Panama's Best Kept Secret, The Southern Caribbean Coast

The first time I visited Panama I was on a mission to see as much of the country as I possibly could on that trip.  I was a Real Estate Broker in Las Vegas, Nevada (so I knew properties and values fairly well).

 

I found that Panama was similar in many respects to what I knew about Las Vegas.  Different areas had different values depending on various factors.   On my first trip I wanted to see the Southern Caribbean Coast as well as the rest of Panama.

 

I had studied and researched everything I could before arriving in Panama, so I knew what I wanted to see.  On my first trip I went as far south on the Caribbean Coast as Isla Grande (south of Portobello, Colon).  Isla Grande is a beautiful island assessable only by motorboat taxi from the mainland.  Wonderful beaches, a couple of nice hotels, restaurants and other smaller hotels.  A great, calm place.

 

For me and many others the one big problem with Panama's Southern Caribbean Coast was there was no good easy access from Panama City. Back then there was only one two lane road from Panama City to Colon, and it was not in good repair with lots of potholes and slow driving because of all the big trucks needing to travel from Panama City to Colon.

 

Most of Panama had much better driving access than Colon and the Southern Gold Coast (Caribbean).  For this reason few people interested in Panama ever ventured to the southern Caribbean. 

 

Bocas del Toro had gotten much attention back then because it had a local airport and people could easily fly there (as I did on my first trip to Panama).  Bocas del Toro is on the Northern Caribbean Coast.

 

GOOD NEWS  ... A couple of years ago a new high speed highway was completed from Panama City to the city of Colon and the Southern Caribbean ..... and everything changed.  Now it was easy and convenient to drive to the southern Caribbean Coast and discover it's beauty.  Now, most of the roads down here are paved and people are discovering the area I feel is Panama's Best Kept Secret.

 

Much is happening down here now.  New construction everywhere.  New high rise condos, a new beautiful zoo in Maria Chiquita (to open very soon), a brand new Decameron Resort (to open fairly soon), several new master planned communities on the Caribbean Ocean, a new marina in Portobello (coming soon) and a new supermarket is planned for Portobello as well.

 

All of this is just the beginning.  The Southern Caribbean Coast is exploding now and will continue for many years to come.  Even in this web site, "Best Places in the World To Retire" when you look at the map of Panama and the towns and regions of Panama, there is nothing on the map for the southern Caribbean Coast  ... Nothing.  I hope this will change soon because this is an important area of Panama that people should know about and come to check out for themselves.  It's where I live and I know real estate values pretty well.  Don't miss out on one of Panama's best values and Best Kept Secrets.