Page 124 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

122 The Panama Canal and CenTral isThmus ArchipiélAgo de lAs perlAs
DAY-TRIPS TO THE PEARL ISLANDS
The advent of faster and more frequent ferries from panama city has helped increase the
demand for day-trips to the pearl islands; while you can just book a return ferry passage
(from $90 return to contadora) and pack a picnic, the full-day packages are good value,
especially when on special offer ($120–160). These all-inclusive rates include the return trip
by ferry, a welcome drink, use of hotel or beach club facilities, including towels and umbrellas,
and lunch – usually a main dish and a dessert.
The three day-trip destinations are: Contadora, where the meal deal is usually with Mar y
2 Oro on playa cacique; the beach club at playa encanto on Isla Saboga, which additionally
includes use of sea-kayaks, stand-up paddleboards and the beach volleyball court; and the
most upmarket option, the BALU Beach Club on smaller Isla Viveros, which is another
half-hour boat ride away but has a sparkling infinity pool as well as the sand.
Ferries (see opposite) set off around 7.30am, arriving back in panama city at around 5.30pm.
day-trips with Sea Las Perlas (Wsealasperlas.com), which offers daily tours to contadora and
saboga but Viveros only as a weekend destination, are the cheaper option, giving a good view
of the canal and causeway. Ferry Las Perlas serves all three destinations throughout the year
(Wed–sun; Wferrylasperlas.com).

far less rainfall than the mainland, it’s worth considering a visit at other times when
prices are lower and beaches less crowded.
Air Panama has flights to Isla Contadora and Isla San José. In addition to various
day-trips (see box above), Sea Las Perlas (Wsealasperlas.com) provides a ferry service
from Panama City to Isla del Rey, predominantly for the island’s inhabitants
(see opposite).

Isla Contadora
Home to the main public airstrip, ISLA CONTADORA is by far the most developed
and most popular destination in the archipelago. It derives its name from the
counting house the conquistadors established on the island to tot up their riches
from the pearl trade before shipping them off to Europe. As well as possessing its
own fine selection of lovely soft-sand beaches, Contadora provides a sound base for
snorkelling trips to the corals and crystalline waters of neighbouring islands, visits
to seabird colonies and whale watching. Away from the shoreline, the wooded areas
provide shelter and food for a surprising array of wildlife – deer, agoutis and iguanas
can all be spotted here.
Only a handful of families are permanently resident, while workers from nearby Isla
Saboga commute daily to service the 180 luxury villas, which remain empty for much
of the year. Inland, the centre of the island is occupied by a football pitch, which comes
alive in late afternoon. South of the pitch there’s a small whitewashed church, while the
road up the eastern side of the pitch passes one of the island’s two ponds, on the left.
Both ponds are magnets for thirsty wildlife such as magnificent frigatebirds that skim
the surface scooping up water at dusk.
The beaches
Playa Larga, on the island’s eastern side, provides the longest stretch of sand and the
most sheltered swimming in the warmest water; an abandoned ferry is the only
eyesore. South round the headland, Playa de las Suecas (“Swedish Women’s Beach”),
Panama’s only public nudist beach, is suitably secluded and also offers the island’s best
snorkelling round the headland towards Playa Larga, where sharks, stingrays and
turtles can often be seen. Another few minutes’ stroll, skirting the end of the runway,
brings you to the island’s loveliest swathe of soft, sugary sand, Playa Cacique. Backed
by lush vegetation, it looks across turquoise waters to Isla Chapera.

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