Panama
Lost a ring or phone in Panama?
Bocas del Toro, the San Blas islands, Isla Grande, Contadora and Santa Catalina.
A day on the Panama islands can take in a water taxi, two beaches and a snorkel stop, and a search depends on which of those you can tie the loss to. Sand at Starfish Beach or on Contadora can be gone over again, while the middle of a crossing leaves very little to go on.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in Panama. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the island, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
In Bocas del Toro most tours and boats leave from Bocas Town, so tell us which boat you took and where it dropped you.
Two oceans, three island groups
On the Caribbean side, the Bocas del Toro islands mix surf beaches, reefs and mangroves, and Gunayala, also called San Blas, is an archipelago of hundreds of islands, many of them small and uninhabited. Isla Grande, in the Portobelo district, has soft white sand with coral reefs around it.
On the Pacific side, the Pearl Islands are a group of islands and islets, mostly in a natural state, reached from Panama City by ferry or small plane. Santa Catalina, on the Veraguas coast, is a surf town with powerful waves at its point and smaller ones over sand at Playa Estero.
Once your message reaches us
From first message to final report, one person
The person who reads your first message also arranges the search and tells you how it went.
The detectorist arrives already briefed
Your pin, photos and description reach the detectorist before the boat ride or the drive, so the search begins where you were.
Sand, shallows or the crossing
We tell you early whether your case looks like sand that can be gone over again, or water that gives little to work with.
Tell us the boats as well as the beaches
In Panama the water taxis and sailboats are part of the day. Name them, with rough times, as well as the beach.
Told the costs, then asked
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and you choose whether to go ahead.
Panama's islands and beaches, Caribbean and Pacific
Each card is a beach or island visitors reach by boat, road or plane, with what the ground and water are like there.
From Bocas del Toro to the Pearl Islands
Bocas Town and Isla Colón
Bocas Town, on Isla Colón, is the center of the archipelago, and most tours, boats and public transport to the other islands leave from here. It has the most hotels, restaurants and bars, waterfront ones included, and a lively nightlife. Say which dock you left from and where you went in the evening.
Boca del Drago, Starfish Beach and Bluff
Boca del Drago has gentle waves for kayaking and first tries at surfing, and a trail leads from it to Starfish Beach (Playa Estrella), known for its many starfish, with wooden walkways through the mangroves. Playa Bluff is a huge stretch of golden sand facing big waves, a place for experienced surfers.
Isla Carenero
Carenero sits just across from Bocas Town, close enough to reach by paddleboard or kayak, and has no streets or cars. Some of its beaches have gentle waves for swimming and others have surf: Carenero Point and Black Rock break over coral, while Old Mans has a sandy bottom. Its beachfront bars keep going until dawn.
Red Frog and Wizard Beach, Bastimentos
Red Frog Beach lies in Bastimentos Island National Marine Park, where beaches, mangroves, coral reefs and forest meet. A short trail climbs from the beach through forest where you may see the colorful frogs it is named for, and Wizard Beach is a surf beach. Boats to the park leave from Isla Colón.
San Blas (Guna Yala) Islands
Gunayala, also known as San Blas, is an archipelago on the Caribbean coast with hundreds of islands, many of them small and uninhabited, with white sand, turquoise water and snorkeling. Visitors drive by four-wheel drive from Panama City to Carti, the main port, then take a small boat to their island; others sail between several islands a day and sleep on board.
Isla Grande, Colón
Isla Grande, in the Portobelo district, is a small island with no roads or cars, soft white sand beaches and coral reefs around it for diving and snorkeling. Jet skis and banana boats run off the beaches, and local boatmen take visitors out to Isla Mamey to snorkel.
Contadora
Contadora is the main island of the Pearl Islands, a small island with more than 10 beaches, each with its own character. Playa Larga, Playa Sueca and Playa Cacique are among them, used for surfing, windsurfing and snorkeling. People arrive by ferry from the Amador Causeway in Panama City or by small plane to the island's airstrip.
Saboga, San José and the quieter Pearl Islands
Saboga, Bolaños and San José have hotels set in nature, and San José has golden, white and black sand. Chapera and Bartolome are deserted islands visited on tours, with white sand, turquoise water and forest shading the beaches.
Santa Catalina
Santa Catalina, on the Pacific coast of Veraguas, is a town for diving, fishing and surfing, and tours to Coiba National Park leave from its beach. Punta Santa Catalina has powerful tubing waves, Punta Brava suits experienced surfers, and Playa Estero has smaller waves, a sandy bottom and surf schools for beginners.
Places we cover in Panama
- Bocas del Toro islands
- Bocas Town, Isla Colón
- Boca del Drago
- Starfish Beach (Playa Estrella)
- Playa Bluff
- Isla Carenero
- Red Frog Beach, Bastimentos
- Wizard Beach, Bastimentos
- San Blas (Guna Yala) Islands
- Carti
- Isla Grande, Colón
- Isla Mamey
- Pearl Islands (Contadora)
- Playa Larga, Playa Sueca and Playa Cacique, Contadora
- Saboga
- San José Island
- Chapera and Bartolome
- Santa Catalina
- Playa Estero, Santa Catalina
Lost between boats and beaches in Panama
Rings and other jewelry
- Engagement rings and wedding bands
- Gold chains
- Earrings
- Bracelets
Carried to the beach and the boat
- Phones
- Room and rental keys
- Dive watches and smartwatches
- An Oura ring
- Metal sunglasses
Moments that cost people things here
- Climbing into a water taxi in Bocas Town
- Surfing Carenero Point
- The trail from Boca del Drago to Starfish Beach
- Island hopping on a San Blas sailboat
- A banana boat ride off Isla Grande
- Windsurfing off Contadora
- A surf lesson at Playa Estero
The path from first message to search day
Everything below happens over WhatsApp, from wherever you are.
What, where and which boat
Message us on WhatsApp with the item, the island or beach, the boats you took, and when you last had it.
Where, on a map
Put a pin on the map where you last remember having it, then send photos of that place and of the item.
A detectorist for that island
We find a metal detectorist who can get to that island or beach and send them everything you gave us.
The go-ahead and the report
When you say yes, a date is fixed. After the search you hear what ground was covered and what was found, if anything.
Questions about Panama
My ring may have come off as I stepped out of the water taxi at Red Frog Beach.
Whether it went on the sand or in the water beside the boat changes the search, so say where the boat dropped you, how deep the water was as you stepped out, and whether you walked straight up the beach. Boats to Red Frog come from Isla Colón, so the time you left helps too.
After a night at the bars on Carenero, the phone was gone.
Carenero's beachfront bars run late, and the island has no streets or cars, so your route on foot is what we need: where you landed, which bars you went to, and the path back to the water taxi.
A watch came off somewhere on the way to Starfish Beach on Isla Colón.
Starfish Beach is reached along a trail from Boca del Drago, with wooden walkways through the mangroves. Tell us whether it went on the trail, on the sand or in the water, and pin the last place you are sure you had it.
I lost my wedding band on a sailboat trip around the San Blas islands.
Name the islands you stopped at, in order, and say whether you swam, snorkeled or stayed on the sand at each one. A band lost on an island beach can be looked for; one that went over the side between islands is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
An earring dropped on one of Contadora's beaches, but I'm not sure which.
Contadora has more than 10 beaches, so start from the ones you are sure of: Playa Larga, Playa Sueca, Playa Cacique or another. Photos from the day often settle it, since each beach looks different.
A bracelet slipped off during a banana boat ride at Isla Grande.
Tell us where the ride started and ended, and whether you fell in. If it happened close to the beach, the sand and the shallows can be worked, so a pin where you came back ashore is the most useful thing you can send.
Surfing at Playa Estero in Santa Catalina cost me my Oura ring.
Playa Estero has smaller waves and a sandy bottom. Tell us where you paddled out and where you came in, how long you surfed, and when you last felt the ring on your finger.
Panama
Tell us the island, the beach and the boat
Send us a WhatsApp with what you lost, the island and beach, and a map pin where you last had it.