Central America

In this Panama Special Report, we bring you Gamboa, an area not too far from Panama City, but offering a completely different way of life.

Gamboa presents an ideal balance of modern convenience and quaint jungle tranquility. This is an outdoorsman’s playground, with a long list of wilderness activities you can do, from hiking to bird-watching.

Despite the relatively small size of the island, there are enough options to suit a variety of travelers––affordable hostels, somewhat pricey hotels, and houses listed on Airbnb.

The near side of Isla Grande is the site of a rustic Caribbean village. Getting around is only possible on foot because there are no paved roads, and therefore no cars. The only ‘street’ is a narrow sidewalk trail that runs along the beachfront from one end of the island to the other, serving as the main artery for foot traffic.

Towards the center of the village, the walkway is surrounded by rows of houses and lined with numerous bars and fondas (little family owned hole-inthe-wall restaurants) that serve droves of visitors every weekend. On weekdays the village becomes a ghost town as most people return to the mainland to resume their busy lives.

Life on the island is peaceful and everyone knows each other well. Everything runs on ‘island time,’ and no one appears to be stressed out or in a rush. You can easily tell the difference between a local and a tourist simply by observing how fast they are walking…

Situated on Panama’s northern shoreline, Isla Grande is a Caribbean island just off of the coast of a little town called La Guaira in the Colón province. La Guaira is only two hours away from Panama City by car and the island itself is just a stone’s throw away from the docks.

Traveling there is easy compared to other Caribbean destinations because it’s close, the route is straight-forward, and the roads are well-maintained…

In this Panama Special Report, we bring you the town of La Villa De Los Santos, located in the country’s Los Santos province.

This special report going into detail on the role that La Villa De Los Santos played in Panama’s path to independence. We have also included a section on the November holidays in Panama, of which there are many, including what, how, and where they are celebrated.

In this Panama Special Report, we bring you our top pick for beach living in Panama: Las Tablas.

Located on the Azuero Peninsula, Las Tablas is the first town of note along what is becoming this country’s Gold Coast. The charming city is well-known even beyond Panama for it’s yearly Carnival festival.

The area between Punta Chame and Rio Hato are known as the arco seco, or the dry arc.

What’s so special about the arco seco? While many areas of Panama get 100 inches of annual rain, the arco seco gets below 55 inches. This gives the beaches in this area better weather and sunnier days.

Coronado is at the center of the area that spans Punta Chame and Rio Hato. It was among Panama’s first resort developments and remains an area of high interest for expats, tourism, and vacationers. The cultural mix here includes Panamanians and expats from the Americas, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere.

Panama is the S-shaped isthmus bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, meaning it has no shortage of coastline…

Oceanfront properties are available all around, but does it mean that every coastal property in Panama City is desirable? LIOS insider insight reveals Panama City’s costal hot spots—Calidonia, Punta Paitilla, and Punta Pacífica.

Calidonia, the subject of recent city wide infrastructural improvements, is a district of Panama City located along Avenida Balboa, with the Mercado de Mariscos at its westernmost limit. Rough around the edges, but on its way to become a great place to park money for long-term capital gains.

Punta Paitilla is on the coast, meaning prime urban beach space, plus it has some of the oldest condo towers in the city and easy access to the entire city.

In Punta Pacífica, the game is high-rise condominiums. No other neighborhood better represents the sudden and dramatic transformation of Panama City than Punta Pacífica.