The Chiriquí Province, roughly 300 miles southwest of Panama City and hugging the Pacific, has emerged over the past decade as a castaway-style escape. The area includes La Amistad International Park, an over 400,000-hectare UNESCO World Heritage Site and Central America’s largest nature reserve, as well as the Gulf of Chiriquí National Marine Park, home to howler monkeys, armadillos, and, from July to October, migrating humpback whales. Luxury tour company Black Tomato will expand Chiriquí coverage for 2026, offering snorkelling within the marine park, naturalist-guided cloud forest hikes, and bespoke whale watches that are paired with lunch on a deserted island. Hoteliers, too, have taken note, slowly rolling out stays that capture the spirit of this getaway with top-tier amenities: The Cayuga Collection’s Isla Palenque, a 10-key luxury eco-resort, will introduce three two-bedroom villas in 2026 and 2027, all with a funicular and private pools. Getting to Chiriquí is also about to get easier. President José Raúl Mulino announced the forthcoming Panamá-David Railway, a 475-kilometre high-speed rail, connecting Panama City with Chiriquí in under three hours and bypassing the need for small flights or long drives when it opens.
How to plan it: Warm year-round in the gulf, Chiriquí’s rainy season runs from late April through November. Still, summer and early fall months are best for watching migrating whales, and Vuelta a Chiriquí, one of Central America’s most prestigious cycling events, returns next July. While work advances on the railway, travellers can arrive through Enrique Malek International Airport. Copa Airlines, United, Delta, and American offer flights from the United States, and Iberia, KLM, Air Europa, and Air France connect with Europe. Thinking of extending your trip within Panama? In late 2026, travelers can expect the 186-key Viceroy Bocas del Toro, catering to the luxury clientele who prefer a more traditional resort experience north of Chiriqui. In February 2025, Hyatt opened the 70-key art and wellness house, Hotel La Compañía del Valle, just 20 miles from the coast; it added the 18,000-square-foot Elysium Spa in fall 2025. Hannah Selinger
Costa Rica’s South Pacific Coast
Go for: Costa Rica unplugged – this is Pura Vida proper
