Buenaventura Golf & Beach Resort
Panama's finest golf and beach resort — an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Course on a Pacific beachfront with a world-class spa.
RIH · MPSM · Panama
Scarlett Martínez Airport
Río Hato — Coclé — Pacific Coast. 10 min to Buenaventura Resort.
Runway
3050m
Surface
Asphalt
Elevation
15m
Hours
6am-6pm
Book your private flight to Río Hato
Airport at a glance
Río Hato — Panama
Río Hato has a longer aviation history than most capital-city airports in this region. The field was established as a United States military base in 1942, defending the approaches to the canal, and remained in use as an auxiliary landing ground into 1990. For years after that it was best known for a peculiarity: the Pan-American Highway crossed the runway at grade, with barriers stopping traffic for aircraft movements.
That ended with a $53.2 million reconstruction completed in November 2013, which rehabilitated the runway and terminal and built a tunnel carrying the highway beneath the runway. What emerged is the airport serving Panama's principal beach resort corridor.
Single asphalt runway 17/35, 2,450 metres, at 32 metres elevation, 3 kilometres east of Río Hato. ICAO: MPSM. It is a designated international point of entry, with customs operating in the main terminal daily from 06:00 to 22:00. The Río Hato VOR-DME (Ident: RHT) is on the field.
Two thousand four hundred and fifty metres accepts aircraft up to the Boeing 757-200 class, which is why RIH handles direct seasonal charter traffic from Canada — Montreal and Toronto services run through the northern winter. For private aviation it is a straightforward field with generous margins.
One genuine limitation worth stating: RIH has basic navigational aids and limited approach lighting, which constrains operations in poor visibility and after dark. Daytime operations are the norm.
Getting there
Scarlett Martínez Airport — Getting there
The Panama City drive is genuinely manageable, which means RIH's charter value is less about replacing that road and more about lateral movement — linking the resort coast to Azuero, Veraguas and Chiriquí without a day on the Pan-American each time.
| Panama City | ~25 min | ~2 h |
| Chitré | ~15 min | ~1.5 h |
| Santiago | ~20 min | ~2 h |
| David | ~35 min | ~4.5 h |
Nearby
Things to do near Río Hato
The reason the airport was rebuilt is the strip of coast immediately west of it. Playa Blanca, Farallón and Playa Santa Clara hold Panama's densest concentration of large all-inclusive resorts, on a long stretch of pale sand with calm Pacific water. Most properties are 10 to 20 minutes from the terminal.
This is a different product from the rest of Panama — closer to a Caribbean resort coast than to the country's eco-tourism identity — and it is honest to describe it as such. For families and for travellers who want a beach week with minimal logistics, it works very well.
El Valle de Antón, and the reason to leave the resort. An hour inland and 600 metres up sits El Valle de Antón, a town built inside the caldera of an extinct volcano — one of only a small number of inhabited volcanic craters in the world. The elevation gives it a genuinely temperate climate, the surrounding walls give it a microclimate of cloud forest, and the town has a character entirely unlike the coast below.
The Sunday market is the best craft market in Panama. El Níspero houses the golden frog conservation centre — Atelopus zeteki, Panama's national animal, extinct in the wild and surviving in captive breeding programmes here. La India Dormida, the ridge whose profile resembles a sleeping woman, is a two- to three-hour hike. There are hot springs, waterfalls and a square-trunked tree grove that is exactly as odd as it sounds.
Anyone spending a week on this coast should give El Valle a day.
Championship Golf — Río Hato
Championship golf courses on Coclé's Pacific coast — the Jack Nicklaus Signature at Buenaventura is ranked among Latin America's best.
Sportfishing — Coclé Pacific
Deep-sea sportfishing from Coclé's Pacific coast — marlin, roosterfish and dorado in productive offshore waters accessible year-round.
Private Catamarans — Coclé Coast
Private catamaran charters along Coclé's Pacific coastline — sunset sails, snorkeling and dolphin encounters in calm Pacific waters.
El Valle de Antón
A picturesque town in the crater of an extinct volcano — hot springs, orchid nurseries, indigenous crafts and cloud forest hiking one hour from the coast.
Surf Expedition — Playa Farallón
Private surf coaching and expedition at Playa Farallón — Panama's best Pacific break, a powerful left-hander that works year-round. Private boat for channel access, videography session and post-surf ceviche on the boat.
Helicopter — El Valle Crater & Pacific
Private helicopter circuit from Río Hato — aerial views of El Valle de Antón's extinct volcanic crater (one of the world's largest inhabited calderas), Playa Santa Clara's Pacific beaches and the Coclé highlands.
Catamaran Charter — Panama Pacific
Overnight catamaran charter from Playa Santa Clara — sunset on the Pacific, anchoring at a deserted cay, dawn snorkel on pristine reef and a full second day of Pacific sailing along Panama's undeveloped central coast.
Where to stay
Hotels near Río Hato
When to fly
When to fly
Coclé sits at the edge of the Arco Seco and shares its pattern: a pronounced dry season from mid-December to April with steady trade winds and reliable sun, and a rainy season from May to mid-December with afternoon convection, heaviest September to November. The Canadian charter season aligns with the dry months, and so does the best flying weather.
FAQ
Scarlett Martínez Airport — Frequently asked questions
What is the runway length at Río Hato (RIH)?
2,450 metres of asphalt, runway 17/35, at 32 m elevation — able to take aircraft up to the Boeing 757-200 class. ICAO: MPSM.
Is Río Hato a port of entry?
Yes. Customs operates in the main terminal daily from 06:00 to 22:00.
Why was the airport rebuilt?
The Pan-American Highway previously crossed the runway at grade. A $53.2 million project completed in November 2013 rehabilitated the runway and terminal and built a tunnel carrying the highway underneath.
Which resorts does RIH serve?
The Playa Blanca, Farallón and Playa Santa Clara corridor, most of it 10 to 20 minutes from the terminal.
How far is El Valle de Antón?
About an hour inland, in an extinct volcanic caldera at roughly 600 m — worth a full day for the Sunday market, the golden frog centre and the La India Dormida hike.
Are there night operations at RIH?
Navigational aids and approach lighting are limited. Daytime operations are the norm.