The best sport spots and adventures in Panama – travel tips, packing lists and first-hand experience from DOMISPORTS.
Karibik · Surfing, Snorkeling · Best time: Dec–Apr
A Caribbean archipelago alternating waves and reefs: reef breaks for the experienced, beach breaks for learning, and snorkel grounds with starfish and corals in between. Water taxis are your lift system between the islands. On Bastimentos you'll find the quieter beaches and the jungle to match. Isla Bastimentos for quieter beaches.
Veraguas · Surfing, Scuba Diving · Best time: Apr–Oct
A sleepy fishing village with a long point wave: La Punta breaks long and powerful over volcanic rock on a south swell, while beginners practise at the Playa El Estero beach break. The village is also the gateway to Coiba National Park with sharks, rays and untouched reefs. Gateway to Coiba National Park — 'La Punta' break works best on a swell.
Karibik · Snorkeling, Kayaking · Best time: Dec–Apr
An archipelago of hundreds of coral islands, governed by the Guna: snorkel shallow reefs, paddle between palm islets and sleep in simple huts right on the water. Visits run only with local guides — bring cash and time, forget power and wifi. 365 Guna islands — local guides only, bring cash.
Chiriquí · Hiking, Rafting · Best time: Dec–Apr
A mountain town in eternal spring: hike cloud-forest quetzal trails, raft the whitewater of the Chiriquí and climb Volcán Barú at night — on a clear day the summit shows you both oceans. Coffee fincas handle the recovery. Panama's outdoor capital in miniature. Volcán Barú (3475 m) — see both oceans on a clear day.
Los Santos · Surfing, SUP, Yoga · Best time: Dec–Apr
A horseshoe bay with a sandbar beach break that peels both left and right and almost always serves up something — which is why beginners and locals share the same line-up here. The wave is forgiving, the rips in the bay are not: read the water first, then paddle out. Around it, a handful of surf camps and hostels on one single road, and that's it. The cleanest conditions come in the dry season with offshore northerly wind — the heavier south swells only start showing from April.
Panamá Oeste · Kitesurfing, Windsurfing, SUP · Best time: Dec–Apr
Panama's number one kite spot: a narrow sand spit with flat, standing-depth water behind it instead of messy waves — perfect ground for your first jibes and first jumps. From December to April the dry-season wind blows almost daily and half the Panama City kite scene is out here. Watch the tide: at low water it pulls back a long way. The wind here is a pure dry-season thing — outside December to April you can save yourself the trip.
Coclé · Hiking, Horse Riding, MTB · Best time: Dec–Apr
Hiking country inside a valley basin: the classic is the ridge of the "India Dormida" — a short, steep climb that puts you on the crater rim with the whole town below you. Add waterfalls like Chorro El Macho, horses for the flatter loops and gravel tracks for the bike. Nothing extreme, just one solid half-day trail after another. The town sits at around 600 m on the floor of a six-kilometre-wide caldera — noticeably cooler than the coast, so a fleece for the evenings pays off.
Las Perlas (Panamá) · Snorkeling, Scuba Diving, Fishing · Best time: Dec–Apr
A Pacific island with rock and coral formations right off the beaches — you start snorkelling straight from the sand, no boat needed. There's a PADI dive centre on the island and the sites sit about 15 boat-minutes away. And if you'd rather bring a rod than a tank: the Pearl Islands are known for sailfish, wahoo and blue marlin. Humpback whales pass through the Pearl Islands from June to October — but you'll have to take the rainy season along with them.
Colón · Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Kayaking · Best time: Dec–Apr
Panama's Caribbean dive corner: a sheltered bay, two PADI operations in the village, and coral and reef fish underwater instead of Pacific big stuff. If visibility isn't playing along, you paddle the mangroves by kayak or hike into the jungle to the waterfalls. Between dives, the old Spanish fortress ruins sit right at the water's edge. It's about a two-hour drive from Panama City — Portobelo works as a day trip for diving without changing accommodation.