Santa Clara Beach
Santa Clara
A popular beach just two hours from the city. This expansive beach has calm water where you can float or skim board. There are restaurants that sell food and cold drinks and open huts with hammocks that you can rent for the day. Locals rent horses, boat rides and boogie boards, although there are only waves when the boats pass by.
It gets hot in the afternoon so renting a hut, bringing a beach umbrella or arriving later in the afternoon is a good idea. Santa Clara is also the best place to beach camp. There is a place right next to Las Sirenas where you can pitch a tent for $7 a person. It has lights and a security guard that passes by during the night. When you arrive to Santa Clara go past the turn off to Las Sirenas and take the main road to the end. It will fork and take the road to the left that goes down a hill. There is a fenced in parking lot, restaurant and beach huts.
Bus: There are buses that leave regularly from Albrook in Panama City ($3). You will have to ask the driver to stop at Santa Clara and may have to pay a little more if you want them to drive down the main road to get to the beach. Otherwise you can walk or find a taxi about a mile to get to the beach.
Driving: Take the Panamerican Highway until you see signs for Santa Clara. It will be after Punta Chame and Coronodo. The turn off is to the left.
Punta Chame
Punta Chame
A popular kite surfing spot in the summer months. I have not had a chance to see this beach yet, but it is popular with local Panamanians. A lot of people from the city have homes here that they visit on the weekends. The beach is a peninsula that jets out from the mainland so it has waves on one side and calm water on the other. It is about an hour from the city and has kite surfing schools in the summer months. I hope to visit this beach soon so I can tell you more about it.
Bus: There are buses that leave regularly from Albrook in Panama City ($3) toward Punta Chame. The turnoff for the beach is on the left side of the beach so be careful when crossing the highway.
Driving: Take the Panamerican Highway until you see signs for Punta Chame. It will be before Coronodo so if you reach this beach you have gone too far. The turn off is to the left.
Coronado
Coronado
This beach has sand that is black and white. A volcanic influence. I have only been able to access this beach through the private, homeowner’s road. We have a friend that lives out here, but I hear if you say a name of someone confidently they will let you in. Also, I believe there is a public access road.
If you go during the week you may have the beach to yourself. There are mostly homes along the beach so bring your own food and an umbrella, since there are no huts to rent. There were a few waves for boogie boarding or body surfing.
Bus: There are buses that leave regularly from Albrook in Panama City ($3) toward Coronodo. The turnoff for the beach is on the left side of the beach so be careful when crossing the highway.
Driving: Take the Panamerican Highway until you see signs for Coronodo. It will be after Punta Chame and before Santa Clara, so if you reach this beach you have gone too far. The turn off is to the left.
Gamboa
Gamboa
A beautiful rainforest getaway just 30 minutes outside of the city. Gamboa Rainforest Resort is one of the few restaurants and hotels in the area. They have a restaurant that serves pretty average resort food, but they have a beautiful pool with a swim up bar and a staff that can organize tours in the area. Beautiful place to hike or go bird watching.
Driving: Driving is a quick and easy way to get to Gamboa. Head out towards Ciudad de Saber and continue to follow the signs towards Gamboa. Here is a link for detailed directions from the main airport in Panama.
Bus: There are buses that leave from Albrook to Gamboa pretty regularly. There is a Diablo Rojo that passes by Ciudad de Saber and Clayton. It is located at the end of the Albrook terminal, by the food courts. There are plenty of tour companies that do day trips out to Gamboa too.
Sunday Market in el Valle de Anton
El Valle de Anton
This mountainous region of Panama is a nice place to escape the heat of the city. It is just two hours away and easy to get there by bus or driving. I went in August and found it kind of boring. It is very beautiful, but if you do not have a car it is hard to get around. They say there are a lot of taxis, but by 8 most of them shut down so going out to dinner is challenging. There is a lot of hiking and horse back riding offered here, but make sure to bring a raincoat! We walked to one of the waterfalls in town and checked out the Sunday market. There are lots of fresh vegetables and crafts for sale. It is worth checking out if you have time, but if you have a short trip I would check out other areas first.
Bus: There are buses that leave regularly from Albrook to Valle de Anton ($3). The ride takes a little over 2 hours.
Driving: Take the Panamerican Highway towards Coronado and Punta Chame. You will see signs for it as you get close to Coronado.
Travel Tips 