekend at the pool and tanning or gardening on our balcony…
That’s city living, but you can find just about any lifestyle in Panama. From golf resorts by the beach to mountain retreats and from island getaways to country living.
Panama hit the jackpot when it comes to bodies of water—this little country boasts not one but two long ocean coasts…
On one side, you have the dramatic Pacific Ocean.
You’ll find sandy beaches and spectacular shows of nature as the waves batter the coast and throw spray (and sometimes surfers) up into the air. This side of the country’s coasts are well developed and connected to the modern capital city by a highway.
On the other side, you’ll find the relaxed, calming, and crystal blue waters of the Caribbean Sea.
From hiking a volcano or snorkeling in the Caribbean… to shopping Prada and Louis Vuitton or setting out on a fishing charter, Panama will overwhelm you with all its many options for fun.
Take a look at my top picks in the country…
Bocas del Toro
The Caribbean coast of Panama is notoriously underdeveloped—a pro or a con depending on what kind of lifestyle you’re looking for.
This side of the country’s infrastructure is basic at best, and, as a result, fewer foreigners have settled on Panama’s northern side. English is less generally spoken than on the Pacific side, though the touristy Bocas del Toro is an exception.
Bocas is often regarded as Panama’s top tourist destination. This is one of the most pristine areas on Panama’s Caribbean coast, and tourists have taken note of its dense rainforests, clear and clean turquoise water, and white-sand beaches.
Minutes after stepping off the water taxi that takes you to Bocas Town, on the Bocas del Toro archipelago’s Isla Colón, tour guides pounce with offers of island hopping, scuba diving, surf lessons, ziplining, and more. Hostels, hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants, cafés, and bars surround the main seafront strip where water taxis unload wide-eyed visitors.
Bocas is a multicultural mix with a distinctly Caribbean flair. Rastafarian culture is present in the music, shops, and restaurants, and Bob Marley blasts from bar speakers and adorns the tourists’ T-shirts.
Bocas is the best of coastal Caribbean living in Panama. This carefree, stunning destination has a character and a magnetism all its own.
Boquete
Boquete is one of Panama’s… indeed one of the world’s… top retirement destinations.
This small town, in Panama’s Chiriquí province, was founded in 1911. Today, it’s home to some 20,000 residents… of which a staggering 25% are expats.
Seeing the area for the first time, you understand the appeal. The streets are draped with flowers of every kind and color… artisanal markets line the sidewalks…
Many who make their way to Boquete are so captivated by the beautiful scenery and welcoming community they find that they don’t ever want to leave.
Boquete is a nature lover’s paradise—a land of rainbows and white clouds that cling to the green hillsides… dense jungle, intriguing flora and fauna… an impressive (inactive) volcano, rivers for fishing and rafting, mountain trails, waterfalls, and the Volcán Barú National Park.
This is where my husband and I stayed in a luxury treehouse for a weekend, plunging ourselves into the thick of the rainforest and seeing a parade of exotic birds and animals. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a night so dark or a sky so full of stars. This is a place where just outside of town, you can truly leave the world behind.
Plus, it’s got a temperate mountain climate, none of the humidity or unrelenting heat you feel at sea level.
Here you can dine out in restaurants of every nationality…
Enjoy lively nightlife, a vibrant music scene, massage studios, beauty salons, grocery stores, the flower market and festivals, and access to medical clinics…
This region also produces some of the best coffee on Earth, including the famous geisha bean.
In Boquete, you’re only 40 minutes from David, Panama’s second-largest city, where you’ll find everything you’d expect to find in a large city back home.
For an “eternal springtime” lifestyle on the equator, Boquete should be top of your list.
El Valle de Antón
Likewise nestled within the confines of an extinct volcanic crater, but much closer to Panama City and therefore much more accessible, El Valle was one of my favorite getaways from the city.
The market is top-notch, full to bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables, and some of the most beautiful and exotic plants that were so cheap we’d load up our car on every visit.
El Valle is known for its flora, cool climate, and hot springs. These mineral pools, serviced by an underground river heated by magma from a tiny fracture deep in the subterranean rock, dot the crater floor, making El Valle a go-to place for health tourists.
Locally, El Valle is something of as a spiritual mecca, a place to come to restore and reconnect with one’s soul.
El Valle continues to expand while sticking to its roots as a rural mountain escape. Services and amenities have expanded and improved in the past few years.
The most typical mode of transport in El Valle town is the bicycle. However, don’t worry if the hilly terrain makes the idea of cycling intimidating. Consider instead a golf cart, which has become the preferred means of getting around among foreign retirees settling here.
This beautiful but remote enclave appeals to those interested in serene and healthy living as part of a predominately local (that is, not expat) community.
Pacific Beaches
For those after a beach lifestyle, you’re spoiled for choice in Panama…
The closest stretch of coast to the capital is the City Beaches Area, which offers five-star comfort and privacy at a fraction the cost of a fully appointed coastal good life most anywhere else.
Farther along Panama’s Pacific Coast, the east and west coasts of the Azuero Peninsula offer a more rustic coastal lifestyle. The east coast of the Azuero has been popular with expats for 20 years, but the west coast is untouched, rugged, dense with untamed jungle and wildlife. There are fewer services and amenities along this coast, but the trade-off is total privacy and the best of nature.
Whether you’re looking for a fully appointed, resort-style way of life, with golf, tennis, pools, supermarkets, and all the amenities you can imagine…
Or a completely off-grid, rustic and local lifestyle, either in the countryside or the jungles that border the beachfront…
You’ll have no trouble finding a beach to suit your needs on the Pacific Coast.
Happy trails,
Kat Kalashian
Editor, LIOS Confidential
