Bijao Santa Clara: the most honest day pass on Panama’s Pacific coast

Last verified: August 21, 2026.

For US$ 70 you walk into an all-inclusive resort Monday through Friday, eat and drink as much as you want from 10am to 6pm, and leave without paying for a room — on one of the few light-sand beaches on Panama’s Pacific coast. Where the catch is, and what a night there actually costs.

Standard disclosure: Base Panamá takes no commission from any hotel, or from the deal sites named here. If the beach were bad, we would say so.

First, sort out the name confusion

The place has flown three flags. It was the Sheraton Bijao, then Bijao Beach Club & Golf Resort, and today it is Gran Evenia Bijao, run by the Spanish group Evenia. Search “Sheraton Bijao” and you will still land on live pages under the old names — and end up buying from a reseller thinking it is the official site.

Add to that Bijao Beach Club & Residences, the residential condo next door — different property, different gate. That is where most people get lost hunting for a booking or an apartment.

The day pass, line by line

Straight from Evenia’s official site:

Two caveats. The official site does not state whether ITBMS (Panama’s sales tax) is included — we could not confirm it, so ask when you buy. And reseller Blue Skies Panamá sells the same pass “from US$ 77”: an intermediary markup — buy from the official site.

To understand what US$ 70 all-inclusive really buys: the group’s sister property in the city, Gran Evenia Panama, charges US$ 50 for its day pass (children 6 to 11, US$ 25), but that covers only one snack and one soda, no towel. Twenty dollars more buys a full day of unlimited food and drink, plus a beach.

The beach: why Santa Clara is different

Santa Clara is one of the closest white-sand beaches to Panama City, which is unusual on Panama’s Pacific side, where dark sand dominates. Fine, pale sand, several kilometres of it, and moderate waves suitable for swimming — three things that rarely show up together on this coast.

In practice it runs continuously into Playa Blanca and Playa Farallón — one strip carved up by commercial names. Travel guides call Santa Clara and Farallón the prettiest beaches on this stretch of the Pacific.

One detail that matters if you live here: you do not need the resort to use the beach. Santa Clara has its own beachfront infrastructure — restaurants, chair and umbrella rental, and rustic cabanas from US$ 10 a day. If all you want is a day in the sea with the family, that is a different budget.

What a night actually costs

Every figure below is per room, for a couple, one night, all-inclusive — never per person. Quotes pulled live from Expedia’s engine on August 20, 2026, always the cheapest rate on that date:

At this hotel the 10% lodging tax is shown separately. The planning ranges:

• Low season (May–Nov): US$ 210 to 235 a night. September tends to be the cheapest month in the country.
• High season (mid-December to mid-April, peaking in February): US$ 245 to 320.
• Midweek promo: US$ 140 to 165. That is the real floor of the market, and it comes from the local deal site — below.

Against the neighbours in low season: Dreams Playa Bonita asks US$ 260–330 all-inclusive, the Westin Playa Bonita US$ 200–270 room only (optional all-inclusive, charged per person), and Buenaventura US$ 245–290 room only. Bijao is the cheapest all-inclusive of the group.

One currency warning: listings quote “from PAB 180”. The balboa is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, so PAB 180 is US$ 180 — but that figure comes from an affiliate landing page, not a booking engine. The order of magnitude is right; the source is not.

How residents actually buy: the local deal site

The big resorts on Panama’s Pacific coast sell packages through OfertaSimple — the local deal site, a Groupon only locals read — at prices well below what Expedia and Booking quote. No international booking engine shows that channel.

Bijao is on it. When we checked on August 21, 2026, the live OfertaSimple deal was US$ 161 for one night, all-inclusive, for two people, in a Deluxe Garden View room, Sunday through Thursday, subject to availability — with 160 units sold and closing in three days. Against the US$ 211 to 234 the international engine quotes in the same low season, that is a wide gap.

And it is not unique to Bijao: the Westin and Dreams Playa Bonita sell on the same channel, which makes it easier to compare all three at local-market prices.

The rules of the game, which apply to every hotel on these sites:

1. Always an entry-level room. Green View, Garden View, Resort View. Ocean view is never included.
2. Always Sunday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday are excluded — that is when the local market fills the resorts.
3. Limited window, limited quantity. Deals come and go, and the next round may carry a different price.
4. A coupon is not a booking. Everything is subject to availability: confirm with the hotel before you book flights or take the days off.
5. Check what is included. Packages range from “breakfast only” to “all-inclusive with open bar”. Bijao’s is all-inclusive; other hotels’ often are not.

Treat the figures above as a snapshot of August 21, 2026.

How long the drive really takes

The sources disagree. Real estate agencies say “65 minutes from Panama City”; another listing says an hour and a half; tourism guides say two hours — and property ads have every incentive to shorten distances. Plan for 1h30 to 2h, traffic depending. From Panamá Pacífico, estimate 1h20 to 1h40.

The part nobody tells you

1. The day pass does not exist on weekends. Saturday and Sunday it simply does not operate, not even at a higher price. Families who plan the outing for a Saturday find out too late. The upside, which the hotel leans on: weekdays are far less crowded.

2. “White sand” is a relative term. Santa Clara is pale by Panamanian Pacific standards. It is not the Caribbean: arrive expecting powder and you will find light beige — and you will still enjoy it, as long as nobody sold you something else.

3. Pacific tides still rule. The tidal range here is enormous and the beach grows and shrinks dramatically over a day. Planning around the tide table is the difference between a great beach day and a mudflat.

4. Saturdays are booked directly with the hotel. We tested four Saturdays (Oct 10 2026, Nov 14 2026, Jan 16 2027 and Feb 13 2027) and Bijao did not appear on Expedia on any of them, while Decameron and Playa Blanca stayed listed — a sign Saturdays sell out earlier and through other channels, driven by the local market. If your plan hinges on a Saturday, call the hotel directly, and early.

5. Buying in Bijao: the listings mix wildly different products. Entry level starts at US$ 86,000 (roughly 70 properties listed), apartments from US$ 119,000, units at US$ 244,000, and Bijao Golf Club apartments with sea or course views at US$ 290,000. Nobody buys beachfront for US$ 86,000: one is a small unit in an interior block, the other is a view.

6. Watch the province when you search for property. There is a Santa Clara in Coclé — the resort’s, in the Antón/Río Hato district — and a Santa Clara in Panamá Oeste. Listings appear under both, and you can end up viewing a lot an hour from where you thought.

Honest verdict

Well worth it if you live in Panama and have midweek flexibility. US$ 70 per adult — US$ 45 per child aged 6 to 11 — with unlimited food and drink, pools, a water slide and a pale-sand beach is the best day-pass value along this coast, and it costs less than splitting a hotel night. It also works for anyone scouting the area before thinking about buying: one day there answers more questions than ten property listings.

Not worth it if your only free day is Saturday or Sunday — the product simply does not exist then. Nor if you are expecting the Caribbean: the sand is pale by local standards, and the tide will shape your day. If what you want is diving and real open water, the address is elsewhere — Santa Catalina is a different league. To see how any of this fits the budget of someone living here, Panama in numbers helps.