From Panama City, the first destination of my Central America trip and the furthest east I'd be traveling, we made our way by bus aross the country to Santa Catalina, the town that serves as the hub for visiting the world class snorkeling and diving destination of Coiba National Park.
My Central America trip covered five countries in five weeks; the first three (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua) with my partner Tobi and the last two (Guatemala, Belize) with Ina, one of my best friends from Salzburg.
Although it was a lot of work, I made daily vlogs on Instagram reels of every single day of my Central America trip which I branded "the backpacking series".
→ Check out my episode of the Backpacking Series from traveling to Santa Catalina!
Here is my complete guide to visiting the little town of Santa Catalina:
The town of Santa Catalina on the southern coast of Panama is the base hub for visiting the nearby Coiba National Park. Boat tours leave from Santa Catalina every day to explore the park.
By flight: The closest airport to Santa Catalina is in Panama City.
→ Check out my guide to spending 24 hours in Panama City!
By bus: The easiest and cheapest way to get to Santa Catalina from Panama City is by public bus. From Albrook, the main bus station in Panama City, take the five-hour bus to Sona for USD $10. At the time of writing, these buses left daily at 6:45am, 8:20am and 10:20am, however you can ask at Albrook bus terminal (look for the booth with Sona on it) to confirm the departure times. From Sona, you transfer onto a bus straight to Santa Catalina for USD $5. At the time of writing, these buses left daily at 1:30pm, 3:30pm and 4:30pm and the bus ride took just under two hours.
→ Check out my episode of the Backpacking Series of taking the bus from Panama City to Santa Catalina!
By private shuttle: If you don't feel comfortable taking the public bus (but I really do recommend it - it's safe, clean, cheap, easy and fun!), then you can also choose to book a private shuttle directly between Panama City and Santa Catalina. This option comes in at USD $60 per person at the time of writing and is a direct five-hour ride.
The only time we used a private shuttle in Panama was actually to depart Santa Catalina for our next destination, only because the alternative of using public transport would have taken four buses and about 12 hours. We booked our shuttle with Shuttle in Panama and had a great, seamless experience.
By car: If you have decided to travel through Panama or Central America by car, you can also travel to Santa Catalina with your own wheels. The infrastructure in Panama is generally excellent; it is the wealthiest country in Central America thanks to the flow of income from the Panama Canal and the roads reflect this. I don't have any experience with driving or parking in Panama so please do your own research here.
→ If you don't have your own car, you can rent one in Panama City.
Albrook Bus Terminal in Panama City
Our bus from Panama City to Sona
Inside the bus from Panama City to Sona
Selfie from the journey west
Santa Catalina is a very small coastal town on the southern coast of Panama and the main hub for visiting Coiba National Park. You'll be able to easily walk around town, with the beach at one end of the main road.
This Central America trip is a backpacking one so we stayed in hostels throughout the trip. For Santa Catalina, we booked into the Bodhi Hostel, the same chain of Panamaian hostels we stayed in in Panama City. The hostel was clean and had super comfortable beds at the northern side of town so a quiet option just steps away from town and the beach.
→ Book your stay at the Bodhi Hostel.
If we were to visit Santa Catalina again, we'd stay at the Bambuda - we stayed at their lodge later in Bocas del Toro and loved it.
→ Book your stay at the Bambuda Santa Catalina.
→ Check out other places to stay to suit your budget and accommmodation type.
Bodhi Hostel
For breakfast, lunch or a post-snorkel snack, I can seriously recommend Café Panachocolat. They have delicious smoothie bowls and quite possibly the best chai latte I've ever had in the world!
For dinner, we enjoyed a massive choose-your-own wok bowl at PanaWok, a short walk up Calle Estero. You can pick whatever you want in your wok bowl from a range of fresh ingredients and they cook it for you, including vegan and veg options!
Café Panachocolat
Café Panachocolat
PanaWok
Santa Catalina truly is tiny, so Coiba National Park is definitely the main attraction and the reason why tourists visit. Aside from a snorkeling (or diving) trip to the park, here are a few other things to do in the tiny town of Santa Catalina:
Wander through the little town
We spent some time wandering the town which is made up of one main road, Carretera 94, which ends at the beach, and then the Calle Estero along the waterfront where most restaurants can be found. A highlight was spotting all the dogs running around town.
Hang out on the beach
The main beach in town is Playa Santa Catalina, located at the end of the main road. You can swim here but it is a dark sand beach - wait for Coiba National Park for your pristine white sand and clear blue water beaches! There are often locals playing soccer on the beach, as well as music playing and beach bars whipping up smoothies and other beach snacks.
Playa Santa Catalina
Early mornings on the beach
Watch the sunset from Playa Santa Catalina
From the beach, you can look out to Isla Santa Catalina in the bay and watch a gorgeous sunset settle down over the ocean, lighting up the whole beach in shades of orange, pink and yellow.
Go on a snorkeling (or diving) trip to Coiba National Park
Of course, the main reason we (and everyone else) visits Santa Catalina is to spend a day out in the waters of Coiba National Park either snorkeling or diving the incredible corals.
→ Check out my complete guide to snorkeling in Coiba National Park!
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Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
