The Panama surf scene hasn’t boomed a la Costa Rica or Nica just yet, but don’t be fooled, becuase there’s some sheer quality in these parts, with consistent swells working on two coastlines; coastlines that are drop-dead beautiful and largely unspoilled at that!
An introduction to surfing in the Caribbean
Panama picks up where Costa Rica leaves off. Squiggling like banana peel through the heart of Central America, the country begins only a few clicks south of everyone’s favorite left-hander, Pavones, carrying on through come of the remotest parts of the Latin Pacific coast and a series of paradise islands that all get the full thwack of the dominant S summer swells.
But that’s also only half the story. In the land of the iconic canal, we’d be remiss not to cast our gaze eastwards to the Caribbean. Some put that down as the capital of Panama surf culture, because it’s the home of a certain Bocas del Toro, an archipelago of glass-clear waters and reef breaks that go off like clockwork when tropical storms brush the edge of South America in winter. The region is home to a glut of almond-barrel reefs and beaches fringed by palms that have cruisy rollers for learners.
Back in the west, you’ll find long runs of coffee-hued sand that roll under jungled hills. Occasionally, the coastline here crumples into dark stones and high cliffs, creating a recipe for good point breaks that peel over the reefs. The hotspot is the western Gulf of Chiriqui right the way across to the de facto Pacific surf hub of Santa Catalina, but the breaks hardly stop as you enter the Gulf of Panama, they demand a bit more S in the swell direction to get firing.
We cannot shake the feeling that Panama will have its day in the same way that Nica and Costa Rica have had theirs. The sheer quality of the waves here, the rustic nature of the coastline, the consistent light offshores – it’s too much to ignore. For now, at least, line ups aren’t overpopulated and, if you’re willing to put up with long bus journeys and bumpy roads, this could very well be the prime surf destination in Central America for the coming years.
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This is just one guide in our greater guide to surfing in Central America
Surfing in Panama at a glance
The good:
- Just as good but emptier that neighboring Costa Rica
- Warm water all round
- Two coastlines – Caribbean and Pacific
The bad:
- Mozzies
- Bad roads
What’s in this guide to Panama surf?
How to get to Panama?
Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in Panama City is the main international gateway to Panama. Airlines from North America, Europe, South America, Central America, and some parts of Asia offer flights to PTY.
If you’re traveling from Costa Rica or Colombia, you can enter Panama by land. However, it’s essential to be aware of the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia. This region is a challenging and dangerous terrain, which is not recommended for travelers due to lack of roads and security concerns – basically, consider it closed and choose the San Blas island boat connection instead (we’ve heard from many people that it’s pretty cool!).
Where to surf in Panama?
Panama isn’t massive but it’s also not small. What’s more, the country is famously thin and long, with a foot in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
To help matters, let’s split it up into two main surf zones, one on each coast. That’s a good idea because both sides of the country offer very different surf and peak at different times of the year.
Pacific Panama
The Pacific region of Panama has loads going for it. Nowhere near as developed as the Pacific side of Costa Rica, it ranges from remote point breaks to developing beach towns that have surf camps for learners. The star is Verugas province, centered on the main surf town of Santa Catalina. But there’s also much more than that…
Punta Burica
Punta Burica is almost a carbon copy of Pavones – the famed left hander that’s just over the border from hre in Costa Rica – when it works its best. Sadly, it’s a touch more fickle than that already-fickle wave and way more exposed, so will suffer if there’s any onshores (WNW).
Punta Burica can also show some teeth on larger summer swells with good SW in them. When that happens it will shape up more like a G-Land than a Pavones and give smacking, fast lips that turn into semi-hollow walls, all over a pretty shallow reef shelf.
The wave is good enough to have nurtured a few nascent surf camps on the coast just infront.
Puerto Armuelles
Puerto Armuelles is a touch strange because it clings to the eastern side of the Burica headland, meaning the town actually faces east unlike basically anywhere else in the Panamanian Pacific.
The good news is that S swells work nicely into the wide black-sand beaches to throw up wedgy right handers. They’re particularly good around the river mouth, but still not enough to warrant any real local surf infrascruture – very much a pass-through break.
Playa Barqueta
Playa Barqueta is not that nice to look at. It’s mile after mile of dark-sand wedged between two wide estuaries. Those estuaries can produce some long, tapering rights at the mouth of the Rio Platanal, but really this whole run is a mush fest that suffers heavily from any whiff of onshore wind.
Silva de Afueraa
There are a few surf camps in the Playa Barqueta and Las Lajas that have started plying thier trade on the twin left and rights of Silva de Afuera. It’s a tiny offshore rock that’s little more than a few coconut palms and reefs, but it does something the Maldives would be proud of by splitting SW swells into opposite lines. They’re fantastic when they work (5 foot, NE offshores needed), the long, rippable left handers of P-Land especially.
Santa Catalina
Santa Catalina is the capital of surf on the Panamanian Pacific coast. It’s really the first town in ever-popular Verugas province that gets swell after the shoreline emerged from the shadow cast by Coiba Island. It’s certainly got the lion’s share of the best surf camps in the country.
They’re mainly around for a fantastically consistent point break of La Punta. It’s a machine for long, bowly rights that have some nice sections for speed and ripping, working best on a pushing tide. Beginners will love the fogiving beach peaks of El Estero just around the corner.
We have a complete guide to surfing in Santa Catalina
Cambutal
Cambutal is a great choice if you’re after off-the-beaten-path surfing that’s for all levels. It’s the lesser-known of the two surf towns in Los Santos Province – the other being Playa Venao (see below). The curving S-bend of a playa out front has lots of peaks that have good rights for learners, but it’s also sandwhiched between patches of reef on either end, which offer pitching right handers that can hollow out on mid-season summer swells with head-on south direction.
Playa Venao
At the very last tip of the Azuero Peninsula that gets S-SW swell coverage, Playa Venao offers something very, very good indeed for the beginner-lower intermediate crowd. On the map, it looks like San Juan del Sur becuase it’s essentially a widened horsshoe bay. It reminds us more of a Panamanian Hiriketiya, not just cos it looks the same but because the main peak is a bulky sandbar wave that bends nicely through the main entrance to the bay.
We have a complete guide to the surfing in Playa Venao right here
Caribbean Panama
There’s only one destination to know about when it comes to the eastern Panama surf zone…
Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro is the captial of the Bocas del Toro Province, which really heads up the surf scene on the Caribbean side of Panama. It gets fed with the same low-pressure systems as Puerto Veijo does in Costa Rica, which means a peak season between December and March, though there is another small swell window off the hurricaines in the late summer.
The sectiony left at Carenero Point is a stand out for sure. Get a surf camp and head out on a boat and you can surf it morning to night without getting bored. But the variety is kinda shocking. Like, you have the Supertubos-esque shore pounder at Bluff Beach and the almond barrel at Paunch Reef.
Check out our complete guide to surfing in Bocas del Toro
When to surf in Panama?
Panama boasts consistent surf year-round, but the ideal time varies based on the coast:
- Pacific Coast: The peak season is from April to October. During these months, south swells bring larger and more consistent waves, suitable for all skill levels. There’s hardly a jot of wind in the region to be honest, but when they do breeze through, it’s likely to be dominant ENE trades that groom the lines of La Punta into something extra special.
- Caribbean Coast: Best surfed between December and March. North swells during this period produce cleaner, glassier conditions. They’ll originate deep down in the gulf between here and Colombia, meaning there’s plenty of time to see the sets clean up and gather strength. There’s a short swell window in July-August, too, which tends to be a touch smaller but has nice E swells off the central Caribbean hurricane belt.
Regardless of the coast, early mornings usually offer calmer winds and glassier wave conditions.
Surf camps in Panama
We’d say that Panama has one of the most promising arrays of young surf camps on the planet right now. The last five years have been a bit of a eureka moment for surfers fed up of the growing crowds of Costa Rica. Just over the border were endless runs of beach break and point breaks to match Pura Vida and now they’re being monetized.
To be frank, we’d be pleased if it stayed in the select few surf hubs where it’s started. We know that’s not likely to happen but it would be good for the frontier surf vibe of the place. For now, you’ve generally got a choice of camps in Santa Catalina, Bocas del Toro, and Venao, many of them very high-quality indeed!
- Waluaa Surf & Yoga – A Santa Catalina mainstay, these guys have taken the tried-and-tested mold of a Costa Rican surf-yoga camp and are offering it on the unspoiled beaches of Verugas province. They offer 10 hours of ISA-qualified instruction and 2x video feedback sessions, plus all sorts on top, from yoga classes to boat trips to secluded beaches.
- El Ranchito Surfcamp – To really feel that off-the-beaten-path vibe that the Panama surf is known for, pick El Ranchito Surfcamp. You’ll bed down in bell tents or in the coast forests and get 1.5 hours of tuition with Biarritz-born Laurent
Need more inspo? We’ve got the lowdown on the very best surf camps in Panama right here, which has seven options in total, mainly over on the Pacific side.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
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