If you are looking for the best place to travel and have quality time for leisure and relaxation, Panama is the perfect destination to add to your itinerary. The country is now considered a booming Central American gem. With its low cost of living, breathtaking scenery, and pleasant outdoor activities, this country is one of the best places in the world for travel.
Panama is a beautiful country worth exploring. You can hike in the highlands, swim on the beach, visit the old town, see the sea creatures, and take advantage of affordable yet high standards of health care. It is a country where you can spend more money. The cost of living in Panama is low. Therefore, you can have a pleasant stay with hard-earned cash.
Panama’s arrival point is in Panama City, the country’s capital. The city is famous for its many attractions such as the Parque Nacional Coiba, Panama Canal, Las Bovedas, Isla Coiba, Plaza de la Catedral, Teatro Nacional, Palacio de Las Gazas, and Casco Viejo. A must-see is the Panama Canal, where tourists can unlock the canal.
Parque Nacional Coiba
Parque Nacional Coiba is one of the largest islands in Panama and one of the largest marine parks in the world. These remote and wild areas offer some of the best scuba diving, world-class fishing, and palm-lined beaches in Panama. Coiba National Park was identified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2005 that offers a rich and well-preserved natural resource. The nearly fifty thousand-hectare Coiba is the largest island and due to its geographical sequestration, a penal colony was established there in 1910 and still exists today.
About eighty percent of the island is covered by tropical wild forests, which are rich in wildlife. This national marine park has 503 square km of Isla de Coiba, the largest island in Panama, and amazing biodiversity. More than twenty-four species of dolphins and whales, such as humpback whales, killer whales, and sperm whales, have been identified. Several species of crocodiles, turtles, and fifteen species of snakes roam the island, in addition to countless birds.
Santa Catalina is the best place to start if you want to reach the park. Coiba offers travelers the opportunity to hike through primary rainforest, snorkel, and dive in marine parks with increasingly rare wildlife. However, since there is very little tourism infrastructure, you need to plan well so that you can actually see it up close.
Coiba National Park offers tourist attractions such as beaches around the coast, diving, and fishing. It is the last refuge for many endangered animals and an essential area for migratory species, including the essentials for maintaining the ecological balance of valuable habitat for whales, sharks, sea turtles and various kinds of primitive species. Very fine sand and water transparency is characteristic of beaches such as the Playa Damas and Playa Blanca of Isla Coiba, as well as the islands of Grana de Oro, Ranchería, Grapes, and Contreras. This park can be only accessible with the permit of ANAM, or Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente.
You can organize all-day diving or fishing on an island in the park, and it’s an internationally recognized activity for species like merlin, found in the Corinth Bar area. This secluded land also has a wide variety of flora and fauna for nature lovers, including turtle nests in the beach area.
Isla Coiba
Isla Coiba offers the best scuba diving in Panama and the best diving in Central America, with a vast reef with hundreds of species of fish. When diving, you can see eagle rays, white tip sharks, sea turtles, giant sea bream and groupings, eel, starfish, frog meat, blowfish, angelfish, and moor idols. The reef has many invertebrates, and the offshore pinnacle attracts large schools of jacks, Pacific Pacific, and other species. Among the park’s best diving spots in Santa Cruz is a vast coral garden full of coral reef fish; Mali, a sweeping immersion rock for large fish; La Viuda, a huge rock between Isla de Coiba and Canales; and Presols, an underwater rock where divers often see sharks, large eel, and manta rays. Many dive sites around Isla Coiba require some marine diving experience, but there are also suitable dive sites for beginners, as well as snorkeling areas.
Visibility can change from one day to the next, but in general, it is on average seventy feet during the rainy season and better when the sea is warmer. Surface water temperatures average low in the eighties, but depth could be in the mid-seventies, and the rise from February to April gives cooler water and lower visibility (up to twenty feet). But there are more fish at that time.
Other interesting tours include jungle boat tours, treetop canopy adventure tours at Eco Adventures, Anton Valley adventures to visit extinct volcanoes, zoos, and botanical gardens, and craft markets offering handmade crafts by local villagers. In other parts of Panama, you can go deep-sea fishing, take sunset yacht cruises, Panama Express trains to Colon, or go scuba diving. In short, there are endless possibilities for adventure and fun, and at a fairly reasonable price. The people of Panama are very pleasant and friendly. Spanish is the official language, but English is widely spoken and you will often find that locals are good at English.
Ways to Reach
Coiba National Park is a 20-minute flight from Panama City to downtown Santiago or by road (245 km) in five hours. When you arrive in Santiago, take the road (25 km) leading to Puerto Mutis and travel to the island by sea. This movement depends on weather conditions and the type of boat used. The journey can take anywhere from two to six hours. It is important to visit Isla Coiba and obtain prior permission from the Criminal Correction Bureau of the Government Judiciary and the National Environmental Authority (ANAM).
Conclusion
Panama is a place where you can experience city life for much less. Coiba National Park and the Special Zone of Marine Protection are located in the Republic of Panama in the Gulf of Chiriqui. Coiba National Park is located on the southwest coast of Panama, which protects thirty-eight small islands and the surrounding marine area of Coiba Island within the Chiriqui Bay. Protected from the cold winds and influences of El Niño, Coiba’s Pacific tropical forests maintain an exceptionally high level of climate for mammals, birds, and plants.
It is also the last haven for many threatened animals, such as the crested eagle. The park is an outstanding natural laboratory for scientific research and provides a major ecological link with the tropical East Pacific for the migration and survival of ocean fish and marine mammals.
What’s Nearby?
