Los Santos Province, Panama

Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort

Price per night from$397.10

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD397.10), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort Photos

Style

Fine-flowing yoga escape

Setting

Surf-lapped Los Santos

Explore

More hotels in Los Santos Province More hotels in Panama

Although yogis in the know have been flexing their way to Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort since its 2015 launch, this wellness retreat and its Azuero peninsula setting have managed to retain a discreet, away-from-it-all feel that remains untamed by big-name chains and social-media crowds – a positive that’s only enhanced by the resort’s pared-down interiors and finessed focus on wellness. Anchoring the premise is an inviting thatched-roof yoga shala that’s done out in locally sourced wood and is catnip for all those hoping to slow down and enhance their breathwork – aspirations made easier by a permanent track of birdsong and waves. Though the day requires a tough core for backbends, downward dogs and cobra poses, it’s all counterbalanced by loose and easy evenings during which guests graze on farm-fresh fare and sip on local liquors, all done to a Pacific backdrop. 

Smith Extra

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A bottle of Champagne on arrival

Facilities

Photos Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort facilities

Need to know

Rooms

13, including five suites.

Check–Out

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More details

Rates include breakfast. Punchy dishes, such as the breakfast burrito (scrambled eggs, creole sauce, black beans, avocado, chipotle aioli) inject a sense of joy and vibrancy into healthy eating.

Also

There are three guest rooms with wheelchair access.

Please note

The hotel will be closed for renovation from 1 to 29 June 2025. 

At the hotel

Restaurant, bar, spa, fully equipped yoga shala, surf school, saltwater pool, bicycles, SUP boards, access to beach chairs, laundry service, free WiFi. In rooms: air conditioning, minibar, French press coffee, tea bar, Marshall speakers (in suites), essential-oil diffusers, locally sourced bath products.

Our favourite rooms

As every cabana is a standalone sanctuary, a sense of privacy pervades throughout Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort – Casa Zen, however, with its own kitchen and dining space, saltwater pool, tropical garden and staircase to the beach, is the key we covet most, thanks to its hideaway-within-a-hideaway feel. For those prioritising expansive space in which to stretch, Anahata, Ranchito and Hanuman each sleep up to four. And for a heightened sense of your surroundings (literally), the second-floor, tree house-inspired Cedro Espino has a raised view of the coast.

Poolside

Although it has direct access to the Pacific, Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort is also decked out with a circular outdoor saltwater pool.

Spa

There’s a spa area with an ocean view, and treatments run the wellness gamut from energy-healing to deep-tissue work; if you’ve taken a battering from the waves, try the signature massage, which focuses on your pressure points.

Packing tips

A pair of fitted Derek Rose trunks and some Birkenstock slides should help you avoid the baggy surf shorts and flip-flops cliché.

Also

The Salt Shop Boutique sells locally handcrafted soaps, lotions, essential oils and body care products – take-home goods that will prevent your inner peace from evaporating as soon as you land back at the arrivals terminal.

Pet‐friendly

All pets are welcome, for a daily charge of $45. See more pet-friendly hotels in Los Santos Province.

Children

All yogis and surfers aged 14 or older are welcome (on request, younger guests can stay, at the manager's discretion only).

Sustainability efforts

There’s a holistic approach to sustainability at Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort. Notably, the property was built from locally purchased, sustainable materials; water- and energy-efficient fixtures are fitted throughout; many of the staff are hired from local areas; guests are encouraged to engage with the community (there are opportunities to learn about turtle nesting, for instance), and Panamanian producers are championed in the hotel kitchen.

Food and Drink

Photos Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort food and drink

Top Table

Pull up a chair at one of the group tables – though you might be spending most of your days here seeking solace and inner peace, you may find the lively community feel equally nourishing.

Dress Code

In keeping with the lo-fi, easy-breezy spirit, try a neutral-hued Luca Faloni linen shirt that will keep you cool in the Panamanian heat.

Hotel restaurant

Healthy eating has had a moreish makeover at the Buddha Bar, where the international menu has made waves for showcasing a pitch-perfect mix of discipline and indulgence. When fuelling for a day of surf and repose, try the tongue-in-cheek “om-elette”, made with three eggs, golden sauerkraut and charred tomatoes; lunchtime tacos of grilled local fish and braised adobo chicken have all the qualities worthy of a Oaxacan taqueria; and in the evening, we’re tempted by the grilled steak with vindaloo jus, blue cheese, and rosemary-and-lemon potatoes. 

Hotel bar

The resort bar deals in a form of wellbeing that refuses to trade  pleasure for puritanical cleanses; health-focused elixirs, including juices and house-made kombuchas are staples, but more hedonistic creations – including signature blends such as a cinnamon-and-whiskey High Tide or gin-laced Point Break – are on a cocktail list alongside classics from Bloody Marys to mojitos via margaritas.

Last orders

Breakfast is served 7.30am–10.30am; lunch, 12.30pm–2.30pm; dinner, 7pm–9pm.

Room service

Room service is available during the restaurant’s opening hours, so you can counter the guilt of spending a lazy day in bed with a virtuous smoothie bowl.

Location

Photos Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort location
Address
Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort
Calle Principal
Cambutal
Panama

Set in Cambutal, a remote beach village on the southern coast of Panama, Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort has a serene, end-of-the-road feel thanks to its uncrowded beachfront, mountain-meets-sea setting and access to some of the finest waves in the Pacific.

Planes

Chitré Alonso Valderrama Airport is a two-hour taxi ride away – a round-trip transfer can be arranged with the hotel at extra cost.

Automobiles

For those wanting to hire their own wheels, there’s a private car park at the hotel with free valet parking.

Other

For a Quantum of Solace-worthy arrival, the hotel can arrange a helicopter transfer from Panama City (price on enquiry).

Worth getting out of bed for

The plump beds at Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort are a hedonistic haven for tired travellers – but, beyond the high-thread counts, an early-morning yoga session will help refocus any jet-lagged heads. Retreats are held throughout the year, bringing teachers and meditation maestros from across the globe to this side of paradise, and there are also daily sessions outside the main schedule, including kundalini, which comprises chanting and repetitive movements, and the dynamic ashtanga, experiences made even more serene when looking out to the Pacific. 

However, even though it’s mesmerising to ogle at while in the lotus position, guests are also encouraged to explore the ocean ahead – notably, the in-house surf school, which takes to the waves at Cambutal and neighbouring Guánico, has a comprehensive programme that welcomes all skill levels, meaning even the most nervous of novices won’t be left without a paddle. Beyond the board, local fishermen are on hand to ferry you to the water so you can net some mahi mahi and roosterfish; while away the hours with whale watching; or spend an afternoon casting an eagle eye for eagle rays. Or, you can go all Charlton Heston and take a horseback ride along the beachfront.

Local restaurants

The trump card at Sansara Surf & Yoga resort is its hideaway setting – with Buddha Bar well able to serve up delectable cuisine from breakfast burritos through to meaty evening mains. Outside of the resort, you’ll find a handful of local cafés serving traditional Panamian fare (ask for guidance at reception), but little in the way of nightlife. For caffeinated pitstops, La Casita del Café in Cambutal is a kiosk of a café serving excellent coffee with lounge seating alfresco in its secluded garden. For informal dining at your casita, order takeout pizza from Pizzeria Madera, where the Italian’s love of a wood-fired crust and meltingly good toppings has travelled well.

Reviews

Photos Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this oceanside hotel in Los Santos and unpacked their yoga mats and incense burners, a full account of their wellness retreat will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort in Panama…

A love letter to the passions of founders Janel Phillips (a yoga teacher) and husband Mike (a photographer and surfer), Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort is a postcard-pristine playground for wave chasers and wellness addicts seeking to realign their chakras. It is at nearby Playa Guanico, known for reliable winds and an empty line-up, where surfing lessons take place, and the focal point back at base, which feels more village than resort thanks to a cool clutch of cabanas and social spots, is a showstopping yoga shala in which a bevy of lessons are held, from ashtanga to flow. After a day of fine-tuning the senses, cocooning comes courtesy of 13 oceanside cabanas where the soothingly straightforward combination of Balinese-style fixtures, swathes of cream hues and private terraces is as comforting as a fresh batch of the country’s to-die-for Geisha coffee.

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Price per night from $397.10