Beach
both
Level 4/10

Playa Venao

Los Santos, Panama
🌀Strong rips

Playa Venao is Panama's surf capital—a consistent beach break on the Azuero Peninsula that has grown from sleepy fishing village to the country's most developed surf destination. The wave offers year-round consistency with southwest swells peaking through the rainy season, while the growing infrastructure of surf camps, hostels, and beach bars creates a complete travel experience. The six-hour drive from Panama City is worth it for surfers seeking warm water, uncrowded waves (by Costa Rican standards), and a scene that still maintains its laid-back character. This is Central American surf travel with Panamanian flair.

3-Day Forecast
Today
15
81
Firing
1.6m
@19s
21km/h
Mon
16
98
Epic
1.8m
@17s
11km/h
Tue
17
94
Firing
1.6m
@17s
10km/h
+7
Unlock

Today's Conditions

Groomed
Clean faces from offshore winds
Swell
1.6m
SSW(207°)
Score: 19/25
Period
19s
Long period groundswell
Score: 20/25
Wind
21km/h
N(7°)
Score: 19/25
Weather
29°C
0.0mm31%
Windswell Component
0.3mNE@2s
Secondary Swell
0.2mENE
Forecast Confidence
100%
Sources: open-meteo-marine, open-meteo-weather
Best Session
afternoon

Location & Conditions

Loading map...
0°45°90°135°180°225°270°315°NESW
Swell
Wind
View in OpenStreetMap
Showing forecast for today

Tide Times

6:42 am
Low tide - -0.65m
1:09 pm
High tide - 1.05m
7:10 pm
Low tide - -0.48m
Times shown in spot-local time.

Strike Score Breakdown

81
Firing
Components
Swell Direction17/25
Swell Size19/25
Swell Period20/25
Wind19/25
Raw Score75/100
Adjustments
Wind History+6
Adjusted Score81/100
Confidence
Multiplier×1.00
Final Score81
✨ Groomed

Spot Details

Swell Requirements

Optimal direction
SSW (195°)
Direction range
170° - 230°
Size range
0.6m - 2.5m
Ideal size
1.9m
Height multiplier
0.97×
Ideal period
14s+

Wind Requirements

Optimal direction
NNE (30°)
Offshore range
350° - 80°
Best window
morning

Tide Requirements

Optimal tide
all
Optimal range
0.3m - 1.6m

Water temp

28°C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts / Rashguard

Difficulty

4/10

Crowd level

5/10

Access: 6hr drive from Panama City. Growing beach town.

Best Season

Peak: Apr-Nov

Secondary: Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar

Year-round waves. SW swells peak May-November.

Getting There

Airport
PTY
Drive time
360 min
Data quality
verified

Strike Log

Community Discussion