Santa Catalina Travel Guide
Santa Catalina: Best surfing, wildlife, and relaxation spots revealed
Santa Catalina, surfing paradise in Panama
Yes, we arrived at Santa Catalina on Panama’s Pacific coast, but not to surf, but to enjoy its beaches, and above all, to visit Coiba Island, known as the Galapagos of Central America.
Perhaps the fact that it is a small town, which has known how to show the world its waves, has made it a paradise for surfers from all over the world.
In fact, it has been one of the stops of the world championship of surfing, so if you like the waves this is your place.
But if you don’t surf, that’s okay, there are plenty of plans that make this small town worth stopping for.
As I mentioned above, the main reason for our stop in Santa Catalina was to go to Coiba, and snorkel there.
But also, stopping in Santa Catalina, is something strategic if you are going or coming from Bocas del Toro to Panama City.
Since it’s a midway stop, it’s perfect to make the most of a two-week travel itinerary through Panama.
Santa Catalina is a very quiet and friendly town.
Let’s say it can be divided into three parts.
Santa Catalina Beach
The first one is the part of town where the transport from Soná leaves you, and where the Santa Catalina beach is.
There are several accommodations, but it’s also where the town itself is.
Santa Catalina
It reminds one of a small, pleasant, lively place, but certainly not a party place.
Santa Catalina beach is small but nice.
But remember, you’re in the Pacific, and it’s a wave town, so be careful getting in the water.
There’s also a nice local atmosphere.
Estero Beach
The second most important place on the island is Estero beach.
It’s right across town, you can walk along the road, it’s a short walk, about fifteen minutes.
To get to the beach, you have to cross a small estuary, which, when it rises, reaches your knees.
And when it’s low, it barely covers your foot.
The Estero beach is very long, and actually quite beautiful.
A perfect place to swim a little, enjoy a perfect sunset, I have to say, the sunsets in Santa Catalina are beautiful, especially in this beach of Estero.
It is also true that Estero Beach has a “but”.
We arrived in Santa Catalina on November 2nd, a bad day, this one and the next two, since it is a national holiday and it is the four days of the year when Panamanians move around the most.
This happens because in Panama the working week is six days long, and the only days of the year when you can enjoy more days, is on this holiday.
When we arrived at Santa Catalina, the town was full.
Well almost, since we found accommodation in a perfect place, with the best sea views.
Going back to the “but”, something we didn’t like, but well, in the end the customs of each place are their customs, and we are mere spectators.
What we didn’t like is that some Panamanians have the habit of putting their car in the sand of the beach next to the water, music and above all, throwing waste on the beach that ends up in the sea.
Plastics, beer cans, etc.
I also have to say, that Panama in general has seemed to us to be a country that is quite environmentally conscious, that takes care of the environment, and that they have a war against plastic.
But there are always those who do not have that awareness, also the tourists.
We spent almost a whole day on that beach, we enjoyed it, the surroundings, the baths in the water.
And as I said before, it is so long that you can look for your lonely corner away from everything.
On this beach there are also cabins where you can stay, looking at the sea.
I think it’s a good accommodation option, but we liked it much better where we stayed.
La Cresta
The last part of Santa Catalina is a small hill with very good views of the village, well, more of the sea around.
I’m talking about the ridge.
You could say it’s a trek, but I think it’s very daring.
It is a walk along a very steep path, which when you reach the top, shows you the nature around Santa Catalina.
We did it the last morning, before taking our transport to Boquete, the next stop.
In short, we liked Santa Catalina very much, its beaches, the atmosphere, and above all, that in spite of being one of the most visited places in Panama, it conserves a very authentic local atmosphere.
It’s a mixture of “it has tourism, little, and you can tell it’s not quite ready yet”, which was perfect for us.
What to see in Santa Catalina
If you are going to stay on the island, you can enjoy its beaches, and take a short walk to a hill, or rather, as they call it there, a ridge.
The beaches are not close to each other.
Considering the size of the town we could say that they are from one end to the other.
But if we count in minutes we could talk about a little more than 20 minutes walking from one to the other.
It’s not that long either.
We did it several times, a walk, nothing more than a walk.
Santa Catalina Beach
Santa Catalina beach is right in town, and it’s the most local.
Well, at this point I’d like to tell you something.
Panama is not very touristy, I mean, in some places you’re going to find yourself almost part of the place.
Santa Catalina, despite being relatively touristy, doesn’t have many visitors, and the people are very welcoming, so you’re going to enjoy a great atmosphere and its beaches, almost just for you.
And it is precisely the beach of Santa Catalina, the place where its inhabitants walk.
It is a small, pleasant beach with darker sand than other beaches.
And be careful with the currents, the Pacific can be treacherous.
Estero Beach
The Estero beach is huge, very long, and when the tide is low, its size is multiplied by three.
It is in this beach where you can find an accommodation with many cabins facing the sea.
So you will wake up with the noise of the sea, sleep with it and the views will be incredible once you go outside.
But not everything could be perfect.
To get to this beach you have to cross a river.
If the tide is low, the water will barely reach your ankles or a little more.
If the tide is high, the water is above your knees.
We saw the high tide at noon, and low tide in the afternoon and evening.
But well, we are in a tropical country, you just have to take off your flip-flops!
Sunsets in Playa Estero are simply brutal.
La Cresta
If you are bored of so much beach and you feel like walking in the nature, there is a small path called La Cresta.
The beauty of this trail is the view when you get to the top.
Then see in 360 degrees everything around you, the sea, the contrast of blue with green.
Take some water with you, and another thing, when going up and down be careful, the stones on the road are tricky, and you can easily slip.
But this walk is very worthwhile.
A different point of view about Santa Catalina.
You can see more information about these places in Santa Catalina, Panama’s surfing paradise.
Don’t forget to take out travel insurance if you travel to Panama.
We tell you how to find the best travel insurance to travel to Panama, and for being our reader, you can take advantage of a 5% discount by clicking here.
Coiba Island
Coiba Island is a paradise on earth, but at the time, until 2004 it was a prison.
During Noriega’s dictatorship many who were against the regime were brought to this island.
There they were tortured in all kinds of ways, and of course they never returned, either dead or alive, since the corpses were thrown into the sea, where the sharks grazed.
But the history of this prison goes back to the beginning of the 20th century.
In this period, until the arrival of the dictator Noriega, the most dangerous and bloodthirsty criminals of Panama were confined in this prison.
Today, things have changed quite a bit, and Coiba is the third largest marine reserve in the world, and of course, it holds the title of World Heritage Site.
Best of all, the journey from Santa Catalina beach to the island of Coiba (just over an hour) shows you that absolutely nothing is inhabited, the coast is virgin.
It’s like slowly entering a paradise out of the hands of humans.
Snorkeling and diving in Coiba
You can imagine that, if we talk about the third largest marine reserve in the world, its fauna and flora will be impressive.
Well, I’ll tell you, they are.
We didn’t do any diving, as we haven’t done it for a few years…
and yes, I think we should do a refresher course and dive again.
We’ve already missed some paradises like Semporna in Borneo…
But we did snorkel, and it was a real treat.
We swam with white-tipped sharks, giant turtles, manta rays and tens of thousands of incredibly colorful fish of varying sizes.
If we had gone at a different time of year, we could have swum with whale sharks and tiger sharks.
For that reason alone, it’s worth the trip to Santa Catalina.
During our visit to Coiba, besides swimming at different spots like Coco Dos and Granito de Oro, we also had the opportunity to cross the island and see howler monkeys.
As well as visiting Rancheria Island, with beaches that look like they were taken from a postcard.
This island, Ranchería, has a permanent research center of the prestigious American Smithsonian Institute.
If you want to know more about Coiba and everything we saw and did in more detail, you can take a look at Coiba National Park, diving and snorkeling in Panama.
What to see and do in Santa Catalina, Panama
Maybe you’ll get to Santa Catalina and not know what to see and do.
The name Santa Catalina may not even ring a bell, at least if you’re not a surf lover.
I’ll give you a hint, because Santa Catalina in Panama is one of the paradises for surfers.
In fact,
its waters are spectators and protagonists as one of the places where the world surfing championship is held.
Well, don’t worry if you don’t like surfing, Santa Catalina offers many more things.
After a few hours of travel, and a stop in Soná, it was getting dark when we started to get to know this quiet town on the Panamanian Pacific.
We were clear about the objective of the visit, the island of Coiba, a former prison for many years.
So many, that it had become so isolated from the world, that, thanks to that, it was “colonized” only by the prisoners.
Now it’s a real paradise, a World Heritage Site, a National Park and a marine sanctuary.
Can you ask for anything more? Ahh yes! They say it’s the Galapagos of Central America.
The truth is I can’t make that value judgment because I haven’t been to the Galapagos yet.
But someday I’ll tell you in this traveler’s corner if they really are “so similar”.
Well, take note of everything you can do in this little town on the Pacific coast of Panama.
What to see in Santa Catalina
If you are going to stay on the island, you can enjoy its beaches, and take a short walk to a hill, or rather, as they call it there, a ridge.
The beaches are not close to each other.
Considering the size of the town we could say that they are from one end to the other.
But if we count in minutes we could talk about a little more than 20 minutes walking from one to the other.
It’s not that long either.
We did it several times, a walk, nothing more than a walk.
Santa Catalina Beach
Santa Catalina beach is right in town, and it’s the most local.
Well, at this point I’d like to tell you something.
Panama is not very touristy, I mean, in some places you’re going to find yourself almost part of the place.
Santa Catalina, despite being relatively touristy, doesn’t have many visitors, and the people are very welcoming, so you’re going to enjoy a great atmosphere and its beaches, almost just for you.
And it is precisely the beach of Santa Catalina, the place where its inhabitants walk.
It is a small, pleasant beach with darker sand than other beaches.
And be careful with the currents, the Pacific can be treacherous.
Estero Beach
The Estero beach is huge, very long, and when the tide is low, its size is multiplied by three.
It is in this beach where you can find an accommodation with many cabins facing the sea.
So you will wake up with the noise of the sea, sleep with it and the views will be incredible once you go outside.
But not everything could be perfect.
To get to this beach you have to cross a river.
If the tide is low, the water will barely reach your ankles or a little more.
If the tide is high, the water is above your knees.
We saw the high tide at noon, and low tide in the afternoon and evening.
But well, we are in a tropical country, you just have to take off your flip-flops!
Sunsets in Playa Estero are simply brutal.
La Cresta
If you are bored of so much beach and you feel like walking in the nature, there is a small path called La Cresta.
The beauty of this trail is the view when you get to the top.
Then see in 360 degrees everything around you, the sea, the contrast of blue with green.
Take some water with you, and another thing, when going up and down be careful, the stones on the road are tricky, and you can easily slip.
But this walk is very worthwhile.
A different point of view about Santa Catalina.
You can see more information about these places in Santa Catalina, Panama’s surfing paradise.
Don’t forget to take out travel insurance if you travel to Panama.
We tell you how to find the best travel insurance to travel to Panama, and for being our reader, you can take advantage of a 5% discount by clicking here.
Coiba Island
Coiba Island is a paradise on earth, but at the time, until 2004 it was a prison.
During Noriega’s dictatorship many who were against the regime were brought to this island.
There they were tortured in all kinds of ways, and of course they never returned, either dead or alive, since the corpses were thrown into the sea, where the sharks grazed.
But the history of this prison goes back to the beginning of the 20th century.
In this period, until the arrival of the dictator Noriega, the most dangerous and bloodthirsty criminals of Panama were confined in this prison.
Today, things have changed quite a bit, and Coiba is the third largest marine reserve in the world, and of course, it holds the title of World Heritage Site.
Best of all, the journey from Santa Catalina beach to the island of Coiba (just over an hour) shows you that absolutely nothing is inhabited, the coast is virgin.
It’s like slowly entering a paradise out of the hands of humans.
Snorkeling and diving in Coiba
You can imagine that, if we talk about the third largest marine reserve in the world, its fauna and flora will be impressive.
Well, I’ll tell you, they are.
We didn’t do any diving, as we haven’t done it for a few years…
and yes, I think we should do a refresher course and dive again.
We’ve already missed some paradises like Semporna in Borneo…
But we did snorkel, and it was a real treat.
We swam with white-tipped sharks, giant turtles, manta rays and tens of thousands of incredibly colorful fish of varying sizes.
If we had gone at a different time of year, we could have swum with whale sharks and tiger sharks.
For that reason alone, it’s worth the trip to Santa Catalina.
During our visit to Coiba, besides swimming at different spots like Coco Dos and Granito de Oro, we also had the opportunity to cross the island and see howler monkeys.
As well as visiting Rancheria Island, with beaches that look like they were taken from a postcard.
This island, Ranchería, has a permanent research center of the prestigious American Smithsonian Institute.
If you want to know more about Coiba and everything we saw and did in more detail, you can take a look at Coiba National Park, diving and snorkeling in Panama.
Where to Stay in Santa Catalina
There are three places in Santa Catalina where you can find accommodation.
On the one hand there is the area of the small town and next to the beach of Santa Catalina.
That’s where the bus from Soná drops you off.
There are quite a few options, but none of them with a view of the sea.
The area of Playa Estero also has several accommodations.
Among them, one that is on the same beach with cabins overlooking the sea.
Getting up in the morning and enjoying the sound of the sea is priceless.
The Oasis Surf Camp is a very good option to stay in Estero.
You can take a look at the availability, price and pictures in the following link, Oasis Surf Camp.
It is located halfway between Santa Catalina Beach and Estero Beach, in Surfers Paradise.
This place has a relaxed atmosphere, impressive views of the sea.
Italo, the owner of the place, and his wife were great hosts.
Check more options : Best hotels in Santa Catalina
Accommodation in Santa Catalina
There are three places in Santa Catalina where you can find accommodation.
On the one hand there is the area of the small town and next to the beach of Santa Catalina.
That’s where the bus from Soná drops you off.
There are quite a few options, but none of them with a view of the sea.
As I said a bit above, the area of Playa Estero also has several accommodations.
Among them, one that is on the same beach with cabins overlooking the sea.
Getting up in the morning and enjoying the sound of the sea is priceless.
The Oasis Surf Camp is a very good option to stay in Estero.
You can take a look at the availability, price and pictures in the following link, Oasis Surf Camp.
We are located halfway between Santa Catalina Beach and Estero Beach, in Surfers Paradise.
We liked the place a lot, with a relaxed atmosphere, impressive views of the sea, four dogs that greeted us every morning, and every time we were there.
And Italo, the owner of the place, and his wife were great hosts.
You can take a look at this link about this accommodation, Surfers Paradise, we simply loved it.
If you want to see other options to stay in Santa Catalina, you can check out this link, Accommodation in Santa Catalina.
How to get to Santa Catalina
If you want to take a road trip from Panama City to other cities, and have the freedom to visit the country at your own pace, a good idea is to rent a car. Here you can compare the available offers and rent a car at the best price.