Around 18 years ago, a contact took me down a bone-shaking road to a stretch of coast I’d never seen before. At the end of it, I found a pristine beach opening onto the sparkling Pacific, with Panama City shimmering in the distance.
I knew instantly this was something special—the closest, nicest beach to a true world city.
Back then, it was untouched. But the developer, Alfredo Aleman, had a vision to turn it into Panama’s premier beachfront community.
Today, that vision is coming to life. Playa Caracol is now a fully formed beach town—paved roads, modern infrastructure, beach clubs, restaurants, a Radisson hotel, gyms, spas, and 700 homes and condos, all just steps from the ocean.
True beachfront living like this is rare anywhere in the world. To have it within easy reach of a world-class capital like Panama City? That’s almost unheard of.
That’s why I’m so excited by the new off-market deal that I’m about to bring to members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group in Caracol. It’s a chance to own ocean-view condos, steps from the sand, for under $300,000! I expect gains of $181,100 five years after delivery.
Today at 1 p.m. ET, I’ll send RETA members my full briefing on this exclusive new opportunity. RETA members, stay tuned to your alerts.
First, I’d like to introduce you to David…
David Hinton is part of the RETA concierge team. He lives in Panama and for an entire year he lived right on the beach in Playa Caracol, that was back before he joined RETA.
When he heard we had the incredible upcoming RETA deal David said he was happy to share his own experiences of life on the beach with you…
So over to David…
Wishing you good real estate investing,
***
What It’s Really Like to Live Steps from the Beach
By David Hinton
Less than a minute…
That’s how long it’d take me to get from my condo in Playa Caracol to the ocean.
Whenever the mood took me, within 30 to 60 seconds, I could be floating in the warm waters of the Pacific, looking back at the glistening beach…my fellow residents playing volleyball, swaying in hammocks, or lounging in deck chairs on the soft, pristine sand.
It’s an almost surreal experience living right on the beach like this…a literal paradise right outside your door. Your days are filled with sun and sand. The ocean is a constant presence. You fall asleep to the sound of lapping waves and awake to them every morning.
It’s like being inside a postcard. Stress melts away.
When you live in Caracol, the beach will be part of your daily life. Every time you step outside you smell the salt air and hear the waves.
When I was back in the States, I dreamed of this lifestyle—a modern home with the beach on my doorstep. But honestly, I don’t think I ever really believed it would happen.
During the heady days of my career, I lived all over America, born and raised in Queens, New York I then moved on to Phoenix and Los Angeles, before working in account management roles in Atlanta for three decades.
I’d seen what true beachfront costs. Millions of dollars.
It seemed unattainable for a middle-class guy like me…someone who’d raised four kids and now has five grandkids.
Truth is, I’d probably still be in the States if it wasn’t for COVID. But when the pandemic struck, it pushed my wife and me to follow our dream. We started looking for a place where we could live by the ocean. It didn’t take us long to decide on a move to tropical Panama.
For two years we lived in the coastal retirement community of Coronado. It was warm and beautiful, with a nice black and white sand beach. Then we heard talk of a master-planned gated community on the most stunning stretch of white-sand beach, located 30 minutes away from Coronado. A bold project by a visionary developer.
We had to check it out…
This was Playa Caracol. And it was everything we’d dreamed of. Modern resort-style communities right up on the beach. Next-level amenities like basketball courts and swimming pools and pickleball courts, all seconds from the ocean. After a few visits, we were determined to move there.
Here’s David relaxing in the pool at Playa Caracol, where life demands to be enjoyed.
We looked at buying, but somehow lucked into the most incredible rental arrangement. We got the chance to rent a two-bed, two-bath patio condo for $1,100 per month. I still don’t know how we got this price. I’ve seen similar condos listed in the $1,500 to $1,800 per month range. Sometimes even more.
The condos here are exceptionally well built and well-appointed, with excellent finishings and all mod-cons like big TVs and top-of-the-line air conditioning. Our spacious, covered patio became a favorite hangout spot for friends.
Moving to Playa Caracol was transformational…in unexpected ways. When you live on a beach as striking as this, it has an unerring attraction. You can’t help but build your days around it. Time must be carved out for laying in a hammock…for laying by the pool, cocktail in hand…for strolling barefoot on the sand…
The environment simply demands it. And then there’s all the community activities and nearby attractions.
In Playa Caracol, your days become busy—not with things you have to do, but things you want to do. This is the way life is supposed to be lived.
I’d often start my day on the pickleball courts, sometimes as early as 6 a.m.—a daily dose of exercise amid the warm Pacific breeze. Then, after completing my calls and emails to RETA members as part of my role as a RETA concierge, my wife and I would relax on our patio, before going for a dip in the pool…located just 30 seconds from our door.
In the afternoons, my wife would head to the beach to walk the sands and swim in the ocean. My routine was to take a ride on my e-bike along the community’s excellent private roads.
Sometimes I’d take the 30- to 40-minute bike ride up to Punta Chame—a charming little beach community with restaurants and bars located on a stunning peninsula northeast of Playa Caracol where you can also go kite surfing. Or if I was feeling a tad lazy, I might head to Vento—the outstanding beach club within Playa Caracol, just a five-minute walk from my door.
Vento is an excellent place to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner as well as play pool, foosball or even ping pong. I must say that I think they serve the best pizza in Panama (which has gone some way to negating the health benefits of my frequent bike rides and pickleball games).
Vento Beach Club at Caracol is buzzing. You can relax with food and drinks just steps from the ocean.
This community is developing so fast… It feels like every month, something new opens. Or new plans are unveiled. Or new infrastructure is developed.
If you’d explained Playa Caracol to me a few years ago, I’m not sure I would have believed all this was possible. Frankly, for most developers, it wouldn’t have been. But Alfredo Aleman is no ordinary developer… He’s one of the best in the entire region. Someone who’s built two ultra-luxe manmade islands off the center of downtown Panama City.
Now, Alfredo’s shaping Playa Caracol into a major, internationally recognized beach community.
Alfredo is remarkably friendly and approachable. When he visits Playa Caracol, he often takes time to talk to residents. I’ve had conversations with him about things like the orientation and covering for the pickleball courts…and I could tell he was really listening. He’s got an uncommon ability to consider both the big vision and the small details.
My wife living the life at Caracol!
Talk among residents is that Playa Caracol is going to be Panama’s Playa del Carmen.
That’s a reference to the destination in Caribbean Mexico that went from fishing village to thriving beach city in record time. I would have said that’s impossible…until I lived here. Now I can see it.
Of course, that’s still some years away. But I’ve watched the trajectory of this community. I’m a believer.
I’ve tried to describe what it’s like to live on a true beachfront to friends and family back home. I worry they think I’m embellishing.
After all, life in Playa Caracol sounds impossibly idyllic…
Days filled with dips in the pool and swims in the ocean…strolls on the sand and naps in the hammock…games of pickleball, paddleball, basketball, or volleyball followed by those occasional barbecue competitions that the community organizes with live music, the kind that turn into all-night parties…
A true beachfront lifestyle, just an hour or so from the thriving metropolis of Panama City. And it doesn’t cost millions.
Ronan says: Thanks David. You can write about a beach community. You can show photographs. But nothing makes the case like someone who actually lived there — cooked dinner, rode his e-bike, played pickleball at dawn, and watched it all grow around him.
Playa Caracol is real. It is lived-in. And it is now entering its next phase — international hotel brands, expanding infrastructure, and a growing reputation as Panama City’s nearest fine beach.
As that city rises, the beach that serves it becomes more valuable. And there’s still a chance to be ahead of the curve.
Later today, I’ll share my full deal briefing on the exclusive new RETA deal in Caracol. It’s a chance to own ocean-view condos, steps from the sand, for under $300,000!I expect gains of $181,100 five years after delivery.
If you’re a RETA member, watch your inbox. The briefing drops at 1 p.m. ET.
