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Paunch Reef in Bocas del Torro is an exposed reef break that has fairly consistent surf Offshore winds blow from the west. Windswells are much more typical than groudswells and the ideal wave angle is from the northeast. Both left (best) and right reef breaks.. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Relatively few surfers here, even on good days. Beware of urchins,rocks,etc.

Secret spot? We can hide it!

Overall Paunch Reef Surf Consistency and Wind Distribution

IMPORTANT: Beta version feature! Swell heights are open water values from NWW3. There is no attempt to model near-shore effects. Coastal wave heights will generally be less, especially if the break does not have unobstructed exposure to the open ocean.

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This chart illustrates the variation of swells directed at Paunch Reef over a normal ye... (show all text)

This image describes how frequently and how strongly the wind blows from different dire... (show all text)

Also see Paunch Reef surf quality by season and Paunch Reef surf quality by month.

Select Paunch Reef Location Map Detail:

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Use this relief map to navigate to Panama - Bocas del Torro surf breaks and tide stations that are in the area of Paunch Reef

Other Nearby Surf Breaks closest to Paunch Reef:   (click location name for more details)
Closest break	Dumpers	1 mi
Second closest break	Careneros Point Break	2 mi
Third closest break	Bluff	2 mi
Fourth closest break	Silverbacks	2 mi
Fifth closest break	First Beach (Wizard Beach)	11 mi
Wave buoys nearest to Paunch Reef:
Closest wave buoy	Western Caribbean Buoy	515 mi
Second closest wave buoy	Yucatan Basin Buoy	746 mi
Third closest wave buoy	East Gulf Buoy	1163 mi
Fourth closest wave buoy	Bay of Campeche Buoy	1172 mi
Fifth closest wave buoy	Mid Gulf Buoy	1237 mi
Tide stations nearest to Paunch Reef:
Closest tide station	Bocas del Toro, Almirante Bay, Panama	2 mi
Second closest tide station	Limon, Costa Rica	69 mi
Third closest tide station	San Juan del Norte (Greytown), Nicaragua	146 mi
Fourth closest tide station	Cristóbal, Panama	160 mi
Fifth closest tide station	Puntarenas, Costa Rica	181 mi
Ski Resorts closest to Paunch Reef:
Closest ski area	Huascaran (Peru)	1318 mi
Second closest ski area	Sky Valley (United States)	1773 mi
Third closest ski area	Scaly Mountain (United States)	1776 mi
Fourth closest ski area	Cataloochee (United States)	1811 mi
Fifth closest ski area	Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort (United States)	1822 mi
Town and city forecasts close to Paunch Reef:
Closest city location	Bocas del Toro (Panama)	3 mi
Second closest city location	Isla Bastimentos (Panama)	9 mi
Third closest city location	Almirante (Panama)	12 mi
Fourth closest city location	Changuinola (Panama)	19 mi
Fifth closest city location	Cusapin (Panama)	27 mi

• The closest passenger airport to Paunch Reef is Bocas Del Toro Airport (BOC) in Panama, 4 km (2 miles) away (directly).
• The second nearest airport to Paunch Reef is Cap Manuel Nino International (Changuinola) Airport (CHX), also in Panama, 32 km (20 miles) away.
• Third is Limon International Airport (LIO) in Costa Rica, 108 km (67 miles) away.
• Enrique Malek International (David) Airport (DAV) in Panama is 112 km (70 miles) away.
• Coto 47 Airport (OTR) in Costa Rica is the fifth nearest airport to Paunch Reef and is 118 km (73 miles) away.