Around & About
Eco Venao’s most obvious attraction is Playa Venao and its famous surf break.
However, if you fancy venturing a little further away, there are great places worthy of a visit.
We can help arrange visits to all of the places below.
Pedasí
Perhaps the most charming town in Panama, Pedasí is certainly worth a visit. With a number of good places to eat and its nearby beaches, there is usually a good excuse to make the 30 minutes journey by car or bus.
Carnival and Fiestas Patrias are just two of the annual celebrations the locals take very seriously.
On the coast Pedasí boasts some breathtaking beaches – Playa Arenal, Playa La Garita and Playa El Toro.
Achotines Bay ("Playa Playita")
For those who prefer calm waters, Achotines Bay is a great alternative, and only a few kms up the road towards Pedasí.
Protected by a rocky island formation, it’s an ideal place for swimming and frolicking in the water.
Snorkeling is also fun here where the white sandy beach makes it a true tropical paradise.
The Achotines Laboratory is one of the few places in the world where tuna are reared out of the sea for scientific research, a fascinating visit.
Isla Cañas
This long narrow island is separated from the mainland by barely 300mts of swampy estuary and in ´94 it was declared a Wildlife Refuge.
Isla Cañas has a very high ecological value due to its variety and extension of mangrove. However, for many people, its main attraction is the 10kms sandy beach that faces out to sea, where over 30,000 turtles arrive each year to lay their eggs.
5 out of the 6 Pacific Ocean marine turtle species come to Isla Cañas. The highest concentration of turtles arrives between September and November, but turtles continue to arrive throughout the year, making it the most important nesting site on Panama’s Pacific coast.
Isla Iguana
This idyllic island was declared a nature reserve in 1981, and is a favorite with scientists, biologists, and Panamanian and international visitors alike.
The island is 53 hectares (130 acres), and includes two stunning white sand beaches. Isla Iguana is home to many seabirds and marine species and is an important nesting ground for many species of sea turtles.
The surrounding waters are also visited every year by two species of whales that migrate from the cold polar waters to warmer waters in the tropics to mate. It is an ideal place for snorkeling and diving, where wildly colored tropical coral fish abound! It is also a very popular bird watching location.
Los Frailes
A little further out to sea, the rocky Frailes (Friar Monk) Islands offer great fishing, scuba diving and important bird watching opportunities.