Panama
Panama Hotels
Oct 29th
One of the most important questions that need answering when you are considering a holiday or visit to any place is the accommodation available. It is important that you choose a hotel or rental that suits your needs and budget. If you are planning a vacation or business visit to Panama you will be thrilled to find a range of Panama hotels that cater to the needs and requirements of most visitors.
Ideally it is a good idea to book your hotel in advance to ensure that you don’t have to bother looking for a room when you get here. This is especially true if you are coming during the peak tourist season, that starts in September and goes on to April. Also often advance bookings help fetch a cheaper price for the rooms.
Hotels Around the Country
There are plenty of sites that help you book your Panama hotels or you could speak to a travel agent for suggestions. Once you arrive at Panama City, the capital of the country you will find hotels that fit every budget. Depending on the purpose of your visit you can select the location of the hotel. For instance, if you are in Panama on business you may prefer accommodation that is close to the business district. On the other hand you could choose a hotel according to the services it offers such as a casino or for its location close to the lakes or the Panama Canal. If you want to get away from the city for a few days then book yourself into an El Valle hotel. Most hotels here are family owned and run with warmth and concern.
For the eco tourists, consider The Canopy Tower or the Los Quetzales lodges that have been developed for avid bird watchers. Bocas del Toro is an another favorite for people who wish to discover the natural beauty of this area. You can choose a hotel that has historical legacy and virtually a tourist attraction in itself or choose a hotel on one of the many islands here.
Do remember that the interiors of the country such as the far eastern part may not offer the kind of services that you would except in the city. However the rustic beauty of the terrain and its flora and fauna more than make up for it. It is important that you have a clear understanding of the kind of hotel you are checking into so that you aren’t caught unawares later.
Panama hotels offer exquisite cuisine. The sea food here should not be missed and is something that you are sure to list highly in your experience of the country. The diversity in culture and the foreign influence can be seen in the food here. Also since the country receives a lot of American and European tourists the cuisine is usually planned and prepared to meet the taste.
You could even consider a vacation package and check into a hotel that offers you all the sun, sand and activities that you are interested in. Do consider some of the resorts here including those in Decameron and Playa Blanca. If it is the country’s marine life that interests you, then choose a hotel on the Pearl Islands. For a truly unique Panama experience check in to a hotel at Boquete, located in the Chiriqui province. Some of the tourist attractions here include the Volcan Baru and river rafting.
Panama Beachfront Buyers Bet Big on Pedasi
Oct 28th
As prime beachfront land in Panama grows ever scarcer, investors and developers are looking to a sleepy stretch of coastline on Panama’s central Pacific for the next wave of development, and discovering in the Azuero Peninsula the very heart of Panama. Long left untouched, the Azuero Peninsula is mostly known for cattle-ranching and fishing. Sleepy, rolling hills, a pastoral and rustic lifestyle sparked by some of the most vivacious carnivals in the country were the defining images of the Peninsula; but it is only recently that it has been attracting attention for its incredible coastline. Now, with tourism and real estate in Panama taking the lead in the country’s economy, developers are scrambling to take advantage of what are truly some of the loveliest beaches in Panama.
Because Panama allows titled property right up to the waterfront, beachfront parcels are being snapped up at a dizzying rate in areas like Pedasí and Playa Venao at the very tip of the peninsula. In just a few tens of kilometers there are innumerable sandy beaches, some – like Playa Venao – with world-class surfing breaks; the best sport-fishing in the country; nesting grounds for hundreds of bird and reptile species, including marine turtles; and ocean views that many now realizing are worth their weight in gold.
Despite its long, sinuous shape, Panama’s coasts offer relatively few truly golden beaches. Much of the Pacific coast is fringed with mangrove swamps, where clouds of mosquitoes billow up to prey on the unwary, while on the Caribbean side, where there is also a thick tangle of mangroves, much of the coast is battered with constant rains, or under the territory of Panama’s aboriginal tribes and not open to outside development.
While there are several excellent beaches close to Panama City, most of these are well-developed or well on their way. The first two hours’ drive west on the PanAmerican Highway are littered with signs for beachfront resorts, villas and condos, offering dreams of oceanview lifestyles, but many of these have taken on an almost suburban feel, as the developed stretches now begin to crowd and bleed into one another.
At the bottom of the Azuero Peninsula, however, one feels almost at the end of the world. There is a timeless quality to daily life there, a blend of the ultra-modern with the centuries-old traditional ways. Impeccably paved highways slink through endless green fields and tiny clustered towns, colourful and tranquil; because they tend to hug the highway, very few towns have sprung up along the many beaches here, and the waterfront is largely deserted but for the fishing boats that moor in shallow waters to haul their catches of yellowfin tuna, marlin and snapper ashore.
In the last couple of years, Pedasí and surrounds have been ‘discovered’. Quietly at first, and now at an astonishing pace, beachfront land is changing hands, and vacation communities are about to spring into being. Pedasí’s first, the Andromeda Country Club, is slated to begin building by early next year, promising an elegant seaside lifestyle amidst the vibrant culture and natural beauty of the Azuero Peninsula. Buyers will be lured by the promise of sweeping scenery, charming rural towns, unparalleled deep-sea fishing just minutes from shore, island nature reserves, surfing, snorkeling, wildlife-watching, scuba-diving, and no end of nooks and crannies to explore.
“A lot of people are coming here looking for new frontiers, a new undiscovered beach paradise,” says Roy Sternberger, a real estate investor and Pedasí landowner, of the region’s impending boom. “It’s on the cusp of just beginning. I can see the changes in the number of cars, the kinds of cars, the construction equipment on the road to and from Panama City. There are a few small hotels, and we’re just getting people, more tourists. This time next year the difference will be dramatic.”
“There are a lot of heavy hitters just in this stretch. A lot of investors have brought big finances in anticipation, in just the last two to three years,” says Mr Sternberger. “I myself, I drove around Panama to see if I could find any area of more potential than this one, and nothing came even close. The culture is what makes this place so special. The carnivals are such big tourist attractions; just this corridor has the Chitre, Las Tablas and Pedasi carnivals.”
Nearby towns burst into festivity in the summer months, running from December to April, the height of which are February’s carnivals, when all the towns don their festive best to parade, dance, and celebrate day and night. Las Tablas, just an hour from Pedasí, boasts the best carnival in the country, but there are few communities that do not participate, each with their own traditional costumes and variations.
Casey Halloran, whose family owns and operates Casa Margarita, one of Pedasí’s new boutique hotels, waxes enthusiastically about the area’s many draws.
“To start, there is world class sport-fishing, and great surfing – Venao is long and straight and easy. The weather here is just killer, with five months of hot dry weather. There is awesome local culture and folklore, all-weather hats; it’s [the culture] not even close to lost here, it’s the dominant theme. The people here are especially nice too, there’s a real community feel, everyone knows everyone.”
“Nobody comes here and goes ‘I hate it’,” he laughs. “There’s an instant charm to the place.”
“It’s on the verge of happening.”
