Pedasi Beaches

Pedasi is a beautiful coastal community best known for its small-town charm, great weather, and, of course, its BEAUTIFUL BEACHES! The Pedasi district boasts over 50 miles of amazing Pacific coastline with several dozen amazing beaches and hidden coves to explore throughout the region. Admittedly, many of our beaches are off-the-beaten-track, but some of the most popular ones are only a short distance from town.

Here’s a brief summary of the best Pedasi beaches located within a 20-minute drive from the town square. All of the beaches mentioned are accessible year-round without a 4×4 vehicle. We’d also like to make a friendly reminder to use common sense when visiting any of Panama’s amazing beaches. In case you need a refresher, we’ve provided a Beach Safety Checklist at the end of this article. Safety first!

The first beach on our tour is Playa El Rincón, located about 15 minutes north of Pedasí on the outskirts of the small farming community of Mariabé. While the road to get to Playa El Rincón is paved, the final stretch isn’t in very great shape. However, it’s well worth the drive once you get there. Playa El Rincón provides you with kilometers of sandy beach and an amazing view of Isla Iguana just offshore. It’s a favorite beach for those who want to bring kayaks, jet skis, or ATVs. There are no services at this beach so be sure to pack accordingly. At low tide, it’s actually possible to walk the 2 ¼ miles from Playa El Rincon to our next beach, Playa Arenal.

Playa El Arenal is only a 5-minute drive from the Pedasi town square and boasts kilometers of beautiful sandy beach with plenty of room to spread out. The lapping waves at this beach and its sandy bottom make it an excellent choice for swimming. You may also notice many fiberglass hull boats or pangas parked on the beach. That’s because Playa El Arenal is Pedasi’s launching point for fishing, snorkeling, diving, and whale-watching. It’s also where you can hire a boat to take you to Isla Iguana, which has beautiful crystal-clear water and white sand beaches. While there are no services on Isla Iguana, there’s a small restaurant and bar at Playa Arenal in case you get hungry.

Next is Playa El Toro, also located only a 5-minute drive from the town square. Playa El Toro has become the go-to walking beach for early-morning beach-goers. It connects to Playa El Arenal after about 1 mile or so heading north along the beach. As opposed to the sandy bottom of Playa El Arenal, the water at Playa El Toro tends to be a bit rocky so do exercise caution if you go for a swim. Also, when the swell is big enough, Playa El Toro offers some of the area’s best surf and boogie-boarding waves. Parking at Playa El Toro is an issue so, if possible, ride a bike or walk there. Also, the restaurant “Bull Beach” is sometimes open so parking there may be an option. Other than occasionally the restaurant, there are no services at this beach.

Next, we have Playa Lagarto, also just a 5-minute drive from downtown. “Lagarto” in Panamanian parlance means crocodile, but don’t be scared of the name. Playa Largarto is a relatively tame beach popular with area boogie-boarders. The gated community of Costa Pedasi is also built just behind this amazing beach. Here you’ll find some of Pedasi’s most amazing beachfront and ocean-view homes. There’s also a good amount of shade at Playa Lagarto so you can stay cool while you enjoy your favorite beverages and watch the local talent ride the waves when there’s a good swell. There are no services at this beach.

Next, we head south from Pedasi to Playa Los Destiladeros, about a 10-minute drive from downtown. Los Destiladeros is a beautiful destination where many amazing beaches await you. There are miles and miles of sandy beach broken up by intermittent rocky outcroppings that are perfect for low tide pooling. These rocky outcroppings are teeming with sea life, and you’ll often see the locals gathering shellfish near shore or venturing out deeper to hunt lobster, octopus, and inshore fish species. There is also great surfing in Los Destiladeros at a small, low-tide beach called Rocky Point.

Zooming just up the coast a little way from Playa Los Destiladeros we arrive at Playa Puerto Escondido. This is Panama Sovereign Realty sales agent Elvin Vega’s favorite beach to hang out at with friends and family. You can often find him there playing beach soccer or sleeping off a long night of “socializing”. Playa Puerto Escondido is also a sheltered bay which makes it a fabulous swimming beach, and it offers many trees for shade and fresh breezes. Bring a hammock and fall asleep while reading a book or join Elvin for a game of pick-up futbol.

Next up is Playa Panamaes. Many people don’t know about this beach, or even how to pronounce it. It’s located at the end of a 3.5km dirt road and it’s not very well advertised. But we’re OK with that because the lack of beachgoers on this beach makes it one of the best in our opinion. It also has excellent surfing and is a sacred ground for nesting sea turtles. Playa Panamaes has little shade and no services so go prepared. There are several more beaches beyond Playa Panamaes but they all require a 4-wheel drive vehicle and a bit more travel time, so we’ll leave it at that for our beach tour.

Be sure to keep our Pedasi beaches clean, and we hope to see you all out there soon!

Swimming in the ocean can be a wonderful and refreshing experience, but it’s important to exercise caution and follow safety guidelines to ensure your well-being. Here are some tips for swimming in the ocean with caution: