Cost of Living in Playa Venao, 🇵🇦 Panama - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Nov 12, 2026 Last changed Nov 14, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 2 1 3 7 $1,100 $1,000 $1,900 $650 $80

Utilities 1 — $150 $200 $70 —

Internet & Mobile 16 10 11 1 $47 $67 $89 $47 $2

Groceries 1 9 $50 $280 $700 $160 $10

Transportation 6 7 8 1 $100 $80 $200 $30 $15

Dining Out 1 4 14 $600 $200 $400 $60 $55

Leisure Activities 14 $150 $80 $100 $20 $30

Health Insurance 13 1 $67 $80 $200 $30 $2

Visa & Legal Fees 12 17 $35 $50 $50 — —

Total $2,149 $1,987 $3,839 $1,067 $194

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket $6.00 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $45.00 per pair

Summer Dress $30.00 per dress

Running Shoes $85.00 per pair

Services

Gym Membership $40.00 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) $15.00 per hour

Mobile Plan 10 $22.00 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 1 16 2 $45.00 per month

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 10 11 $22.00 one-time

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 2 1 $800.00 $500 – $1,100 per month

Coworking Space $150.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 3 $1,000.00 $600 – $1,900 per month

Coliving Space $550.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 5 14 $3.00 per cup

Beer 5 14 $3.00 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 1 4 $8.00 per meal

Fast Food Combo $7.00 per meal

Apples 9 $2.60 per kg

Bread 9 $0.95 per loaf

Milk 9 $1.80 per liter

Rice 9 $1.70 per kg

Chicken Fillets 9 $4.50 per kg

Beef 9 $7.50 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) $12.00 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 4 $40.00 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) $1.00 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 6 — per trip

Taxi per km 6 7 $0.70 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 6 — per month

Gasoline 8 $1.34 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) $7.00 per trip

Scooter Rental $20.00 per month

Personal Care

Haircut $12.00 per visit

Laundry $8.00 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 1 2 $40.00 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) $10.00 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Nov 12, 2026
Last changed: Nov 14, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Bocas del Toro, Panama City, Boquete, Playa del Carmen

Change history

Nov 14, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Currency PAB not set
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 500 800
- Apples 2.5 2.6
- Beef 9 7.5
- Beer 2 3
19 more changes
- Bread 2.5 0.95
- Chicken Fillets 6 4.5
- Coffee 3.5 3
- Dining Out local 60, nomad 600, expat 200, family 150, tourist 80 local 60, nomad 600, expat 200, family 400, tourist 55
- Gasoline 1.2 1.34
- Groceries local 150, nomad 50, expat 200, family 500, tourist 0 local 160, nomad 50, expat 280, family 700, tourist 10
- Health Insurance local 30, nomad 60, expat 80, family 200, tourist 0 local 30, nomad 67, expat 80, family 200, tourist 2.24
- Housing local 500, nomad 1000, expat 700, family 1200, tourist 100 local 650, nomad 1100, expat 1000, family 1900, tourist 80
- Internet & Mobile local 25, nomad 250, expat 40, family 60, tourist 5 local 47, nomad 46.9, expat 67, family 89, tourist 1.75
- Leisure Activities local 20, nomad 150, expat 80, family 100 local 20, nomad 150, expat 80, family 100, tourist 30
- Mobile Plan 15 22
- Monthly Transport Pass 25 not set
- Rice 1.1 1.7
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 10 22
- Taxi Start 3 not set
- Taxi per km 1.5 0.7
- Transportation local 30, nomad 100, expat 80, family 200, tourist 20 local 30, nomad 100, expat 80, family 200, tourist 15
- Utilities local 60, nomad 0, expat 80, family 120, tourist 0 local 70, nomad 0, expat 150, family 200, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 200, family 300 local 0, nomad 35, expat 50, family 50
Beer restated as a pint price converted from the bottle menus, the per-kilometre taxi figure re-derived on the 33 km Pedasí run, the grocery lines labelled as the national mainland survey rather than village shelf prices, and the visa fees re-sourced to the decree (250 to the migration service plus 50 for the card) (villamarinabistrovenao.weebly.com, gamintraveler.com, acodeco.gob.pa, propanama.mici.gob.pa)

Playa Venao cost of living