Isla Grande Hotel

If there is paradise on earth, it is here, it is here. These oft-quoted lines, written in another language, for another place, come repeatedly to mind when one merely looks around when on Isla Grande. The name is a misnomer, as it is actually a rather small island in the Caribbean, off the mainland town of Portobelo, which is located an hour and a half from Panama City.

Much of Isla Grande is protected and open only to limited tourism. Hopefully, the restrictions will protect this gorgeous, emerald paradise forever. Covered by virgin tropical rainforest, there are two walking trails, one leading to a lighthouse and the other leading to the other side of the island where you will find a postcard-perfect beach, known as La Punta. The beach is surrounded by coral reefs, which give the water a greenish hue. A little further down the beach, the waters are ideal for snorkeling and scuba diving. With the water perpetually at 28 to 30 degrees, no matter what the weather may be like, a dip in the water is always heavenly. Read the rest of this entry »

By: Chris Walker - Our family went and stayed for 3 days / nights in the Banana’s resort on Isla Grande. Overall we enjoyed our stay. The scenery was beautiful, the staff was very friendly, and the accommodations were excellent. The group was running a pricing “lodging special” for kids to stay free. What was not included was transportation from Panama City, meal costs on the island (except for breakfast), and the water taxi to get to the island. Thankfully, we brought cash with us to cover the water taxi, as that charge was not a piece of information until we were in the van on the way. Trying to secure a reservation was a cumbersome process that involved emails, international phone calls, and international faxes. It was challenging to get it done, and the lack of information that we are used to having (confirmations, confirmation numbers, etc) left us wondering if we really were going. We used their taxi service to get there, as our planned arrangements to get there ourselves fell apart. The driver was nice, prompt, and did his best to avoid the potholes on the road beyond Portobello. Read the rest of this entry »

We spent the weekend out on Isla Grande at the Banana’s Resort. Here’s a quick trip report. (Note: It seems like the link we had for Banana’s in Panama Guide already is broken. I’ll find their new webpage and fix the broken link later…)

For starters, we made our reservation on Saturday morning by calling the office in Panama City. After they had confirmed they had an open room at $119 per night, I informed them I was retired an entitled to the pensionado discount. They dropped the price to $83 per night, and that was honored when we got out to the island. So, good news there. Read the rest of this entry »