Comprising more than 200 islands and cays just a two-hour boat ride or 20-minute plane trip from Panama City, these emerald jewels are made complete by their exquisite setting in waters of mesmerizing blues and greens. Humpback whales frequent the warm waters in winter and can even be seen from shore.

Las Perlas were boosted to recent world fame as a setting for the TV series Survivor, filmed on uninhabited Isla Mogo Mogo and Isla Chapera, whose charms are typical of the isles. They feature beaches with sands like pulverized sugar, coral reefs patrolled by a kaleidoscope of fish, and lush forests roamed by anteaters, iguanas, sloths, and peccaries.

The largest isle, Isla del Rey, has the sole town, San Miguel. The clear waters around the island offer some of Panama’s best sport-fishing, scuba diving, and whale watching.