TOP 5 BEACHES IN THE PACIFIC – Tour Pearl Islands, Panama
Welcome to the best beaches in the Pacific. They are in the Archipelago of the Pearl Islands. When touring Panama, make sure to visit our top islands, where you will find the most amazing beaches! The Pearl Islands Archipelago comprises around 200 islands and islets, of which more than half are unnamed. The group of islands stretches from North to South and is located 35 nautical miles from Panama City (southeast). You will find warm, clear tropical waters.
This Archipelago is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the East Pacific. While some islands are rugged with tall cliffs, others offer instant daydreaming white sand pristine beaches.
Here’s our captain’s selection of favorite islands to add to your bucket list while in Panama. You might as well go visit all of them on board with us! A tour of the Pearl Islands is not complete without checking out a few of them:
Contadora Island:
This list must start with Contadora; even though it’s not the biggest island, it is considered the principal island of the Pearl Islands Archipelago. For instance, it has a paved landing strip, beautiful mansions in between the trees, several restaurants and hotels, and houses available for rentals. Rent a golf car and cruise along the different beaches.
Chapera Island:
Located south of Contadora Island, the island has one of the most famous sand bars of the Pearls. It combines a gorgeous white sand beach, nice shaded trees, and an amazing sand bottom deep enough for mega yacht anchorage. This is a great island to visit when on a tour of the Pearl Islands, as it offers calm seas and beautiful scenery.
Bartolome Island:
Named after Bartolome de Las Casas (Cristopher Colombus’ expedition navigator), this island is magical (and one of our definite favorites). It is, above all, easy to walk or swim around. It has three beautiful white sand beaches divided by a flat rock that turns into a reef once it enters the crystal clear water. Bartolome Island definitely has one of the best beaches in the Pearl Islands.
Caracol Beach:
Located in what can be considered the center of the Pearl Islands, it made the Top 5 of the best beaches in the Pacific because of its beauty. It is actually a tidal sand bar, and it has the softest sand of the Pearls. Deep waters encircle this sand bar, making it easy to anchor any size boat. Due to its distance from The South islands, it’s not as visited as the other islands and is therefore ideal for those lonely getaways. Playa Caracol is not an official name, and compared to the other islands shown in this article, don’t count on it appearing on navigation charts!
Boya Arena Island:
Boya Arena is also a tidal island a bit bigger than Playa Caracol, which means some rock formations in the surroundings are famous for monster oysters. So take limes when you visit this island (our captain will nonetheless make sure to have them on board!). Above all, make sure you come on a low rising tide. This island actually has a little rocky formation, which is the only formation that can be seen with high tide.
As we mentioned, the archipelago has close to 200 islands and islets with the best beaches in the Pacific. As a result, it would be impossible for us to make a full list of our favorites. Nonetheless, even though they didn’t make the Top 5 of the best beaches in the Pearl Islands, here are some other great islands you might want to check out: Viveros Island, Mogo Mogo Island, and Señora Island.
The Pearl Islands are also an optimal place to do Whale Watching. You can experience this incredible marine life experience from June to November. One of the best things about touring the Pearl Islands is that you depart directly from Panama City, and you also get to enjoy the unique skyline views from the Gulf of Panama.
To sum up, you could spend months cruising around the archipelago and never tire of it. Make sure to contact us to explore it! In the meantime, here’s a video you can watch to get a sense of the beauty that awaits you in your tour of the Pearl Islands in Panama:
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Dear Panama Gem Charters,
do you offer a day tour to the Las Perlas islands? How much would it be for a group of 7 to 12 people, does that fit on one boat? And do you offer the tour each day? We would like to do it on a Monday (9th of January)
Happy New Year and regards from Germany,
Luisa