A canal city with a colonial old quarter, cloud forest coffee farms and two coasts of islands, each a short flight away.
Panama City is the easy start: a skyline on the Pacific, the restored streets of Casco Viejo, and the canal locks at Miraflores 15 minutes from downtown. A short flight away lie the Guna Yala islands on the Caribbean, the coffee highlands of Boquete and the quiet islands of the Gulf of Chiriquí.
It suits travellers who have done Costa Rica and want somewhere less visited. We plan three nights in the city, then two or three contrasting stays.
The caveat is that there are no direct flights from the UK, and outside Panama City and a handful of island lodges, hotels are simpler. The Pacific side is dry from about December to April; the Caribbean is wetter all year.
The experiences we plan most often, with the months they are at their best.
The canal opened on 15 August 1914, and larger locks opened in June 2016. Watch ships pass from the terraces of the Miraflores Visitor Center, 15 minutes from downtown, or see the new Agua Clara locks near Colón. Better still, take a partial transit by boat.
Casco Viejo, founded in 1673 after pirates attacked the first city at Panamá Viejo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Spanish and French colonial streets. Walk it in the late afternoon, when the plazas cool down, and stay for dinner: Panama City has been a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy since 2017.
The Guna people live among the islands of the Gunayala Comarca, also called San Blas, on the Caribbean coast. Most stays are simple cabins run by Guna families on small palm islands, with fish for dinner and snorkelling off the beach. It is about disconnection rather than comfort, and two nights suits most people.
The coffee farms of Boquete and Tierras Altas grow at 1,000 to 2,100 metres, and their Geisha beans sell for record prices. Tour a farm, then walk the cloud forest of Volcán Barú National Park for resplendent quetzals. Hardy walkers can climb Barú, at 3,474 metres, overnight to see both oceans at sunrise.
The Las Perlas archipelago, a short trip from Panama City, has 39 islands and 100 islets, many uninhabited. From July to October humpbacks come to breed and calve, and you often see them on the crossing. Stay on one of the quieter islands, such as Saboga or San José, and spend days on empty beaches.
Coiba National Park protects 38 islands, including Coiba, the largest island in Central America, and one of the biggest coral reef systems in the eastern tropical Pacific. Divers see manta rays, whale sharks and hammerheads on the same corridor as the Galápagos. Base yourself in the Gulf of Chiriquí or at Santa Catalina.
Stay in Casco Viejo for character or on the bay for views, then pick by mood: a simple Guna-run island for disconnection, a coffee-farm lodge above Boquete for cool air, or a private island in the Gulf of Chiriquí or the Pearl Islands for a proper beach finish.
We match each trip in Panama to hotels, lodges and villas chosen for the way you travel. Tell us what matters and a specialist will suggest two or three that fit.
Ask for hotel suggestionsPanama runs on rainfall rather than temperature. Across most of the country, nearly all the rain falls between May and November, and the Pacific side, including Panama City and Boquete, is dry from about December to April. The Caribbean side is wetter all year.
Bocas del Toro has its own calendar: its driest spells are in March and from September to October, when the sea is calm, while November and December are wettest. Humpbacks visit the Pearl Islands from July to October, and turtles nest from mid-July to January.
Three nights in Panama City, island days in Guna Yala, coffee farms and cloud forest around Boquete, and a beach finish in the Gulf of Chiriquí. 11 nights.
Walk Casco Viejo, watch ships at Miraflores and spend a morning birding on Pipeline Road in Soberanía National Park.
An early transfer to the Caribbean coast and a boat out to a Guna-run island, for snorkelling, swimming and a visit to a community island.
Fly west to David and drive up to Boquete. Coffee farm tours, quetzal walks in the cloud forest and a dawn trip up Barú for the fit.
Down to the coast at Boca Chica and out to an island in the marine park for snorkelling and empty beaches, then back via Panama City for the flight home.
Practical notes checked against their sources. For entry and safety, the FCDO advice for Panama (opens in a new tab) is always the authority.
There are no direct flights from the UK. Direct flights to Panama City run from Madrid, Amsterdam and Paris, taking about 11 hours from Madrid or Amsterdam, so allow 14 to 15 hours from Heathrow with the connection.
UK passport holders can currently visit Panama without a visa if arriving by air or land; different rules apply by sea. Read the FCDO entry requirements (opens in a new tab) before you book.
Read the FCDO entry requirements for Panama (opens in a new tab)
Check TravelHealthPro (opens in a new tab) and the FCDO health page (opens in a new tab). The FCDO says tap water is safe in most of the country but advises caution on islands and in rural areas, and that care outside the capital is limited. Barú reaches 3,474 metres, so climb it slowly.
The balboa is tied one to one with the US dollar, and US banknotes are the cash you will use, alongside Panamanian coins. Cards work in the city; carry cash for islands.
Mobile networks are well developed around Panama City. Signal can be weak or absent on the Guna Yala islands and at remote lodges, so download maps before you leave the city.
Check restaurant bills for a service charge before adding more. Guides, boatmen and drivers are usually tipped in small US dollar notes, so keep some to hand.
January to March is the most reliable time, when the Pacific side, Panama City and Boquete are dry. For Bocas del Toro, September and October are often calmer and drier. July to October brings humpbacks to the Pearl Islands, and the rainy season from May to November means fewer visitors and afternoon storms.
Costa Rica has more polished nature lodges and more wildlife tourism. Panama has a real city, the canal, a strong island culture in Guna Yala and fewer visitors. The wildlife is rich too, but lodges are fewer and simpler.
Comfortable in a simple way. Most stays are cabins run by Guna families, with basic bathrooms, fish-based meals and limited power or signal. That is the point: the islands are very quiet. For more comfort, pair two nights here with a private island lodge elsewhere.
Yes. A morning at the Miraflores Visitor Center shows ships in the locks and covers the history, and a partial transit by boat puts you in the locks yourself. Add a day for Gatún Lake and the rainforest around Gamboa.
Tell us a little and a specialist will reply with ideas, dates that work and a price. Best months: January to March.
Volcano, cloud forest, turtle beach and whale coast in one small country, with a lodge in each that puts you in the forest.
Maya cities in the rainforest and the longest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, a short hop apart and in English.
Andean volcanoes, cloud forest and Amazon rainforest within a day of each other, with Quito's colonial centre at the heart.
