The Pacific Coast
Beach front resorts and accommodations to suit all tastes and budgets. Starting at Panama City and running south , which of course means taking a boat or a plane, we have the Pearl Islands and Taboga Island.
One of the most well known of the Pearl Islands is Contadora Island. There we have Contadora Hotel and Resort, Punta Galleon, Villa Romantica, and a small Bed and Breakfast, Perla Real. There is some accommodation and development happening on some of the other Pearl Islands. If eco-resorts interest you, one of the best is here on privately owned San Jose Island. White beaches and pristine rain forest combine to give you one of the truly romantic and beautiful resorts of the world.
West of Panama City there is Amador Causeway. This causeway was created when the canal was being dug and a decision was made to join four small islands. Now the mainland goes all the way out to Flamenca Island. Currently there are not many hotels along the Causeway but there is The Country Inn and Suites at the Panama Canal just as you enter the cause way and another mid way along. More are planned and under construction.
You can also take a Boat or a ferry to Taboga Island. Here there is Vereda Tropical and a wonderful Bed and Breakfast Cerrito Tropical. If you stay there get the caretaker, who is also a good cook, to make you a fresh fish meal on the deck overlooking the ocean. Be sure to bring you own wine, the supply and quality on the island is limited.
Immediately after the Bridge of the Americas, is the new and lovely Intercontinental Playa Bonita Resort. for those with no Spanish, “Playa Bonita” means beautiful beach. Don’t worry about the ” no Spanish” it comes; as they say in Spanish, “poco a poco” little by little. This is a fine 5 Star resort where you will be well pampered.
Continuing now along the Panamericana, the main highway west from Panama City, after the Bridge of the Americas the highway moves well inland and it is nearly an hour before you come to the next beach side hotel. This is in Coronado and not only is it a beautiful beach resort but there is als an excellent 18 hole golf course. So name your fun. Golf in the morning, lunch in the beautiful hotel and beach in the afternoon. In Panama, you can have it all.
Further west we come to San Carlos, and here is where the surfers get excited. Follow the signs left off the highway just after you pass the main intersection for San Carlos, look for signs that say Palmar Beach. The nicest resort here is Bayview Resort, where Hector and his family will make sure you are well taken care of. Accommodation in this area, other than Bayview, can range from the good to the surfer cabins and the tents on the beach. it is the waves that matter here, not the food or the surroundings. Beer and Boards are generally the order of the day.
Continue west and you come to Santa Clara. The beach resorts are Las Veraneras and Las Sirenas. Las Sirenas is by far the nicer of the tow but you pay accordingly and Las Veraneras has the restaurant. But if you bring your own food and libations than Las Sirenas offers you your very own home on the Sea. Little cabins with cooking facilities, TV, internet and a great private bedroom and bath make these little homes ideal for those wanting two or three nights in their very own home on the ocean. Let’s say Las Veraneras is more adventuresome but clean and safe and the food is good The Camarones Asado (breaded shrimp) are excellent.
Next we come to Decameron Hotels and Resorts. This is an all inclusive resort,only the golf is an added expense. Even there you can add a golf package to your reservation or play it by ear, golf when and if the spirit moves u you. Sometimes those Margaritas just taste too good to think about golf.
Next stop in our westward trek is Playa Blanca, a beautiful hotel on a wonderful white sand beach. This too is an all inclusive resort. But here golf is not an option.
Continuing westward we now have to go a long way before we reach the next beach destination, but let me assure you… it is worth it! First we must come to the Asuero Peninsula. You can fly, but driving is acceptable, and you will then have your car which is fun as you can explore.
For beach resorts here you really have to go to Los Santos province or Veraguas province. In Los Santos head for Pedasi. There are many options it is making reservations that is difficult. Outside of Pedasi there is Los Destillaros, Villa Camina, Playita Resort, Villa Marina and many more. In Veraguas the pickings are slimmer. Here however is the famous Coiba Island, the former penal colony, itself now wildlife refuge, but the area is gaining fame for fishing and good snorkeling and diving.
Finally continue to David and head to the beach. Las Olas Beach Resort at La Barqueta Beach west of David welcomes visitors. An hour further east is the Las Lajas Beach where cabins can be rented. More new and ever changing resorts are popping up here, so have fun exploring. You may come across the “Gone Fishing Panama Resort” which is found at Boca Chica. Pop in and say “Hi”. There are a couple of very luxurious island resorts nearby. Cala Mia Resort on an island in the Chiriqui Marine Park, boasts beautiful beaches and a professional chef.
These are the restaurants we frequent and recommend.
In Las Perlas Islands, we have yet to find a really good restaurant outside the hotels and resorts but things are changing. Our favorite on Contadora Island is Villa Romantica. The food is fresh, the fish caught that day and the cooking is lovingly overseen by the owner who hails from Austria. The setting is magnificent and the food delicious. So if there is just one, at least it is a good one. Otherwise it is pretty normal hotel fare and small fondas, the local eateries.
Taboga Island is much the same. No real restaurants outside the hotel(s). Really there is Vereda Tropical, with 14 rooms perched on the hillside of Taboga and their restaurant which offers good food, pizzas are available and delicious, fresh fish is always on the menu and the chef is creative. Otherwise the local fondas are all you will find.
Over the Bridge of the Americas and heading westward, the choices are still limited but you can eat well with a little local knowledge. Just before you reach Capira about 45 minutes from Panama City there is a huge thatched hut restaurant called Papassitas. You can stop here with confidence. The food is consistently good there is lots of it and your wallet will not be much thinner when you leave.
At Chame again a local eatery, called el Pampero, on the right just after you see the sign for Chame. This is a classic and their sausages are made fresh and are very delicious. Take some home. Their smoked ribs or smoked pork chops are fantastic. The Garlic prawns (alngostinas) are huge and absolutely delicious. This is a true Panamanian gem.
After Chame there is Gorgona. On the highway there is Nueva Posado, a small green Panamanian restaurant with good food, and a low cost. In Gorgona itself is La Ruina (the ruins) which is open weekends for dinner. It is a restaurant located on the WWII ruins of a well known bar and restaurant. Good setting and good food is the secret here.
Continuing westward along the Panamerican you come to the beach community of Coronado and here there are many good food choices. Rincon del Chef is run be a professional chef and offers very good Panamanian food at good prices. Malibuy u which is well known for their seafood, Don Chacho’s famous for their spit roasted chicken and the Argentinian empanadas are a delicious quick choice. Luna Rosa in Coronado itself is the Italian choice here and their Italian dishes and pizzas are really very good. Go through the gates to Coronado and keep on the main road past the fire station.
Leaving Coronado look for the signs to Vista Mar, where the French trained Chef, offers fantastic food in a fantastic beach setting. Both the setting and the food here are awesome. Just tell the gate man at Vista Mar that you are going to the restaurant and they will let you in.
After Vista Mar there are two good food choices in San Carlos, right on the highway. Cholos, is a Mexican restaurant right near the Texaco. Run by a couple of Californian dudes who came here to surf but decided they missed their favorite Tex Mex and so opened the doors on a great Tex Mex restaurant. Food is made fresh, the price is reasonable and the surfer dudes speak both English and Spanish and you will feel welcome. On the other side of the highway Carlitas, which offers great pizzas and Argentinian empanadas is just up the hill on your right as you head west out of San Carlos.
Across the road from Carlitas you will see the signs for El Palmar Beach. Head down there to Bayview restaurant. The seafood and the steaks are both fantastic choices and the setting overlooking a huge beach where in daylight you can watch them surfing if the waves are right. Coconut prawns or coconut corvina. What a choice!
Continue westward and on your right you will see the signs for Los Camisones Considered by some to be the best seafood restaurant in Panama this Spanish restaurant is truly a classic. Although the name means “night dress”, you do not need to dress up to enjoy this wonderful restaurant, for either lunch or dinner. You can get rabbit, various pork dishes and their famous seafood. Here you can get what you want and never get bored, as the selection is excellent and food is only offered when it is in season, and fresh.
Further up the road at Santa Clara you can go to Las Veraneras on the beach. While not fancy, the food is good and the fish is fresh. The setting really is spectacular, as you actually are “on the beach”.
Beyond Santa Clara the choice is hotels until you reach Penonome. Don’t bother trying the Royal Decameron Resorts, they are only open to their all inclusive guests. At Playa Blanca they will open their doors to you. The Sushi restaurant and the Mexican are both open to the public and even their Buffet restaurant, where you can get all you want to eat and drink is open to all. $17 will get you dinner here, with lots of delicious choices and unlimited wine.
In Penonome you will find good Chinese food restaurants close to the highway, and Fondas in town. The Chinese restaurants are good and the food is fresh.
Now the restaurants truly do disappear until you get to Chitre, in Herrara province on the Asuero Peninsula but there are lots of good restaurants here to choose from. Many of them are attached to the hotels but they are very acceptable. The Versailles Hotel’s restaurant on your way into town is one of the best restaurants, with a huge selection and even English on the menu.
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