Santa Catalina is the end of the road - a small surf and fishing village on the Pacific coast of Veraguas, 6-7 hours from Panama City.
Santa Catalina is the end of the road - a small surf and fishing village on the Pacific coast of Veraguas, 6-7 hours from Panama City. It offers world-class surf, access to Coiba Island diving, and a level of quiet that bordered on isolation before the internet arrived (and sometimes still does). The trade-offs are total: limited services, unreliable internet, distant medical care, and a road that tests your vehicle and your patience. For surfers, divers, and nature seekers who want to genuinely disconnect, there is nowhere more remote in Panama that still has electricity.
Remote surf village on the Pacific coast of Veraguas province. This is the end of the road - literally. A fishing village that became a surf destination and now has a small, dedicated community of surfers, divers, and people who wanted to get as far from civilization as possible without leaving Panama.
Kai checks the waves before he checks anything else. He can see the break from his bed through the window that doesn't have glass - just a wooden shutter he opens at dawn. Today is 4-foot and clean. A good teaching day.
His cabana costs $450 a month. One room, a bathroom, a covered porch, and a kitchen that consists of a gas burner and a mini-fridge. The construction is basic - wood frame, tin roof, concrete floor. It floods slightly when the rain is extreme. He doesn't care. The surf is 100 meters away.
He teaches three or four students a day in high season (December-April). The rest of the year, one or two. His students are tourists - usually from the hostel up the road. He charges $50 for a two-hour lesson. It's enough to live on in Santa Catalina, where $500 covers rent, food, and beer.
Groceries come from the minimarket, which has rice, beans, eggs, beer, and whatever the supply truck brought this week. The supply truck comes twice a week from Santiago. If it doesn't come - rain, road problems, mechanical issues - the village eats what it has. Kai has learned to keep a stock of canned tuna and pasta.
Conarito Island, a short boat ride away, has some of the best diving in the Pacific. Kai doesn't dive but he knows the dive operators. The village economy runs on surf and dive tourism, fishing, and stubbornness.
The internet is the ongoing challenge. He has a cellular hotspot that works most of the time for WhatsApp and email. Video calls are a gamble. He managed his taxes over a three-day period of spotty connectivity last April. His accountant in Berlin was patient.
He goes to Santiago every two weeks for a real grocery run, hardware store, and the ATM. The drive is two hours each way on a road that gets interesting during rainy season. He's been stuck once. He carries a shovel and a tow rope now.
His parents visited once. His mother asked where the hospital was. He said Santiago. She asked how far that was. He said two hours. She was quiet for a while. Then she watched the sunset from his porch and said she understood.
Ready to find your place in Santa Catalina?
Track listings, compare properties, and plan your move. All in one place.
| Unit type | Monthly rent (USD) |
|---|---|
| Studio | $300 – $500 |
| 1 Bedroom | $400 – $700 |
| 2 Bedrooms | $550 – $900 |
| 3 Bedrooms | $700 – $1,100 |
Rent data updated April 2026.
Walk times on this page are estimated from Santa Catalina Beach. Times will vary a few minutes depending on your exact address.