About us
El Ranchito is a family owned Surfcamp. We are: Lorenzo, Jiani and our children Miliah and Luan.
We are happy to welcome you into our home.
Nowadays there are plenty of surf camps that you can choose from.
By sharing our story behind El Ranchito, you will get to know us little and help you hopefully make your decision easier
why choosing us.
We are happy to welcome you into our home.
Nowadays there are plenty of surf camps that you can choose from.
By sharing our story behind El Ranchito, you will get to know us little and help you hopefully make your decision easier
why choosing us.
Milestone
El Ranchito Surf camp was built in 2007 by Lorenzo. It has a size of 4000 sqm.
The very first surf camp in the Azuero Peninsula. And Lorenzo was the second foreigner that live Guanico.
With his own little saving and no any other financial support, year by year he created El Ranchito the way as it is now.
It started out by cleaning out the jungle, planting each plant, building each unit of the facility.
… Poco a Poco …
In 2016 we expanded and restructured the business model of the surfcamp. We started to offer a full service for the guests
hat includes surf board rentals, surf lessons, video analysis and food.
Now, El Ranchito Surfcamp has 4 houses with 5 guest rooms, 2 Safari tents, 1 big Rancho and outdoor gym
that can facilitate max. 18 people.
Further more, since 2021 we open a Surf Beach Café / Surf School at the beach, where we offer our services to everyone.
The very first surf camp in the Azuero Peninsula. And Lorenzo was the second foreigner that live Guanico.
With his own little saving and no any other financial support, year by year he created El Ranchito the way as it is now.
It started out by cleaning out the jungle, planting each plant, building each unit of the facility.
… Poco a Poco …
In 2016 we expanded and restructured the business model of the surfcamp. We started to offer a full service for the guests
hat includes surf board rentals, surf lessons, video analysis and food.
Now, El Ranchito Surfcamp has 4 houses with 5 guest rooms, 2 Safari tents, 1 big Rancho and outdoor gym
that can facilitate max. 18 people.
Further more, since 2021 we open a Surf Beach Café / Surf School at the beach, where we offer our services to everyone.
Why Guanico?
Lorenzo, born in basque region of France, found this piece of paradise in 2007 during his surf trip in Panama. What made this place so magical for him is that there is nothing besides nature with daily great waves. Especially at this time, he was one of the first few people who ever surfed in this area. This means, there's an empty line up every single day. Since then he has fallen in love with this place and decided to make Guanico a home.
Lorenzo went literally door to door in the village to introduce himself as a new member of the Guanico family. The local neighborhood really appreciated this kind gesture and every single one warmly welcome him . Since these days he was part of the Guanico family.
Lorenzo went literally door to door in the village to introduce himself as a new member of the Guanico family. The local neighborhood really appreciated this kind gesture and every single one warmly welcome him . Since these days he was part of the Guanico family.
Who is Lorenzo?
Lorenzo (Laurent) has been always a “surfer beach boy”, living by the ocean. Ever since there was but one interest to him: Chasing amazing waves everyday. So surf trips to spain, portugal, marokko and Indonesia were planned regularly. He even decided to live in Australia for 2 years.
People say: “If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life.” So 24 years ago, Lorenzo decided to turn his passion for surfing into a job. He became a professional surf instructor in France. He achieved the Certification of Surf Coach (BEES 1° degré), by passing several examinations after one-year training in France. Only with this kind of certification, which is approved by the French Surfing Associations, you are officially allowed to work in France and supervise a group of students. Additionally, he also obtains a certification of water ocean rescue from working with the french fireman department.
In France Lorenzo worked for a Kids Surf club for several years where he trained young surfer 2-3 times per week. In the high season he also worked in one of the renowned surf school in Bidart, where he teaches 3-4 surf lessons per day, each 8 people. His students are ranged from children to adults, but mostly he is more specialized giving surf lessons to children (6-16yo). Due to his intensity of his job he got sufficient experiences in teaching and coaching. He knows exactly which teaching method suits you the best that makes you succeed on the surf board in no-time. There are even several students who learned surfing with Lorenzo for the first time and nowadays they are ripping the waves, even getting into the pros. It makes him happy to see that you are progressing.
Besides Lorenzo’s high-quality teaching approaches, his main goal is also to make sure you can also develop the love to the ocean and surf.
Particularly this is the reason why he enjoys teaching people to surf in Guanico. Comparing to many other surf schools in the busy areas, surf lessons are done like in production line: fast and simple, with as many people as possible. - The group are small and personal, he can spend time with each of his students
People say: “If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life.” So 24 years ago, Lorenzo decided to turn his passion for surfing into a job. He became a professional surf instructor in France. He achieved the Certification of Surf Coach (BEES 1° degré), by passing several examinations after one-year training in France. Only with this kind of certification, which is approved by the French Surfing Associations, you are officially allowed to work in France and supervise a group of students. Additionally, he also obtains a certification of water ocean rescue from working with the french fireman department.
In France Lorenzo worked for a Kids Surf club for several years where he trained young surfer 2-3 times per week. In the high season he also worked in one of the renowned surf school in Bidart, where he teaches 3-4 surf lessons per day, each 8 people. His students are ranged from children to adults, but mostly he is more specialized giving surf lessons to children (6-16yo). Due to his intensity of his job he got sufficient experiences in teaching and coaching. He knows exactly which teaching method suits you the best that makes you succeed on the surf board in no-time. There are even several students who learned surfing with Lorenzo for the first time and nowadays they are ripping the waves, even getting into the pros. It makes him happy to see that you are progressing.
Besides Lorenzo’s high-quality teaching approaches, his main goal is also to make sure you can also develop the love to the ocean and surf.
Particularly this is the reason why he enjoys teaching people to surf in Guanico. Comparing to many other surf schools in the busy areas, surf lessons are done like in production line: fast and simple, with as many people as possible. - The group are small and personal, he can spend time with each of his students
Who is Jiani?
I, Jiani, born in china but raised in Germany. Traveling and different cultures always interest me. This started at my young age when my family situation made traveling between Germany and China my every-year routine. When I was 16 I also did my first big solo travel to USA: one year high school exchange program. Since then I always had an urge to get away, seeing the world and meeting new people. Especially tropical places with remote beaches has always amazed me the most. So one day I made the decision that I want a life at the beach.
When I finished my Bachelor degree in International Business with a specialization of Marketing Management in 2015, I wanted to make one last big travel before settling down. I decided to do a backpacking trip to central america for half or 1 year.
My first destination was Guanico, where I did a volunteer job for 6 weeks in another surf camp. I immediately fell in love with this amazing place. I loved the nature, the remoteness and the easy-going lifestyle. As well I learned how to surf there. I loved it and it was all what I wanted to do. So all these reasons have made me end up staying for 8 months. During this period of time I have met Lorenzo. Our love story starts basically here.
In 2016, when Lorenzo and I are getting closer to each other. He offered me the opportunity to expand and grow El Ranchito together. He trusted me with my knowledge in Business development and administration. Besides that I also have 17 years experience in hospitality. I always had worked in a restaurant, bar, or hotels as a part-time work. Accordingly I gained sufficient knowledge about great customer Services and business functionality in hospitality field. All in all due to my professional backgrounds and my interest in people with different cultures, I am aware of the importance of guests’ needs and desires. For that reason, I place great value on customer relations. I understand that each guest, who comes to our place, is different. They are from different nations, have different culture background, which make them to have different expectation. Therefore, I would like to get closer to each of our guests in order to understand them, so we can continually exceed their expectations.
When I finished my Bachelor degree in International Business with a specialization of Marketing Management in 2015, I wanted to make one last big travel before settling down. I decided to do a backpacking trip to central america for half or 1 year.
My first destination was Guanico, where I did a volunteer job for 6 weeks in another surf camp. I immediately fell in love with this amazing place. I loved the nature, the remoteness and the easy-going lifestyle. As well I learned how to surf there. I loved it and it was all what I wanted to do. So all these reasons have made me end up staying for 8 months. During this period of time I have met Lorenzo. Our love story starts basically here.
In 2016, when Lorenzo and I are getting closer to each other. He offered me the opportunity to expand and grow El Ranchito together. He trusted me with my knowledge in Business development and administration. Besides that I also have 17 years experience in hospitality. I always had worked in a restaurant, bar, or hotels as a part-time work. Accordingly I gained sufficient knowledge about great customer Services and business functionality in hospitality field. All in all due to my professional backgrounds and my interest in people with different cultures, I am aware of the importance of guests’ needs and desires. For that reason, I place great value on customer relations. I understand that each guest, who comes to our place, is different. They are from different nations, have different culture background, which make them to have different expectation. Therefore, I would like to get closer to each of our guests in order to understand them, so we can continually exceed their expectations.
What makes us Special from the others?
El Ranchito Surfcamp is located in the village of Guanico, where we are surrounded by local neighborhood only. You will have the chance to meet the warmhearted Panamanian. This way you may experience the real authentic Panamanian way of life everyday.
Our facility possesses 4000sqm land with a tropical landscaping, with different flowers and palm trees.
Since we are not directly located on the main road, rather little hidden in the jungle, our place is super quiet, surrounded by jungle sounds only. Further, due to the many vegetation at El Ranchito, you will be able to see different tropical birds, such as like humming bird or even Tucans flying around. With all the jungle sounds and tropical scenery, El Ranchito will give you a relaxing and quiet atmosphere, which what you need after an exhausting day of surf.
What really makes us special is that El Ranchito Surfcamp is our home, that was built with love and passion. The personal contact and relationship to each of our guests means a lot to us. Due to our many traveling experiences, the knowledge of and appreciation for different cultures, we know also exactly what is important and necessary for you and other travelers. Further, we put a great focus on our guests’ desires. Everything we do is to exceed each guest’s expectation and we hold ourselves accountable at every step.
We want to welcome you into our home and to make you to be part of our family. Usually at night we do a get-together at the dinner table, we have a drink all together and share our stories. ~ Mi casa tu casa ~
We want you to feel comfortable, safe and welcomed.
Sometimes when you travel far from your home, or have been traveling from a long time, you appreciate a place where you feel secure, comfort and loved.
By creating this place we want that all come together with the same mindset:
staying away from the typical vacation style accommodation. We explore and surf together as a family and truly experience the local Panamanian culture.
Our facility possesses 4000sqm land with a tropical landscaping, with different flowers and palm trees.
Since we are not directly located on the main road, rather little hidden in the jungle, our place is super quiet, surrounded by jungle sounds only. Further, due to the many vegetation at El Ranchito, you will be able to see different tropical birds, such as like humming bird or even Tucans flying around. With all the jungle sounds and tropical scenery, El Ranchito will give you a relaxing and quiet atmosphere, which what you need after an exhausting day of surf.
What really makes us special is that El Ranchito Surfcamp is our home, that was built with love and passion. The personal contact and relationship to each of our guests means a lot to us. Due to our many traveling experiences, the knowledge of and appreciation for different cultures, we know also exactly what is important and necessary for you and other travelers. Further, we put a great focus on our guests’ desires. Everything we do is to exceed each guest’s expectation and we hold ourselves accountable at every step.
We want to welcome you into our home and to make you to be part of our family. Usually at night we do a get-together at the dinner table, we have a drink all together and share our stories. ~ Mi casa tu casa ~
We want you to feel comfortable, safe and welcomed.
Sometimes when you travel far from your home, or have been traveling from a long time, you appreciate a place where you feel secure, comfort and loved.
By creating this place we want that all come together with the same mindset:
staying away from the typical vacation style accommodation. We explore and surf together as a family and truly experience the local Panamanian culture.
