Puerto Armuelles, Panama is the only true beach town in Panama
It is right on the beach.
You’d think in a country with so much coastline that there would be many towns on the beach.
That is not the case.
Many towns in Panama are near, but not on, the beach.
Contenders for “True” Panama Beach Town
Pedesi and Tonosi on the Azuero Peninsula come to mind. Nice towns. We particularly like Pedesi. But the beach is quite the hike from those towns.
Well I guess, San Carlos qualifies as a town on the beach. But San Carlos lacks a downtown center and is a much smaller than Puerto Armuelles.
Panama does have cities on the beach, like Panama City and Colon. It also has resort and vacation home areas on the beach, like Coronado. As well as a number of smaller fishing and surfing-orientated villages.
Puerto Armuelles is Panama’s only true beach town.
About Puerto Armuelles
Puerto Armuelles is also a charming town that values its beach location.
It has a park right on the beach (photo above was taken from that park). As well as another park and playground across the street.
(You can see more photos of Puerto here.)
Its pier, although badly in need of repair, is very popular with those who love to fish.
Puerto Armuelles has a over 20 thousand residents, including a growing population of expats.
Puerto has just the right population to make the town vibrant, even bustling at times.
Click Here for Aerial Tour Puerto Armuelles On A Flying Trike.
Chiquita Banana & Puerto Armuelles
For eighty years Puerto Armuelles was a Chiquita Banana company town.
Chiquita’s engineers and designers put their stamp on everything from the city’s street grid to wooden houses on stilts, of which Chiquita built by the thousands.
The Chiquita look is the classic tropical colonial look that one would expect to see in an old movie such as the African Queen.
With its broad overhangs and hardwood ventilated window openings, the Chiquita houses provide good shade, and are raised above the damp and the bugs of the tropics.
The spaces in some of the executive houses are absolutely huge, with ten foot ceilings, and open floor plans of as much as 3000 square feet per floor.
These houses, painted every color of the rainbow, give a very charming and unique look to Puerto.
Chiquita built whole neighborhoods to house its different classes of workers. All of these houses have the Chiquita look.
Of course, the town also has the typical cement house you find throughout Central and South America.
The “Chiquita Factor” has made Puerto Armuelles far different from any other Panamanian town.
To learn more about the various areas of Puerto Armuelles, visit its neighborhoods.
Where is Puerto Armuelles
For most of the time Chiquita was here, Puerto Armuelles was only accessible only by train or boat.
Puerto now has a well-maintained paved road connecting it to the rest of Chiriqui and beyond.
(In fact, road is being expanded from its 2 lanes to 4 lanes. The work on that is now almost fully completed.)
Puerto is about 40 minutes away from the Costa Rica border crossing at Paso Canoas. Pasa Canoas has a number of good shopping malls, as well as a Burger King and Subway.
It is about an hour or so drive from David. David is the largest city in the Chiriqui Province.
David is significantly larger than Puerto. Although, Puerto Armuelles is the 2nd largest city in Chiriqui.
You can buy pretty much everything you need in Puerto Armuelles from building supplies and cell phones, to pesto, and broccoli. However, there is definitely more selection in David.
David is the big shopping mecca in the area. They even have something like a Costco there. It is called PriceSmart.
We go to David every two or three months, mostly to get some specialty items and to do some bulk shopping at PriceSmart.
We enjoy going to David. It seems there is something new there every time we visit. Our favorite dentist is there as well.
We like to go shopping in David. But we are always happy to get back home to Puerto Armuelles.
I found your website a few years ago and have been loving your coverage of this wonderful gem of a town. I’ve lived there off and on for over a decade and am glad it’s getting some well-deserved attention.
Does anybody know whats going on in Coco Beach, The last 3 days the police have been there 24 hours a day, set up what looks like a command center in there cabana and patrolling the project all night. They walk the area and beach with police dogs and a police boat right in front of Coco Beach. 2 days ago saw 3 people handcuffed at the cabana. any info would be great, thanks.
Hola, Me llamo is Julia. I will be moving to Puerto Armuelles in May 2018. I’m renting a small duplex. I would love to connect. After I settle in.
Hi there
My wife and I will be in puerto armuelles in november staying at the tsunami inn. We are looking forward to coming and checking out this area as a possible place to live.I am a beginner surfer and am wondering if there is any place where I will be able to rent a surfboard. We are also both into standup paddle boarding any pkace to rent them as well.
Thanks
Dave
Just curious why such a great spot is so underdeveloped? why no resort have a foothold there with the great beaches?