Iguana Island (338 km)

The Iguana Island is located on southeast of the Azuero Peninsula in the district of Peadasí in the province of Los Santos just 4 kilometers from the coast. The island has a 16 hectares of coral reef, the largest one in the Gulf of Panama with 11 species of corals 4,800 years old and more than 500 species of fish. For this is a paradise for snorkeling and diving lovers. If you swim out a bit from the beach there is a plenty of different corals and many colored fish.

With its white fine sands beach and warm crystal clear waters is very attractive for visitors. The island native vegetation can be described as a tropical dry forest, formed by shrub with thorns, cactuses, high grass, vines and coconut palms. There are few trails, so you can walk across the island to the beach El Faro in the west side. This beach is exposed to the marine currents and fierce winds that beat the island so there bigger waves and stronger currents. It is best to swim and snorkel at the beach El Cirial in the east of the island.

Iguana Island was declared a Wildlife Refuge in 1980 with the help do the inhabitants of Pedasi. It is an important nesting place for seabirds. On the island we can see the largest colony of frigate in central Pacific Ocean area with more than 5,000 of this birds.

Finally some useful advices: on the island there are no water, no restaurant, no electricity you should bring everything you will need as food, planty drink water, sunscreen, insect repellent, swimming suit, snorkel mask and so on.

Como Llegar

By Car Departing from Panama City, it takes about five hours to drive to the town of Pedasi. You take the Pan-American Highway until Divisa (there's a police check point there), then turn southward toward Chitre. The road passes several towns: Parita, La Villa de los Santos, Guarare, Las Tablas, etc. The road to Pedasi is straight, brand new and well paved. Very near the entrance of the Pedasí, before the gas station make a left turn to drive to the El Arenal (there is a sign indicating the direction towards the beach) and go straight approximately 3 kilometers along the paved road in good shape until you reach El Arenal beach. Here you can rent a boat to navigate the five kilometers that separate Isla Iguana from the beach El Arenal. By Bus The beach El Arenal when you can rent the boat to the Iguana island is located only 3 kilometers from the village of Pedasi. To reach this point you just have to take a bus from Albrook Terminal route Panama - Las Tablas - Pedasi. From Pedasi you can walk about an hour to get to the beach (I don´t think so) or take a taxi and drive 5 minutes.