Bienvenidos a Puerto Armuelles, Panama!
Find all the information you need for planing your next visit to this quaint beach town on the Pacific Coast of Panama. Start with a glance over the Fast Facts about this wonderful down-to-earth locale and begin to discover why more and more people are being drawn here. Some say it is the laid back “tranquilo’ charm of the old banana plantation homes and friendly nature of the residents who are seen strolling along the town’s streets amidst bicycles, dogs, and street peddlers. Others come to Puerto Armuelles for the unspoiled beauty of the surrounding jungles and long stretches of solitude found on the many beaches. For others, there is the attraction of being in on the ground floor of the resurgence of this once vibrant town and the promise of tremendous growth ahead. Whatever your reason for looking into Puerto Armuelles, we hope to provide a good start for your visit right here on these pages. So, start exploring and feel free to contact us if you have any comments or questions at info@VisitPuertoArmuelles.com
Meet the folks behind the scenes:
Debbie Fishell, Managing Editor
A world traveler who has lived over 12 years as an expat in different countries, and is now a permanent resident of Puerto Armuelles, Panama. Debbie was an editor for Escape Artist International for 2 years, creating and running the Panama portal. Becoming frustrated with the lack of reliable information about her new hometown, Debbie began to collaborate with experts and locals in the community to create a website together, that would provide useful information and resources for locals, expats, and the growing number of tourists coming to “Visit Puerto Armuelles”.
There are many contributors to the information and articles posted here. The editor just puts it all together!
Bethany Cook, Contributing Editor
Bethany has raised a family of 4 boys and a husband in Puerto Armuelles over the past 10 years. She has witnessed the decline of the town since the pull-out of the Chiquita Banana Company and has a strong desire to see Puerto become a vibrant town again. Bethany is an active community advocate who was responsible for organizing a group to get the Las Palmas pool renovated and re-opened to the public, as well as heading up numerous charity organizations and community events. She also helped initiate neighborhood watch groups, bringing the residents and local police together. Bethany was crucial in getting the idea of “Visit Puerto Armuelles” off the ground and has many useful connections and unique insight into what’s happening around town.
Dr. Alberto Carbono, Contributor
Dr. Carbono is a local Panamanian with a long family history in Puerto Armuelles. He is most recently known as the owner of the popular beachfront restaurant “Don Carlos”, which was started by his late father. Alberto has been very active in the building and restoration of the beachfront park called Malecon, where the statue of Tomas Armuelles is located just to the north of the famous banana pier. He is a wealth of information and photos about the history of Puerto Armuelles and it will be fun piecing it all together for you to enjoy!
As always, we welcome news, stories, photos, event postings, real estate listings, and advertising from our readers!
Please comment below or email editor@VisitPuertoArmuelles.com
I just sent a message saying I couldn’t download the walking guide, but I was able to do so by going through the link on your gringos in puerto Armuelles posting. I couldn’t do it via the website page.
Once I got into everything you have posted, I have to say that you are awesome. The information that you have provided will help me a lot when I visit next month.
To download the pdf’s, you have to right click on the link and choose “Save Link As”, then save it to your desktop, open it from there and print. Another way, in many browsers, is to right click on the link and choose “Open Link in a New Tab”. It will open the file and you can print it from there. Tour #2 is in DRAFT and will be published soon.
Thanks for the kind words Sheryl! Watch for interesting new content regularly as we continue to update the site. There really is a LOT to this little beach town!
Esta Bien, Esta Bien, who is the real Debbie Fishell? The one with the glasses or the one with the hat? Or, are there really two of you? ;>}}
Great new site, will visit soon. Looking for a dealer/Distributor in Puerto Armuelles for the Maps and Guides. Any suggestions of some one that has lots of tourist traffic, like a gift shop, tour operator, busy hotel/hostel?
Gracias,
Mikkel Moller
Hola Mikkel! I figured it was time to update my profile photo ~ looks more studious, right? 🙂
There are no formal tour companies or gift shops in Puerto at this time. Best bet would be to try the hotels, they are listed in the business directory on this site, or possibly Romero’s supermarket.
Glad I found this website. My husband and I are in the process of moving to Panama and this little town looks like something we definitely want to check out. When we were in Panama last, we never got there. Hopefully we will be down in Apr/May for a look around
thanks
Look forward to meeting you in the spring. Let me know if you have any questions before you arrive and I’ll try to answer or point you in the right direction.
Hi Debbie,
Dan here from the lodge. Just joined your newsletter.
Hooked on Panama would like to run an offer through your site. 40% off on week nights. 30% off on Friday and Saturday nights.
Normal rate for cabin with 2 queen beds is $109 plus tax. Normal rate for cabins with 3 queen beds is $119 plus tax.
Its a great rate for a getaway.
Dan
Thanks Dan! Hooked on Panama is one of my favorite places to relax and enjoy high quality food and surroundings!
I strongly recommend taking the relocation tour with Debbie. She is awesome. I think she knows every piece of property in Puerto Armuelles and a lot of people. She showed me around and introduced me to people last September. Because of her guidance through the area, I feel very comfortable about moving there this September.
Not only is Debbie very knowledgeable about the area, she is also a delight to spend the day with. She has enough energy to light up New York City. If you have any thoughts about moving to Puerto Armuelles, take the tour with Debbie. You will have a great time.
Thanks Sheryl! Let’s have lunch when you get back to Puerto 🙂
Debbie, this is Erick fron Puerto, can you please call me, I have been trying you on your cell but never get you. A friend of mine wants to rent one of the houses you advertise on your site.
Hi Erick, I am back from my trip, so I’ll stop by the car wash and talk with you. Debbie
Hi Debbie, It was nice ce meeting you yesterday at the Panama Relocation Tours lunch. The info you provided was very helpful. A couple of us are driving to Puerto Armquellas in the morning … Maybe we can meet up. Take care, Kathleen
I enjoy sharing this side of the country with new folks ~ quite different than the other towns you visited! Hope to see you making a smooth transition to Panama in the future. Stay in touch. 🙂
Hi Debbie, are you associated with Jackie and Panama Relocation tours or a guest speaker? I came to Panama via Jackie and her Group. Over the past few years we have visited Panama to explore and research the various areas. Along the way we have our Penionado Visas, Drivers License and Cedulas. It is time now to decide were we might lay down our roots and Puerto has always been high on our list. Some of the things holding us back were the lack of a good health system in the area, which has now been remixed by the new Hospital. I hope it progresses quickly through its phases. The highway has been a boon on last last few visits much quicker and safer than the past. We will look forward to introducing our selves on our next visit in Mar 2017, we are planning to spent a month in Puerto looking for a place to roost.
Jackie usually has expats from different areas join the group at lunch to give a little talk about their life here. I have spoken about Puerto Armuelles several times. Did you hear my talk in the past?
The president of Panama,Varela, did come to Puerto and lay the first brick for the construction of the new hospital. Don’t know how long it will take, but breaking ground is the first step!
Hope to meet you in March.
Hi there ! Just found you! We are in Canada and coming over to Puerto Armuelles in February to see the Coco Beach development. Looking for Winter escape destination and very excited!
Hope to meet you while you are in town!
Hi Kay,
I am in Canada and also considering the Coco Beach development. What did you think of it?
I would be happy to provide my email (or Debbie, please feel free to).
I’ve spoken at length with one of the developers and visited the property several times. I’d say they are on track to building a nice community out there. I saw infrastructure going in recently and there are a few other improvements. It will be a little while, since there are no homes or buildings yet.
Hi Debbie,
Thanks for your reply. I have been in touch with the client advisor there via email and she said they expect construction of homes to begin in the new year, with occupation by the end of 2018 (with all infrastructure and amenities to be completed by then as well). The company reportedly does complete their projects on time, but I probably won’t move until after then anyway, so it’s not a big deal to me if it takes longer. 😉
I’m going to have to make a trip down to Puerto to check that out, as well as other properties. I am having a lot of trouble deciding what I really want and, of course, it’s impossible to really do that from my computer!
I always recommend coming here first rather than buying property “sight unseen”. Actually, the best strategy is to rent for 6 months or a year to find out if you really like it here.
I look forward to meeting you and showing you our unique town!
We took Debbies advice and came for a 2 week visit to Pourto Armeulles. Debbie was our tour guide for most of the 2 weeks. Took us to lunch down at “Hooked on Panama”,had some lovely fish, met 2 of the owners, Dan and Rex, also went to the Tsunami Inn sunday afternoon for drinks and Horseshoes. Met lots of very charming people, and hope some of them will be our friends when we move down in a couple of months. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, Debbie found us a lovely old home in The Las Palmas neighborhood, and we put a down payment on the house. See you soon. Don and Shellie
It was a pleasure! I am looking forward to having you both as new neighbors soon!
Hi Debbie,
I will be coming to Puerto mid to late April this year for a week or so. I will need a place to stay and would like to know if it okay for a single woman to drive a rental from the airport in David to Puerto. Thanks!
Hi Debbie,
The whole 10K rule is puzzling to me, especially when I see that you have helped expats find homes in Las Palmas. We’d really like to live closer to the center of town but read on another site that we (as US and German citizens) would have to buy out at Pez de Oro or further east along the coast to comply with the 10K rule. Can you help us understand how this works? Or refer us to a good explanation online?
Thanks, Richard and Antje
When a foreigner buys property within 10 kilometers of the border of Costa Rica, they need to hold title to that property in a Panamanian Corporation with Panamanian officers and directors. A competent attorney can do that for you. There are plenty of foreigners in and around Puerto who own titled property here, including myself. However, many properties in Puerto Armuelles are R.O.P. (Right of Possession), which is similar to leasehold property in other countries. Since you are “leasing” the property (infinitely) and don’t technically “own it”, it doesn’t matter if you are a foreigner. Beware of any advice that steers you to a specific development – they probably have ulterior motives. 😉
Good afternoon, considering a move down there. What is the best method of travel to Puerto Armuelles? Not a fan of flying small planes. Would be coming from Georgia, USA.
Well, you probably don’t want to drive. My husband came by car and said he would never do that again! Plane is best. Fly to Panama City (via Miami or Houston), then a 45 minute connection to David (not too small a plane). From David, Puerto is a 1.5 hour drive.
I live in Boquete and whenever I see a facebook post by someone asking what beach areas to consider, I recommend that they check out Puerto and I post your link. Perusing your site again today, it struck me that it would benefit by having an actual photo gallery, which is what I expected to see in the Photos & Videos tab, especially beach/ocean views. Yes, there are some photos in the various stories but it’s not the same user experience. A changing “slider” type of carousel is very effective.
I would love to do that Kevin! You have no idea how “not techie” I am. It’s sort of amazing that I have gotten up what I have…maybe soon.
I am planning a trip to Panama in the second half of 2023. I was last in Panama in 2013 and spent most of my time in Boquete and Bocas. This time I want to explore places closer to the ocean, not close to PC and accessible to mountain short trips. Sounds a lot like Puerto Armuelles.
I am leaning towards the PRT program. Its organized and efficient and, I’m convinced. worth the expense. It provides a lot of valuable information and puts you together with other potential expats with similar interests. However, I’m concerned that Puerto and maybe Las Tablas will be skimmed over. From maps and blogs and such, Puerto seems to check most of the boxes I will be interested in.
I would like to spend much of my time exploring and examining Puerto before coming to Panama. If you can suggest a way for me to obtain more info that is current or at least recent and preferably from someone who has enough on the ground experience there I would truly appreciate it. I have to say I deplore Facebook and will not use that.
Thanks much. I will continue to visit your site.
Yes, PRT does skim over quite a few areas, due to their large size and focusing only on the most popular places. There is a similar tour called Retire in Panama tours, which is smaller and more customized. You’ll get the same information and more flexibility to see areas that interest the group. I do put current updates on Facebook, sorry. Trying to get more posts on Instagram, so you could try that. Check visit Puerto Armuelles on Instagram and Youtube, and make sure you sign up for the newsletter. Feel free to email me with specific questions at Debbie@visitPuertoArmuelles.com I have lived here since 2014 and I can give you current information, referrals, and point you to people who can give info that I don’t have. Look forward to meeting you!