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

6 Best Surf Breaks In The City Beaches Area

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
Oct 29, 2020
in In Focus: Panama, Panama, Travel
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Man surfing in Playa Venao, Panama

iStock/MarcPo

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Now that Panama has reopened her borders and eased quarantine restrictions, I’m reminding myself of all the reasons this little isthmus is such an appealing place to spend time.

One of its 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 has recently taken up the sport, and several of our 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 former Marketing Manager, Ines, 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 Rio Mar, where two breaks dominate—the Frente Rio Mar (Rio Mar Front), a beach break that goes both left and right and that is best at medium to high tide, and Punta Rio Mar (Rio 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

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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 covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.

Her newest book, "How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad," published by Penguin Random House, is the culmination of decades of personal experience living and investing around the world.

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