When people picture life in Panama, they often imagine white-sand beaches, warm turquoise water, and a laid-back tropical lifestyle—and the reality isn’t far off.
But Panama is much more than a beach destination…
In fact, we often call it our “do-everything haven,” because this is one of the best countries in the world to do just about anything you want to do overseas, from retiring to investing to working and anything else you can think of.
Panama is a country where you can build a full-time life, whether that means settling into an established expat community on the Pacific coast, living on a Caribbean island, enjoying mountain breezes just inland, or combining beach living with modern conveniences and easy access to health care and shopping.
All that said, Panama’s beaches are world-class, and they are the main reason people come for vacation or settle long-term on the coast…
Which are best…?
What are the differences between them all…?
This week’s video introduces our 5 favorite beaches in Panama…
Got a question? Want to see us cover a particular topic? Write to me here.
Kat Kalashian,
Editor LIOS Confidential
Video Transcript
Coronado And The City Beaches Area
Hi, I’m Kat Kalashian for Live and Invest Overseas, and today we’re looking at the five best beaches in Panama.
Panama is a tropical paradise with long coasts along the Pacific and the Caribbean, plus hundreds of islands to escape to. Which beaches are the best to visit? Or to think about moving to perhaps?
Whether you’re used to living on the beach now, or ready to give up your current lifestyle for a dreamy coastal future, Panama has lots of options for you.
From quaint little beach towns, to completely rustic escapes with no one else for miles, to fully developed first-world communities with all the shopping, restaurants, and amenities that you could want. A couple could live in some of these lesser-known beach havens on a monthly budget of about $1,100.
Coronado is the heart of a region that we’ve come to call the City Beaches Area on Panama’s Pacific Coast.
This is a stretch of coast that’s been developing for the past few decades already, and some beaches on this stretch are more basic than others.
But all of them share the amenities and the infrastructure of the nearby town.
Newer developments are increasingly high-end here.
Coronado has always been a popular destination for visitors and retirees who want a laid-back beach life, but with all the amenities of the big city nearby and with plenty of amenities right there at their fingertips.
It has steadily grown and now offers a first-world lifestyle at affordable prices. Plus, it’s only about an hour and a half away from the capital city, making it super accessible.
The pros of Coronado include a relaxed lifestyle, the convenience of clinics, pharmacies and malls, two major grocery stores, plenty of restaurants and shops, minutes from the beach, residential options including apartments or houses on or off the beach in town or nearby.
Again, only about an hour and a half from Panama City.
And there’s a large expat community here already, so there’s lots of activities and chances to mix and mingle with new friends.
The cons of Coronado include that it is an expat hub, so you’ll be surrounded by fellow expats as opposed to locals.
Property prices are higher than in neighboring beach areas because of this expat population.
You’ll need a car to live here.
It’s a common weekend getaway destination for people in the city, so things get a little noisy and rowdier on weekends and holidays.
You’ll need some basic Spanish, at the very least, to live here comfortably.
Gorgona
Gorgona is our second choice on this list.
It’s about 15 minutes from Coronado, and so it enjoys all the same amenities, yet the house and property prices are considerably lower.
This might be the best of both worlds for some. You’re not in the center of it all in Coronado, but you’re close enough to benefit from whatever you’d like to from Coronado.
It’s a mainly residential area with houses, gardens, and small shops—nothing big like in Coronado, though.
It still has this old family neighborhood ambiance where children go out to play on the streets and neighbors say hello to each other, so that’s a nice feeling.
The pros here are the relaxed lifestyle, the small-town ambiance, the safe environment. You’ll see kids playing in the streets, for example.
You’re just minutes from the beach, there are a few restaurants here, affordable property prices and houses, and you’re just 15 minutes away from everything in Coronado.
Gorgona’s cons, though, include the fact that there are no immediate big grocery stores or pharmacies on your doorstep.
There are no major hospitals or clinics here. Again, you go to Coronado.
You’ll need a car here as well, and you’ll need to know some Spanish.
Again, this is a getaway for many Panamanians who live in the city, so it can also get noisy on holidays.
Bocas del Toro
Number three is Bocas del Toro, which is on the Caribbean side.
Often just referred to as Bocas.
This is a white-sand island haven with turquoise crystal-clear waters. It’s really a postcard-worthy destination.
It’s an archipelago, so water is a part of daily life wherever you’re living on this island chain.
More than a car, you might want a small boat to live here comfortably.
Water taxis are what you’ll be flagging down as a tourist here. So if you have your own little boat to get between the islands, it might come in handy living here.
Watersports here are abundant, as are the expats who live and run businesses here, meaning English is pretty widely spoken.
This is one of the few places where you could get by in Panama with little to no Spanish.
If you’re looking to retire someplace with a bohemian, Bob Marley-type ambiance and the utmost laid-back lifestyle where everyone kind of minds their own business and wanders around on a bike wearing shorts and flip-flops wherever they go, then Bocas del Toro is for you.
Bocas’ pros are the very relaxed lifestyle, people minding their own business here.
Loads of English is spoken.
There is a large expat community here and many of them run local businesses.
There’s so much to do on the water. So whether you’re a fisherman, a boater, a swimmer, a snorkeler or a diver, there’s plenty to do.
You won’t need a car here, but you might like to have a boat.
The Caribbean Sea is your backyard. Literally. You’re living on an island. A lot of these homes are built on piers and right on the waterfront.
Crystal-clear waters here are unbeatable.
Some of the cons here, though, include that Bocas is a party destination.
It can get very loud at times, and you’ll be surrounded primarily by young tourists, a lot of eco-tourists, although there are people of all ages here.
You can’t drink the tap water here.
There are no major grocery stores. You’ll need to get a lot of things on the mainland on a monthly basis, and there are no hospitals.
You might also run across drum circles quite frequently living here and walking around here.
Boca Chica
Boca Chica is number four on our list.
It’s on the opposite side of Bocas del Toro on the Pacific coast, but still part of the Chiriquí region, which is where Bocas is as well.
It’s a small fishing village with similar amenities to Bocas.
Expats from all over the world have settled here, mostly retirees.
They’re estimated to be about 200 in this small area, so that’s pretty significant.
They love Boca Chica for its nature, the beach, waterfront access, fishing, and island-hopping opportunities.
The pros here are the small fishing village ambiance.
You can buy freshly caught fish every day from your local fishermen.
Lower cost of living, especially if you’re buying local products, and amazing real estate opportunities if you’re looking to invest.
The cons are that you’ll have to travel to David, which is about an hour away, for health care.
David is the biggest nearby city.
There are no major grocery stores. Again, you’ll have to go to David.
You’ll need a car—not to use in town, which is pretty walkable, but for whenever you need to head to David.
Santa Catalina
Number five on our list is Santa Catalina.
It is in southern Veraguas Province, roughly halfway between Panama City and Costa Rica’s easternmost border.
Getting here from Panama City takes about five or six hours of driving, so it’s not the most accessible.
But that also means it’s not the most touristed or expat-heavy.
People from all over Panama and the world make light of the multi-hour journey it takes to get here in the name of its world-class waves.
With a population of just about 500 people, about 10% of that number being foreigners, there’s a pretty significant population of foreigners despite being so far away.
If you’re a surf enthusiast, Santa Catalina should definitely be on your list.
These are some of the best waves in the world.
The pros are great surfing, a relaxed village lifestyle, expats have started setting up businesses here, and there are small mini-mart-type stores where you can buy basic necessities.
The cons include that you’ll need to learn Spanish.
The expat community is small but growing.
There are no banks or ATMs here.
There are no major grocery stores, and you’ll need a car—not to get around the small town, but to run errands and go to the grocery stores in nearby towns.
