Panama

Among Central America's top surf spots, Santa Catalina is still somewhat remote with limited development and home to some seriously wicked surf. Life here is pretty tranquil, in a fishing village where skateboards rip down main street and kids go barefoot but clothing is required to walk to and from the beach. Most non-surfers discover the area as the main springboard for day and overnight trips to Isla de Coiba and its national park, where there's outstanding scuba diving and snorkeling.

David is Panama’s second-largest city and the capital of Chiriquí Province. It's more a center of agricultural industry than a cultural hub. Yet with foreign capital flowing into Chiriquí, David is rapidly gaining wealth and importance, and is poised to boom.

Although it’s just a 10-minute boat ride from the town of Bocas del Toro, Isla Bastimentos is like a different world. Some travelers say this is their favorite island in their favorite part of Panama. The northwest coast of the island is home to palm-fringed beaches that serve as nesting grounds for sea turtles, while most of the northern and southern coasts consist of mangrove islands and coral reefs that lie within the boundaries of the Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos.

Boquete is known for its cool, fresh climate and pristine natural surroundings. Flowers, coffee, vegetables and citrus fruits flourish in its rich soil, and the friendliness of the locals seems to rub off on everyone who passes through. Boquete gained a deluge of expats after the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) named it a top retirement spot. Until you see the gated communities and sprawling estates dotting the hillsides up close, though, you'd be hard-pressed to see what the fuss is about.

Colón Province is much, much more than its run-down capital. Think pristine beaches and lowland rainforests, colonial splendor and the modern engineering marvel of the Panama Canal. Portobelo, with its growing music and art scene, shows the best of the rich culture of the Congos, descendants of enslaved Africans who have preserved the legacy of their ancestors, while the train trip between Panama City and Colón remains one of the greatest rail journeys in the Americas.

The highland rainforests are the heart of Chiriquí Province. From the rugged mountains of Parque Internacional La Amistad and the misty hills of Boquete to the continental divide traversing the cordillera (mountain range), this is probably the only spot in Panama where you might need a sweater. While Panamanians relish the chill, you’ll appreciate the astounding natural beauty throughout the region.

The name of Veraguas province (literally “see waters”) is both descriptive and accurate – it is the only one of Panama's provinces and comarcas (indigenous districts) to border both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Colorful and full of Caribbean-style clapboard houses, Bocas del Toro (better known simply as Bocas town) was built by the United Fruit Company in the early 20th century. Today it is a relaxed community of West Indians, Latinos and resident gringos, with a friendly atmosphere that is contagious. It’s an easy place to adapt to and even easier to linger in.

The archipelago’s most developed island is home to the provincial capital of Bocas del Toro. From the mid-1990s, foreign investors flooded the island, creating hotels, restaurants and condos while infrastructure for water, trash and sewage lagged far behind. Today the island, which runs on diesel, struggles to find a balance between satisfying development and serving community needs.

One of the most cosmopolitan capitals in Central America, Panama City is both a vibrant metropolis and a gateway to incredible tropical escapes.