Islas Secas

Across a cluster of private islands in the Gulf of Chiriquí off Panama’s Pacific coast, Islas Secas is accessible only by seaplane or private boat and occupies a position within a voluntary marine protected zone whose coral reefs, whale breeding grounds, and seabird nesting islands have been managed as a conservation area since the 1990s. The 14 solar-powered casitas are distributed across the 900-acre island group, with each casita positioned for ocean views and privacy within the coconut palm and secondary forest landscape that covers the majority of the islands’ surface. The Gulf of Chiriquí’s position at the meeting of cold Pacific upwellings and warm tropical shallows produces a marine environment of exceptional productivity, supporting humpback whales, hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, and one of the Pacific’s most intact coral reef systems.

Activities at Islas Secas are defined by the marine environment: diving and snorkelling on the healthy reefs, kayaking between the island group’s channels, fly fishing for roosterfish and snook in the shallows, and the humpback whale-watching programme that runs from June through November when the whales breed in these waters. The island’s chefs draw on the Gulf’s seafood — the daily fish catch and the local lobster and crab — alongside organic produce flown in from Panama’s highlands for meals served in the open-air dining pavilion with direct ocean views. The island has no connection to the mainland electrical or water infrastructure.

Islas Secas’s conservation governance, which includes the voluntary marine protected zone, the seabird nesting island protections, and the operational commitment to solar power and water conservation, reflects an understanding that the marine and natural environment is not simply the backdrop to the guest experience but its essential subject — and that protecting the islands’ ecology is both an ethical obligation and a practical precondition for the quality of the experience the property offers.