My lack of love of this much-hyped Beach may have been influenced by the dreary day and the fact that we were here on a Sunday when lots of families were gathering in their cars/trucks on the beach barbecuing & blasting music. I am not a fan of either; rainy days or vehicles on a beach.
The beach is very popular for surfers because of how the tides roll in this location, I believe. (I am not a surfer, so perhaps that is why this beach was also lost on me?)
It was also very low tide the day we were there, which made it a wide open space for trucks to Barrell through blasting Reggae-ton music. Nothing more unappealing than a monster truck marathon with head banging music while you are trying to relax & read in paradise on a beach.
There was some foliage where we parked ourselves for the afternoon to shelter from the tropical rains on their way. Lots of natty bugs from the garbage people left behind in this sheltered area from their truck barbecues.
The best way to access the beach is to walk down from the restaurants/hotels at Estero Beach. But by doing that, you must cross a channel of runoff water which is surely a sewage combo.
There was lots of hype about this beach being gorgeous and the best in the area. Because of the hotel restaurants & bars nearby, I can see the appeal for some. But I like my beaches more relaxing, pristine and without blaring trucks rolling by. (I didn’t take photos of these trucks because I didn’t want that to be my lasting memory of this beach, but yet it is.)
If you walk further east down the beach, there may be more quiet spots.
And Isla Catalina and Coiba Island are fabulous.
*Please note that this review is for Playa El Estero in Santa Catalina, Panama. There may be more than one Playa El Estero in Panama and there should be a correction with a pin drop with Google Maps, which I will have to clarify on a...
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