Experience the best of Santa Catalina

Santa Catalina is a small village on the Pacific coast of Veraguas province, at the end of a road across the hills and cattle land of the Soná district. Fishing boats drift offshore, and the village has a main street of surf shops, dive operators and simple lodgings. Its right-hand reef break at Punta Brava is among the best-known surf spots in Panama.

The main reason people come is Coiba National Park, a large island and archipelago offshore, with coral reefs, turtles, sharks and rays, and a UNESCO listing. Dive and snorkel boats leave from the village. The beaches around the village are dark sand and rock pools, and howler monkeys and parrots are often heard in the forest behind.

Fresh fish, grilled or fried and served with rice and patacones, the fried slices of green plantain, is the daily fare in the village's small restaurants. Life is slow and informal, and days here tend to follow the tide, the surf and the boats. The dry season from January to April gives the calmest seas, while the wet months bring heavy rain and bigger swells.