Islas Secas
Fourteen islands in the Panamanian Pacific, with guests on one of them and seven casitas in all.
Islas Secas is an archipelago of fourteen islands in the Gulf of Chiriquí off Panama's Pacific coast, reached by charter flight from Panama City and then boat. Guests occupy one island; the other thirteen are left alone and visited by boat. The water here is Pacific rather than Caribbean — colder, richer, with humpback whales in season and Coiba National Park nearby, one of the largest marine protected areas in the eastern Pacific.
Seven casitas hold a maximum of eighteen guests across the whole archipelago. The property runs on solar with battery storage, treats its own water and waste, and channels a share of revenue into a conservation foundation working on the surrounding reefs and forest. It can be taken whole, which at eighteen guests is a realistic proposition rather than a theoretical one.
Fourteen islands, seven casitas. The ratio is the point. Guests are dropped on empty islands for the day and collected, and the archipelago functions as a private cruising ground.
Pacific, not Caribbean. Whales, cooler water and far greater marine biomass than the Caribbean side of the same country, and almost no other hospitality within reach.
Who it is not for
Islas Secas is wrong for guests expecting warm, glassy Caribbean water — the Pacific here is cooler and often green. It is wrong for travellers who want a resort's range at seven casitas. And it is wrong for anyone unwilling to fly by charter and then take a boat. Those wanting the Caribbean side of Panama should look at Isla Palenque or Nayara Bocas del Toro.
Sources
- islassecas.com — fourteen islands, seven casitas, up to eighteen guests, solar powered
- Casita count, guest maximum and foundation remit unverified. Confirm before publication.
Booking
Private Island Resorts arranges each stay on request, quoting the rates available for the island and dates. No benefit should be assumed unless it is confirmed in writing for the individual reservation.
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