An isthmus between two oceans: Panama is the legendary canal and its capital's skyline, but above all a concentrate of Central America. The 365 islands of the San Blas archipelago run by the Guna people, the laid-back Caribbean of Bocas del Toro, the coffee plantations of Boquete beneath the Barú volcano and the whale sharks of Coiba. Small in size, immense in variety, and you cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic in an hour's drive.
Itineraries
The itineraries in Panama are in the works: the day-by-day program, named hotels, tickets to book flagged in advance. Leave your address to be notified when they come out.
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Itineraries available in North America
We don't sell an itinerary in Panama yet. Here are the ones already on sale, for other countries.
Module
Six days in the largest city in North America: the Zócalo and the Templo Mayor, the Rivera murals in the National Palace, the National Museum of Anthropology, Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul, the Xochimilco trajineras and a full day at Teotihuacan.
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Module
Petrified wood, radio telescopes, the roof of Texas, giant caverns and thousand-year-old adobes all the way to the dunes of Colorado.
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Module
The Statue of Liberty and its crown, Brooklyn Bridge on foot, the High Line, Central Park, the Met and Coney Island, entirely by subway.
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Module
From the oldest city in the United States to the blue ridges of the Appalachians, with Fort Sumter, the Great Smoky Mountains and the Biltmore Estate.
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The right season
From December to April, the dry season opens every door: a sparkling San Blas, passable tracks, pleasant trade winds. The green season (May-November) alternates luminous mornings and afternoon showers, with a wet peak in October-November on the Pacific side; Bocas del Toro, on the opposite cycle, often offers its best weeks in September-October.
Quick guide
Air Panama and Copa domestic flights for Bocas and David, cheap buses on the Pan-American, a 4x4 to reach the San Blas jetties. The Panama City metro is the only one in Central America.
The US dollar circulates everywhere (the balboa exists only as coins). Withdraw before the islands: no ATM and no cards in San Blas, everything there is paid in cash.
Spanish, with English common in tourism and business. In the indigenous comarcas, Guna and Ngäbe dominate, but Spanish works everywhere.
Uber in Panama City, the metro app for the rechargeable card, Hopin (the local Uber) in David, and San Blas boat bookings via WhatsApp, the national tool.
Design hotels of the Casco Viejo, stilt cabins in San Blas (rustic, magical), coffee lodges in Boquete and surf hotels in Bocas. Book San Blas early, places are counted.
On the Guna islands, ask before photographing and pay the small community fees without arguing: it is their autonomous territory. Light but proper dress in town.
Must-sees
Miraflores
The Miraflores locks seen from the terraces: giant container ships lifted 16 m before your eyes. A century of engineering in action.
Panama City
The UNESCO-listed colonial quarter: restored pastel façades, rooftops facing the skyline and gilded churches.
Guna Yala
365 islets of sand and coconut palms on a turquoise sea, run by the Guna people. A night in a cabin, grilled lobster, stars: raw paradise.
Caribbean
The laid-back Caribbean archipelago: houses on stilts, starfish beaches, surf and sloths in the mangroves.
Chiriquí
The mountain village of geisha coffee, the most expensive in the world: fincas to visit, canopy walks and the night climb of the Barú volcano.
Pacific
The former prison island turned UNESCO sanctuary: whale sharks, manta rays and some of the richest dives in the American Pacific.
Pick a point on the map, or browse the list below.
Also on the map
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