Puerto Armuelles Panama Is A Wonderful Place to Call Home
Welcome to Puerto Armuelles!Puerto Armuelles Panama is the only true beach town in Panama
Puerto Armuelles is the only town in Panama that is actually right on the ocean.
Of course, there are other places on the beach, but none are a town.
- The sprawling and bustling Panama City is on the beach.
- There are also a few villages and resort towns on the beach.
Puerto Armulless has a over 20 thousand residents, including a growing population of expats.
Puerto has has just the right population to make the town vibrant, even bustling at times.
Puerto Armuelles, Panama is Unique
For eighty years Puerto Armuelles was a Chiquita Banana company town.
Chiquita’s engineers and designers put their stamp on everything from the city’s street grid to wooden houses on stilts, of which Chiquita built by the thousands.
The Chiquita look is the classic tropical colonial look that one would expect to see in an old movie such as the African Queen.
With its broad overhangs and hardwood ventilated window openings, the Chiquita houses provide good shade, and are raised above the damp and the bugs of the tropics.
The spaces in some of the executive houses are absolutely huge, with ten foot ceilings, and open floor plans of as much as 3000 square feet per floor.
San Jose Neighborhood
These houses, painted every color of the rainbow, give a very charming and unique look to Puerto.
The “Chiquita Factor” has made Puerto Armuelles far different from any other Panamanian town.
Puerto has been compared to Golfito, just across the border in Costa Rica, which is another Chiquita Built town.
Since Chiquita left Puerto Armuelles the town has not been well-maintained, on the other hand Golfito has been well-maintained.
Another big difference is that Golfito has become quite “precious”, and as with the rest of Costa Rica, Golfito is quite expensive.
Go on a brief virtual tour below
Enjoy the fun & musical montage of both Puerto Armuelles and a trip to nearby Punta Burica below
To learn more about the various areas of Puerto Armuelles, visit Puerto Armuelles neighborhoods
You can get pretty much everything you need in Puerto Armuelles.
You can purchase everything from building supplies and cell phones, to pesto, and broccoli.
David, Chiriqui’s main city, is an hour plus drive away.
David is the big shopping mecca in the area.
We go to David every two or three months, mostly to get some specialty items and to do some bulk shopping at PriceSmart.
PriceSmart is a warehouse retailer like Costco. In fact it used to be a Costco and then splintered off.
We enjoy going to David. It seems there is something new ther everytime we visit. Our favorite dentist is there as well.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hola,…I’m looking for lodging near Punta Burica…I live part of the year in Zancudo CR…but ..every 90 days we have to leave the beach…for 3 days….Could you please porvide me with any.small hotels or lodges on the beach…
Hello, Punta Burica is beautiful. There are a few places to stay.
Starting from the furthest out on Punta Burica there is Tigre Salvaje.
Tigre Salvaje is a wildlife sanctuary located on the Pacific Coast at the end of Punta Burica near the border of Costa Rica.
The sancutary is actively trying to save several different endangered species. Primarily monkeys, including the Red Backed Squirrel Monkey and 3 types of endangered sea turtles.
They also have places to stay. If you cannot get ahold of them (which can be hit or miss), they promise to accommodate you if you just show up.
This is the link for them:
http://www.tigresalvaje.com/about-us.htm
I have never stayed there, but friends of ours have and they recommend it.
Heading back toward Puerto Armulles, you can walk to the next place, Mono Feliz.
Mono Feliz is wonderful. We have stayed at Mono Feliz many times and love it. It is more rustic than any of the other option that I am listing here.
However, you can usually get to feed a banana to one of the many wild monkeys that the owner has befriended over the years. Here is a Youtube video of ‘Juancho’, the owner, and feeding the monkeys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNGIygBihag
Mono Feliz is harder to get ahold of than Tigre Salva at times.
However, if you show up they will always accommodate you.
Phone (from Panama): 595-0388
mono_feliz@hotmail.com
this link has some information about Mono Feliz as well
http://www.carnivoreonline.com/travel/panama_2006/map/mono_feliz.html
Further along, in La Balsa, there may still be a hotel on the water. I haven’t been out there in awhile so I am not sure.
Hooked on Panama is about 17 kilometers from Puerto Armuelles.
It is a nice place on the beach and with a swimming pool. For more info go to:
http://www.hookedonpanama.com/panama-lodge.html
Soon I will have a page on our site dedicated to where to stay, but until then I hope this suffices.
Thanks we liked your video. We are planning a trip to Panama in August – Sept of this year. We will fly into Panama city and rent a car or SUV. Where is the best place to rent a SUV for 4-6 week?
Then we would like to talk with you about property and leasing Real Estate out safely. Thanks
T and L
I am writing “If I had Only Known”, our Panama Guide, as my time allows.
Time is always more limited than I would like, or anticipate.
Submitted your email to be the first to learn of our Panama Guide’s publication.
We are striving to make it the best possible.
Also, We do not rent our properties at this time.
Enjoy!
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