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    Cheap

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  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
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    Follow Us:

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    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
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    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Greece Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

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    Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

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Home In Focus: Panama

Panama’s 6 Top Spots For Surfing

From Lockdown To Riding The Waves: Panama’s 6 Top Spots For Surfing

by Kathleen Peddicord
Nov 04, 2022
in In Focus: Panama, Panama, Travel
0 0
Man surfing in Playa Venao, Panama

iStock/MarcPo

One of Panama’s greatest attractions is its long Pacific coastline…

Onto which crash some of the world’s best surfing waves.

I don’t surf myself, but my son and his friends do… and several of our Live And Invest Overseas staff, if they’re honest, will tell you that the real reason they’re in Panama is for its surf breaks.

Not only are they world class, but, in spots, it’s possible for the surfer in Panama to have professional competition-worthy waves all to him (or her) self.

The southeast coast of the Azuero Peninsula, especially Playa Venao, gets most of the attention from surfers who make their way to Panama. These waves have been the location for several Billabong tournaments. In other words, they’re not for beginners.

The place to start if you’re giving surfing a try for the first time is the City Beaches west of Panama City. The swells are smaller and less intimidating, the available accommodation for those who are spending more than a day at the beach is not as rustic as in the out-of-the-way spots on the Azuero Peninsula, and there are surf schools to help you get your bearings.

The surfing along this stretch of coast is at its most exciting April through June, when the offshore winds kick up consistent swells. November to April, the dry season, “summer,” in Panama parlance, which we’re entering now, the winds are generally lighter, the waves calmer.

If you’re a surfing neophyte, a good place to start is Playa El Palmar, outside the town of San Carlos, about 10 kilometers west of Coronado. Because it’s only about an hour-and-a-half from Panama City, this is a popular place and can get crowded on weekends and holidays. Weekdays, though, you won’t find much competition for the waves here.

If you’ve never been on a surf board before, head first to Panama Surf School. For US$60 you can arrange a private two-hour lesson with a pro who will help you get up and dropping into the faces in no time.

Then, when you’re ready to venture off on your own, here are the six best surf breaks in Panama’s City Beaches area:

 

Frente El Palmar:

Frente El Palmar, Panama
(The Palmar Front):  This a beach break with a nice, soft sandy bottom for those times you inevitably tumble from your tabla (Panamanian Spanish for surfboard). Beginners will want to check here first, especially on a low to medium tide, and dive right in if the swells are there. The rides can be short but fun.

Punta Palmar:

Punta Palmar, Panama
(Palmar Point): If the tide is high, head for this spot to the right of the beach break. The bottom is rocky, and the swells can be larger than at the front, so beginners may want to tread lightly here. If you’re a more experienced surfer, you’ll appreciate the powerful waves here.

Hawaiisito:

Hawaiisito, Panama
(Little Hawaii): Our LIOS Marketing Manager is an avid surfer, and this is her favorite break in the Palmar area because it’s often less crowded than at the point or the front (especially on weekends). It’s also a rock bottom and ideal when the swells are around four feet or less, at high tide.

Playa Rio Mar:

Playa Rio Mar, Panama
Farther west down the road from Palmar is Playa Río Mar, where two breaks dominate—the Frente Río Mar (Río Mar Front), a beach break that goes both left and right and that is best at medium to high tide, and Punta Río Mar (Río Mar Point), about a mile down the beach, near a long rock ledge where the waves break predominantly at low tide.

Playa Malibu:

Playa Malibu, Panama
Back in the direction of Panama City near the town of Gorgona, this is one of the best and most consistent spots in the City Beaches area. The waves break to the right along a sandbar at the mouth of the Chame River. Look for some lovely tubes here on a good day, but watch out for debris in the water drifting out from the mouth of the river (especially after a heavy rain).

Playa Teta:

Playa Teta, Panama
Another river-mouth spot, also near Coronado, the main attraction here is the long lefts at low tide at the front and the tubes and long rides on incoming tides at the point. Nearby Rinconsito, named after a famous break in California, is known for a right break that can stretch as long as 200 yards under the right conditions.

See you at the beach!

Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Live and Invest Overseas

Tags: Azuero Peninsulacity beachesCoronadoFrente El PalmarHawaiisitoMove to PanamaPanamaPlaya MalibuPlaya Rio MarPlaya TetaPunta PalmarSurf in Panamasurfingtravel to panama
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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has reported on opportunities for Americans to live, retire, and do business overseas for 40 years. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 24, established businesses in 7, renovated and built properties in 6, and educated her children in 5.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets from the east coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland, then to Paris, France, and finally to Panama City, Panama, where she has based her Live And Invest Overseas business. Peddicord and her husband, Lief Simon, now divide their time between Panama and Paris.

Peddicord was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. She opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Waterford, Ireland; Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France. Peddicord launched Live And Invest Overseas group in 2008 and has built it into a successful multimillion-dollar business. Today, she shares her firsthand experience of expat life with more than 500,000 readers of her publications, including Overseas Opportunity Letter and Overseas Living Letter.

Kathleen has been featured often in The New York Times, MSNBC, AARP, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, and more and writes monthly about expat matters, international real estate, and offshore diversification for Forbes and U.S. News.

Kathleen has written several books including the memoirs “At Home In Ireland” and “At Home At Los Islotes” and her latest title “At Home Abroad,” all published by Lahardan Books. Her best-selling "How To Retire Overseas: Everything You Need To Know To Live Well (For Less) Abroad” was published by Penguin Random House in 2018 and her “Buying Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow (And A Better Life)” was published by Wiley in August 2020.

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Super Cheap

  • Chitré, Panama
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Cheap

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