Location: Santiago de Veraguas
Top Things to do in Santiago de Veraguas
Countries
10 Things to Do in Santiago de Veraguas That You Shouldn't Miss
Santiago de Veraguas (Spanish pronunciation: [sanˈtja.ɣo ðe βeˈɾa.ɣwas]) is the capital of the province of Veraguas, in the Republic of Panama, and the district or municipality of the same name. Located in the countryside on the banks of the Pan American Highway. Bounded on the north by San Francisco District, south with the District of Montijo, east District of Atalaya and west by the District of La Mesa.
Restaurants in Santiago de Veraguas
1. Amazilia House
Overall Ratings
5 based on 19 reviews
AMAZILIA started as a small goat milk soap company and has evolved throughout the years. Today, our first store front, is both a store, café and cultural space with soap workshop in the back. Our Mission is to support Panamaian craftspeople and introduce in one place the best Panama has to offer. Come and discover our goat milk soaps all from milk provided by our small but growing herd of goats. Also available at the store is a beautiful assortment of Panamanian artisan goods such as handwoven baskets, clay dishware, gourmet smoked hot sauces, crafted notebooks, local honeys and candles. We carry almost 20 types of teas from all around the world, to be enjoyed on site or purchased to bring back home. We also carry a selection of specialty coffee from the Highlands of Panama, served in the French Press method. Healthy smoothies, superfood and local ingredients are all part of our ever changing menu.
2. Dive Base Coiba - Day Adventures
Overall Ratings
5 based on 24 reviews
Dive Base Coiba. Pixvae, Veraguas, Republic of Panama. Totally off the beaten track and off the tourism "radar screen" the Coiba National Park on our doorstep and great local diving. We offer a full range of Dive Tours to the Coiba National Park. Our location in Pixvae, gives us access to a much wider range of the regions best dive sites, We offer a ful range of dive courses through PADI and Technical Diving International. Our packages can include, diving, accomodations and food. We also offer a range of terrestrial activities and adventures on Coiba and around Pixvae.
Reviewed By coley_11 - Farallon, Panama
Diving with Kevan Mantell is a truly amazing experience. Diving with Kevan Mantell is a truly amazing experience. If you experience some of the most remote, beautiful and ecologically diverse diving in Central America with an extraordinary dive guide, Kevan and Dive Base Coiba can’t be beat.
If you experience some of the most remote, beautiful and ecologically diverse diving in Central America with an extraordinary dive guide, Kevan and Dive Base Coiba can’t be beat.
Pixvae is a very remote part of Panama in the Veraguas Province, about 2 hours by dirt road from the town of Sona. A 4WD vehicle is definitely needed to access the town but the views and drive are exceptionally beautiful - over mountain passes, through rain forest, cloud Forests, rivers, etc.
The town of Pixvae is an artisanal fishing village with about 400 residents. If you want to see real Panama, Pixvae is the place to go. The town usually has electricity in the evenings from 6:30-10:30 pm. There is no Internet service, no cell signal, one phone booth, one bar, one restaurant (if the cook feels like cooking that night), and a hostel. Kevan will arrange all of your accommodations prior to arrival. We stayed at a great little hostel where Suhaley, Silveria and Luz cooked outstanding meals for us each day. The meals were simple and local (rice, plantains, eggs, beef, fresh passion fruit, pineapple, etc.) but delicious. Accommodations are simple and rustic, but comfortable. Basic rooms.
As far as the diving... Wow! It's amazing. With Kevan, you're not just diving with a divemaster who is certified in probably dozens of different dive qualifications and has close to 1000 technical dives under his belt, you're diving with a real life, modern day Jacques Cousteau. The dude is way more than an extremely qualified divemaster... He has led research expeditions for the BBC, National Geographic, the European Space Agency, Smithsonian, etc. He's an honest to goodness research scientist, marine biologist, climatologist and dive professional all rolled into one. He has tagged sharks and even whales with tracking beacons, studied erosion's effects on the coral ecosystem and worked tirelessly and successfully to get Coiba designated as a UN World Heritage site. He's led expeditions of scientists to track migration patterns of local fish populations by satellite, studied the effects of El Nino, and worked with the Smithsonian on deep submarine exploration of the Coiba area.
His knowledge of the Coiba island chain, its marine life, and its importance to Panama's ecosystem, as well as how it all fits into the larger Latin American island ecosystem from Isla Cocos to the Galapagos is unpdrecedented.
The diving itself was first rate... Huge schools of tuna, white tipped reef sharks, manta rays, sting rays, eels, starfish, every colorful fish you could imagine. Kevan even pointed out to us an extremely rare type of shrimp that eats an invasive species of starfish. The shrimp are a vitally important part of the ecosystem as they keep a starfish population that damages the coral under control.
Kevan's demeanor is also first rate: He's safety conscious, keeps a well stocked first aid kit, on-call staff manning radios and emergency oxygen on board at all times. He did several safety checks with us before the dive, explained all of the procedures, checked in with us throughout the dive and made us all feel safe and secure.
Lastly, he cares deeply for the land, the sea and the local fishing villages in the area. He's worked tirelessly to create sustainable systems for the local populations, lobbied government and international NGO's for sustainable development projects, and dealt (cheerfully and indefatigably) with bureaucratic red tape to make the area a world class environmental destination.
Bottom line: If you ever have the chance to meet Kevan and spend a weekend diving with him, it will leave an indelible impression on you... An amazing person in an amazing and astoundingly beautiful part of Panama.
3. Playa Santa Catalina
Overall Ratings
4 based on 30 reviews
4. Iglesia de San Francisco de la Montana
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 20 reviews
Reviewed By John D - Orlando, Florida
I love old buildings - especially churches. This one is off the beaten path, luckily shown to us by locals that we met. Built in 1630, it is one of the oldest churches in Central America. The outside is mostly unremarkable, but the inside has excellent woodwork and carvings. If you come here, have lunch at nearby El Mirador. Beautiful scenic place for drinks, food, and chat.
5. Reserva La yeguada
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9 reviews
Reviewed By HotelHibiscusGarden - Lagartero
This not very famous lake is located only 1.30 hours from Santiago de Veraguas and invites for nice swims in the lake or the nearby river. We stayed at the camp ground and they let us light a bonfire. The kids and we loved it a lot!
Overall Ratings
4 based on 13 reviews
7. Torio Beach
Overall Ratings
4 based on 12 reviews
Reviewed By Stacie71 - Arlington, Virginia
We passed through Torio beach while we were exploring the coast and discovered Restaurant Thelma. The menu options were limited to shrimp, chicken or fish. Members of our party enjoyed all of these and reported that the food was first rate. I had the fried whole red snapper and it was the meatiest, most delicious fish I have ever eaten. We didn't check out the beach at Torio, but went further down to Playa Morillo. Playa Morillo is beautiful but when the tide is coming in has very strong rip currents. Our young kids had the times of their lives, but we were terrified and had to keep catching them so they wouldn't float back into the ocean. By the time we left, we were all covered in dark sand. We did stop by to check out Torio beach on the way back, but by then it was high tide and the water was coming up all the way to the road and covered the entire beach. We will check out Torio again next time we are in Panama.
8. Supermercado
Overall Ratings
5 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By Victor H
the staff at this supermarket was very helpfull. they could not speak a work of english but they tried their best. we go all what we needed for our tour today
9. Santiago Mall
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 7 reviews
Reviewed By rmvollmer - London, Canada
This would be a really great mall if they can fill up all of the stores. A grocery store and hardware store would really help a lot. Moving the Do It Center and Machetazo or El Rey in would help attract more people.
10. montijo's bay
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 4 reviews
Reviewed By G3ek_314
Puerto Mutis is a picturesque village of fishers and merchants that serves as the gateway to the Gulf of Montijo. We went there to eat fresh seafood (pretty obvious)... Our lunch was probably one of the worst we have had so far. We ordered prawns and a mixed of seafood with patacones.
TAGS
