Panama Travel Guide

Casco Viejo (San Felipe) is the historic heart of Panama City, rebuilt on a headland above the Pacific in 1673 after the original settlement was sacked by pirates. Narrow cobbled streets thread past colonial houses in fading pastels, church domes and ruins deliberately left as they fell — a UNESCO World Heritage site. On Plaza de la Catedral, the cathedral's stone facade glows at sunset, its shell-carved bells towers watching the square; the golden-domed Canal Museum nearby tells the story of the waterway. Rooftop bars and boutique hotels gaze across the water at the skyscrapers of the modern city — two skylines in one frame. After dark, lamps light the cobbles and jazz drifts from the cafes. Best strolled at dusk; watch your phone and wallet.

The San Blas Islands scatter across the Caribbean off Panama's northeast coast, near the Colombian border — some 365 coral islets under the autonomous rule of the Guna Yala indigenous nation, where the Guna people live by their own laws. The postcard scene of white sand, turquoise water and leaning palms comes with living culture: Guna women wear hand-sewn mola blouses, their reverse-applique panels carrying the stories of the community. Stay in a thatched island cabana, snorkel over coral and starfish by day, and watch fishermen paddle home at dusk. Most islands have no fresh water, power or internet — rustic, but the reward is the Caribbean at its most untouched. Travel with an operator who arranges boats and island fees, and respect Guna rules.

The Amador Causeway (Calzada de Amador) is a 3-kilometer sea wall linking Panama City to the islands of Naos, Perico and Flamenco, built in 1913 by the US Army Corps of Engineers during the construction of the Panama Canal. The causeway runs along the Pacific entrance to the canal, with ships at anchor on one side and the city skyline on the other, and is regarded as one of the best spots to view the canal and sunset. It features bike and jogging paths, parks and restaurants, while Flamenco Island at the tip has a cruise port, the Biomuseum and duty-free shops. It serves both as a local leisure spot and a landmark for visitors to experience canal history and Pacific gateway scenery.

The Miraflores Locks are among the most accessible locks of the Panama Canal, on the Pacific side about half an hour from Panama City. Here you watch, up close, giant ships lifted step by step as gravity-fed chambers fill—a staggering crossing of the isthmian divide. The visitor center offers multi-level viewing terraces, a 4D theater and canal-history exhibits, telling the story of this 'bridge of the world.' Through glass you see tugs and electric 'mules' guiding vessels with precise choreography. For engineering buffs and casual travelers alike, it is the indispensable lesson in the Canal's wonder.

The Bocas del Toro archipelago sits on Panama's Caribbean northwest coast, its capital a waterfront village of painted wooden houses where Caribbean laziness meets Panamanian wildness. With no roads between islands, water taxis rule — island-hopping is the classic pastime. Dolphin Bay on the main island's south coast offers close encounters in the mangroves, Playa Estrella is famed for starfish scattered across the shallows, and Carenero draws the surf crowd. Rains peak in October-November; the rest of the year is hot, humid and bright — perfect for slow-beach travellers.

Bocas Town is the main settlement of Panama's Bocas del Toro archipelago on the Caribbean coast, perched at the end of Isla Colón and surrounded by coral reefs, mangroves and tropical rainforest. The colorful town retains Caribbean wooden architecture and West Indian cultural flair, with streets running along the water and no cars; water taxis and bicycles are the main transport. The surrounding marine protected area boasts outstanding biodiversity, with dolphins, manatees, reef fish and mangrove birds. Beaches such as Starfish Beach and Bluff Beach and surf breaks like Punch Beach make it a hub for eco-diving, surfing, island hopping and Caribbean culture.