Inside the top five resorts in booming Panama

While nearby Costa Rica may be beloved for its forests and jungles, snake-like Panama — bordered on both sides by vast expanses of water — is all about the sea.

Fronting both the Pacific and Atlantic, Panama abounds in isolated archipelagos dotted with lush islands featuring some of the most exquisite bijoux resorts in Latin America.  

Here are five of the best.

Boat G.O.A.T

Pearl Island Panama is a 25-minute hop by prop-plane in the beloved archipelago of the same name.

Although major luxury leaders including One and Only, Six Senses and Ritz-Carlton Reserve resorts will eventually open on the island, a handful of spacious private villas are already available for rent here, many with private pools, and all with easy access to the island’s dozen beaches, sleek beach-front pool and deluxe full-service marina.

The latter — the best in the region — has become particularly useful as the archipelago emerges as a favorite for yachter and anglers (the black marlins and mahi-mahi are resoundingly epic).

Private pleasures

A similar set-up to Pearl Island can be found at Islas Secas — which is located in its own archipelago about 90 minutes up the coast.

The property began life as the private hideaway of its environmentalist owner — billionaire hedge-funder Louis Bacon — who opted to share his vision of low-impact luxury with the world.

Bacon tapped New York-based architect Tom Scheerer to devise seven oversized airy pavilions on the island, all run by solar power.

There’s no TV, but lots of kayaking, canoeing, diving and — of course — fishing around the resort’s still untouched island neighbors. 

Get over it

Although Panama’s private-island action is mostly centered on its Pacific coast, there is ample reason to make for the crystal-clear waters along the isthmus nation’s Caribbean coastline.

Here, the newest — and swankiest — stay has to be Nayara Bocas del Toro, a game-changing newcomer from the bijoux Costa Rica Nayara brand.

Recently opened with Maldives-style over-water villas that do double-duty as your own spa, the property is a secluded hour-long prop flight from Panama City and a world away from its cosmopolitan hubbub. 

Count your blessings

If Villa Caprichosa feels like an Italian palazzo marooned off the coast of Panama City, that’s because it is. Set on the island of Taboga — about 25 mins by boat from the capital — the property is owned by the elegantly eccentric American Diane Burns who was married to an Italian count for decades before moving to Panama.

Perched just above the island’s tiny port town, the neoclassical villa is set against the lush hillside with prime views of the canal traffic passing day and night.

Each of its six suites is large and airy, decked out in European and Central American textiles and include plenty of outdoor spaces.

The grand Casa La Choza, meanwhile, is a stand-alone idyll large enough for four, while the onsite restaurant, La Vista, lures foodie fans from Panama City with its roster of European and Latin favorites. 

Au naturel