Pacific or Caribbean: the first decision
Where you keep the boat decides what you can do with it, because moving between coasts means a canal transit.
- Pacific (Panama City, Vista Mar). Close to the capital, the airport, parts and the charter market. Tides of 4–6 m, so fixed docks are rare and floating docks, dinghy docks and ramps all work around the tide. Cruising grounds: Taboga (about 8 nm from Amador), Las Perlas (about 35–40 nm), and the long coast west to Azuero and Coiba. Dry season (December–April) brings strong northerlies across the Bahía de Panamá; the rainy season brings afternoon squalls and lightning.
- Caribbean (Colón, Portobelo, Bocas del Toro). Almost no tide, warm clear water, San Blas and Bocas on the doorstep, and a reputation as a hurricane-free place to leave a boat. Trade-offs: a northerly swell that makes anchorages uncomfortable from December to March, more rain in Bocas, and a longer drive to Panama City (about an hour from Shelter Bay, a day or a flight from Bocas).
Cruisers staging for the canal usually sit at Shelter Bay (Atlantic side) or La Playita and Flamenco (Pacific side). Owners who live in Panama City almost always choose Amador. Owners who want to leave a boat for months and fly in choose Shelter Bay, Linton Bay, Bocas or Vista Mar.
Panama City: Amador and the city shore
The Calzada de Amador, the causeway at the Pacific entrance to the canal, holds the city's boating. Flamenco Marina on Isla Flamenco is the largest: the ATP's tourism site lists more than 260 slips, a 100-ton Travelift, fuel dock and room for yachts to around 200 ft, and it is the main charter pickup point. La Playita de Amador at the end of the causeway is a smaller marina with an anchorage and dinghy dock beside it, the traditional cruiser stop before or after a transit. Club de Yates y Pesca de Panamá on the city side of the causeway is a members' club with fuel and a small yard. Ocean Reef Marina at Punta Pacífica is the newest, built on reclaimed islands in front of the towers, aimed at residents and larger yachts.
For a side-by-side comparison, including storage options outside the marinas, read Panama City marinas and boat storage compared.
What marinas cost in Panama
Marinas quote in US dollars per foot, usually per month for residents and per day for transients, plus 7% ITBMS. Expect metered electricity and water on top. Published numbers are rare, so ask for a written quote for your exact length and stay. What we can say from marina pages we opened:
- Shelter Bay Marina advertises long-term rates "from" $0.45 (monohull) and $0.58 (multihull), varying with size and length of stay; the page does not state the unit, so confirm whether that is per foot per day.
- Vista Mar, Linton Bay, Panamarina, Bocas Marina, Red Frog and Marina Carenero publish rate pages or ask you to request a quote; none list a headline figure we could verify.
- Panama City marinas are the most expensive per foot; Caribbean and Chiriquí marinas and mooring fields are cheaper, and dry storage on the hard is cheapest of all for a boat left for months.
Confirm every rate with the marina. For the full picture of what a boat costs here, see owning a boat in Panama City: real yearly numbers and the costs & insurance collection.
Living aboard
Living aboard is normal in Panama's cruiser marinas and tolerated in most others, but each marina sets its own policy and may charge a liveaboard fee or limit the number of people. Shelter Bay, Linton Bay, Panamarina and the Bocas marinas are built around long-stay cruisers and have showers, laundry, a restaurant and some kind of community. Panama City marinas are more residential and commercial; ask before you assume. Immigration matters more than the marina: a tourist stamp has a time limit, so long-term liveaboards need a residence status or must leave and return. The Florida discussion in living aboard in Florida covers the practical side that does not change.
Haul-out and yards
Four places haul boats of any real size: Flamenco (Pacific, 100-ton Travelift per the ATP listing), Shelter Bay (Caribbean, full-service yard and dry storage), Linton Bay (Caribbean, 160-ton Travelift) and Vista Mar (Pacific, trailer lift the marina says handles beams up to 40 ft). Panamarina near Portobelo offers a do-it-yourself work area and secure dry storage for sailboats, and Bocas Marina's yard advertises a crane up to about 60 tons. Boca Chica and Pedregal have smaller facilities for sportfishing boats. Book ahead for a pre-purchase survey haul; see surveys and sea trials in Panama City and maintenance in Panama.
Charter pickup: where you can load paying guests
A marina decides whether commercial boats may load guests at its docks, what it charges for that, and whether it wants to see your ATP registration and insurance first. In Panama City the practical charter pickup points are Flamenco Marina and, for smaller boats, La Playita and the public docks on the causeway; Ocean Reef is residential and restrictive; the Club de Yates is for members. On the Caribbean side, Bocas Town docks and Shelter Bay handle day charters. Get the permission in writing before you advertise. The rules are the same idea as our Florida guide to commercial charter pickup permission; the Panama specifics are in starting a charter business in Panama City and the Amador causeway guide.
Caribbean, Bocas and Chiriquí in one paragraph each
Colón. Shelter Bay Marina sits inside the breakwater at Fort Sherman, on the former US base beside San Lorenzo National Park, on VHF 74. It is the canal staging marina, with a yard, dry storage, chandlery and a long-stay community, about an hour from Panama City by road.
Portobelo and Puerto Lindo. Linton Bay Marina has 80-plus slips, a 160-ton Travelift and bills itself as the closest full-service marina to San Blas. Panamarina inside Portobelo National Park is a mooring field with screw anchors, a DIY yard and dry storage, aimed at sailboats and long absences.
Bocas del Toro. Bocas Marina (Bocas Yacht Club & Marina) on Isla Colón has floating concrete docks for boats from 20 to about 120 ft, a fuel dock and a yard. Red Frog Marina on Isla Bastimentos, an IGY marina, has 95 slips including megayacht berths to 300 ft, on VHF 68. Marina Carenero on Cayo Carenero is a small, quiet cruiser marina a dinghy ride from town.
Chiriquí. Boca Chica and Pedregal are the bases for the Gulf of Chiriquí and Coiba: sportfishing lodges with docks at Boca Chica, and the river port of Pedregal below David with a marina, fuel and a port captaincy.