Santa Catalina is a small fishing village on Panama’s Pacific coastline. In the last decade it has become known as a surfing hot spot in Panama, most notably for La Punta, arguably one of the best waves in Central America.
There are a plethora of other fun waves in and around Santa Catalina as well. This chilled out surf town has now offer a range surf camps to suit a variety of different needs. This post will highlight some of best surf camps Santa Catalina has to offer.
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Oasis Surf Camp
Located 50m from the famous Estero beach is Oasis Surf Camp. It is owned and run by brother and sister team. It is traditional hostel style accommodation with a wide array of different options from twin rooms all the way up to family rooms.
In addition to being close to Estero beach, Oasis is 1.6 km form the main beach in Santa Catalina. They have an on-site surf school and excellent board rental options on offer. In addition they also offer horse-back riding and boat trips
There is a restaurant on site, free private parking, a bar and a shared lounge. It also has a lovely garden area. Rooms have air-conditioning and free WiFi and some of the rooms have their own private bathroom. Every room includes a patio with a sea view. Guests can enjoy a continental or à la carte breakfast every morning.
On The Reef
On The Reef is located adjacent to Santa Catalina’s main surfing break, The Point. It opened its doors in 2013 and since then has been welcoming surfers from all over the globe. It incredible views of The Point and like the name says provides easy access for paddling out.
There are a variety of nice restaurants within 100 m of the surf house. The town centre can be reached in a 10-minute walk which offers an additional array of eatery choices. In addition to surfing guests an also try their hand at diving (at a nearby private beach) and fishing by booking these excursions through the on-site tour desk.
The rooms offer cable TV, views of The Point Beach and full air conditioning. All bathrooms come with a shower and all rooms have ocean views. The property has free parking, and security is provided 24 hours a day.
Oceans Hostel
This hostel is very close to Oasis Surf Camp, and only 100m from Estero beach. There are bikes that you can rent for free which getting into Santa Catalina town nice and easy. It’s worth noting that the owner of Ocean Hostel only speaks Spanish.
The hostel rents out hard top surfboards. Estero beach offers the perfect wave for beginners, and so this is great hostel to locate yourself in if you’re very new to surfing. Besides surfing you can also book whale watching and dolphin tours or just hang by the beach for the day. It’s only a stones throw away.
Their rooms have air conditioning , plasma screen TV’s, bathrooms with potable water and toiletries. There is also a kitchen where you can cook at any time of the day. There are plenty of outdoor hammocks to chill on. They also outdoor showers which are perfect for rinsing yourself off when returning from the beach.
