Living aboard in Panama: marinas, costs and visas

You can live on a boat in Panama. No law bans it, several marinas welcome it, and anchoring is normal. The real limit is immigration: your passport stamp sets how long you can stay, which is up to 180 days for US and Canadian citizens. The boat can stay longer. A yacht in transit may remain up to 24 months under the 2025 nautical tourism decree.

Marinas that allow living aboard

• Bocas Marina explicitly caters to people living on their boats. It has a cruiser and expat net on VHF 68 at 07:45, and Bocas Town is walkable.
• Marina Carenero takes long-term liveaboards, with a shared kitchen and lounge. Bocas Town is two minutes away by water taxi.
• Linton Bay Marina lists liveaboard needs among its services and has slips, moorings and a big yard.
• Shelter Bay Marina has liveaboards, a pool, a gym and a mini market. It is remote, though, and the bus goes only to Colón.
• Red Frog Marina welcomes long-term stays, at resort prices.
• Panamarina lets you live aboard on a mooring, or sleep aboard free in the yard while you pay the daily yard rate.

In Panama City, most liveaboards anchor at La Playita and pay for the dinghy dock. Flamenco, Ocean Reef and Vista Mar don't publish liveaboard rules, so ask them directly. The marina finder filters by liveaboard.

What it costs to live aboard

Using published rates for a 40 ft monohull, before tax:

• Marina Carenero: $480 a month, or $400 on the prepaid annual rate. Power is metered at $0.30 per kWh, and air conditioning adds up fast.
• Panamarina mooring: about $384 a month at the 30–180-day rate. There is no power or water at the mooring.
• La Playita anchorage: the anchorage itself has no reported fee, and the dinghy dock was about $35 a week in 2019.

Add 7% ITBMS to marina fees. Your other costs are food, fuel, bottom cleaning and insurance. Marina-by-marina rates are in marina costs in Panama. The full budget is in boat ownership costs in Panama.

Visas: your stay and the boat's stay are separate

Arriving by yacht, you are stamped in by Migración as a visitor, on the same terms as an air arrival of your nationality. US and Canadian citizens can stay up to 180 days. Other nationalities often get less, so read the stamp. Leaving briefly to restart the clock has been restricted in the past, so don't plan around it. The full rules are in Panama visa rules for boat skippers and crew.

To live aboard longer, you need residency. Two routes Migración publishes:

• Jubilado o pensionado (PRP-JP): a lifetime pension of at least B/.1,000 a month, plus B/.250 per dependent.
• Specific (friendly) countries (PPT-PE): for nationals of listed countries, through employment or an investment of at least B/.200,000 in property or a three-year fixed deposit.

Use a Panamanian immigration lawyer and confirm current requirements with Migración. A visitor stamp is not a work permit. Being paid to work on a boat here needs one. See work permits for foreign crew.

The boat runs on its own clock. Decreto Ejecutivo 4 of 2025 defines a yacht in transit as one staying up to 24 months. Beyond that, see temporary import of a foreign yacht.

Daily life aboard in the tropics

• Rain and lightning. The rainy season, May to November, brings daily squalls and lightning, especially in Bocas. See lightning and squalls.
• Heat and mould. Ventilation, shade covers and a dehumidifier matter more than in Florida. Air conditioning is the biggest power cost.
• Growth. Warm water fouls a hull in weeks. Budget for a diver. See bottom growth in the tropics.
• Theft. Dinghies and outboards are stolen from anchored boats in Bocas, Portobelo and Linton Bay. A slip buys security as well as convenience.
• Supplies. Bocas Town and Panama City are easy. Puerto Lindo and Shelter Bay mean a bus or taxi to Sabanitas or Colón. See fuel, water and provisioning.
• Tide. On the Pacific, the 4–6 m tide decides when you can land the dinghy and when the gangway is steep.

Which base suits which liveaboard

Bocas del Toro suits people who want a real town, flights to the city and a cruiser community. Linton Bay and Portobelo suit sailors who will cruise San Blas and want a yard nearby. Shelter Bay suits anyone with canal plans or a refit. Panama City at anchor suits people who need hospitals, offices and an international airport within a taxi ride. Chiriquí suits anglers more than liveaboards, since services at Boca Chica and Pedregal are basic.

Whichever you pick, visit in the rainy season before you commit. A base that feels perfect in a dry-season February can feel very different under daily afternoon storms in October. For Florida's liveaboard rules, see living aboard in Florida.

Your practical starting checklist

1. Check your passport's permitted stay and diary the date the stamp runs out.
2. Shortlist liveaboard-friendly marinas and ask each for written liveaboard terms and rates.
3. Budget the slip or mooring, power, ITBMS, bottom cleaning and insurance.
4. Keep the boat's cruising permit and 24-month transit limit on a separate calendar.
5. Talk to a Panamanian immigration lawyer early if you plan to stay past your visitor stamp.
6. Set up lightning, theft and mould precautions before the rainy season.

Frequently asked questions

The next question to answer

The sub-hub for every marina, anchoring and docking guide. Read Marinas, docking and anchoring in Panama.

Stamps, stay limits and crew lists. Read Panama visa rules for boat skippers and crew.

All 12 marinas compared by coast and use. Read Choosing a marina in Panama.

Same topic in Florida: coming from the US? Compare Liveaboard Boats and Local Restrictions.

Official resources

Use the relevant Panamanian authority for current requirements and fees. These resources are the next place to check; a practical recommendation is not an agency determination.

• Migración: requisitos jubilado pensionado (PRP-JP) ↗
• Migración: residente, países específicos (PPT-PE) ↗
• Gaceta Oficial: Decreto Ejecutivo 4 of 11 Feb 2025 ↗
• Marina Carenero: rates ↗