Fun Ways to Visit Panama — The Canal, the Coasts and the Jungle

Panama is the country that most travellers transit and very few actually visit. The canal is famous, the Pan-American Highway runs straight through, and Panama City is one of the busiest air hubs in Latin America. Most people land at Tocumen, change planes, and never leave the airport. Which is a shame — because Panama, a tropical sliver of land smaller than the US state of South Carolina, packs in two genuinely spectacular coastlines, one of the great engineering wonders of the world, the most accessible jungle in Central America, and a Caribbean archipelago so beautiful it feels invented.

Two weeks is the right length of trip. Ten days works at a push. Anything less and you will spend the whole time travelling and miss the point.

Why two weeks?

Panama is small but the geography is awkward. The country runs east-to-west, the two coasts are connected by a handful of long roads, and getting from the Caribbean to the Pacific requires deliberate routing. Combine that with three or four genuine "destinations" worth several days each, and you arrive at a roughly two-week trip.

A 14-day itinerary

**Days 1–3: Panama City and the Canal.** Start in the capital. Spend a day in **Casco Viejo** — the old colonial quarter, recently UNESCO-listed, full of brick plazas, rooftop bars, eighteenth-century churches and the small Canal Museum. Spend a half-day on a canal partial transit — a four-hour boat trip that takes you through the Miraflores Locks, lifts you 26 metres into Lake Gatun, and turns around. The full ocean-to-ocean transit takes a full day and runs only on Saturdays. Spend an afternoon in Soberania National Park or on Pipeline Road for jungle birdwatching (the Panama Canal is one of the best birding spots in the Americas).

**Days 4–6: San Blas Islands.** From Panama City, drive three hours north over the continental divide to the Caribbean coast and embark for the **San Blas Archipelago** — 365 small Caribbean islands, all owned and managed by the indigenous **Guna people** (formerly known as Kuna). The Guna have been autonomous since the 1925 revolution and they run tourism on their own terms: small wooden boats, simple beach cabins, no big resorts, no roads, no electricity past 9 p.m. on most islands. Three days is enough to visit several islands, swim, eat fresh fish and lobster cooked on the beach, and meet some of the Guna molas (women) selling intricate textile art. Tour operators in Panama City run packages.

**Days 7–9: Bocas del Toro.** Fly or take an overnight bus from Panama City to **Almirante**, on the Caribbean coast near the Costa Rican border, then a 30-minute boat to **Bocas del Toro** — an island archipelago that is one of the most laid-back parts of Central America. Three days here lets you do snorkelling at Coral Cay or Crawl Cay, surf on Bluff Beach, day-trip to Bastimentos for the red frog beach, and have several long nights on the cheap waterfront bars of Bocas Town.

**Days 10–11: Boquete and the cloud forest.** Bus or shuttle south through the cordillera to **Boquete**, a small mountain town at 1,200 m in the cloud forest. Coffee farms, the Quetzal Trail (the cloud forest hike that occasionally produces the famous resplendent quetzal), the climb up Volcán Barú (Panama's highest peak — clear nights, you can see both oceans). Two days here is enough.

**Days 12–13: Pacific coast and surfing.** Bus back south-east to the Pacific. **Santa Catalina** is the surfer's choice — a small fishing village turned international surf town, the gateway to **Coiba National Park** (Panama's diving and snorkelling jewel, often compared to the Galapagos). Two days for surfing or a one-day Coiba trip.

**Day 14: Back to Panama City.** Long bus ride or a domestic flight, last night in Panama City, fly out.

A 7-day stripped-down version

If you only have a week, cut Boquete, the Pacific surfing and the central highlands. A workable 7-day trip:

- Days 1–2: Panama City and Canal. - Days 3–4: San Blas (or Bocas del Toro, not both). - Days 5–7: Bocas del Toro (or San Blas) and back.

The Embera villages — a half-day option

If you want to meet an indigenous community without committing to San Blas, day trips run from Panama City to the **Embera villages** along the Chagres river, two hours from the capital. You take a long dugout canoe up the river through the rainforest, spend three or four hours at a riverside Embera village (traditional dance, lunch, learning about their crafts), then return. It is cleaner and shorter than a San Blas trip but less immersive.

The Darién Gap

Panama's eastern frontier with Colombia is the **Darién Gap** — the only break in the Pan-American Highway, an unmapped wilderness of jungle and swamp that has historically been the route for both adventurers and people-smugglers crossing on foot. Tourist travel into the Darién is restricted, dangerous and currently strongly discouraged by every government's travel advisory. Don't.

To go from Panama to Colombia overland, the standard option is the **San Blas sailing route** — a 5-day catamaran trip from Panamanian San Blas through the islands to Cartagena, Colombia. About $500–$700 per person, all food included, run by a handful of operators. This is the legitimate alternative to the Darién and a fantastic trip in its own right.

Money, language, getting around

- **Currency:** the US dollar, locally called the **balboa**. ATMs are everywhere. Cards work in Panama City and the bigger towns. - **Language:** Spanish. English is common in tourist areas; less so in the interior. - **Buses** between major cities are excellent — Albrook bus terminal in Panama City is the hub. Domestic flights save a lot of time on longer routes (Panama City to David, for example). - **Internal travel** is mostly done by colectivo, taxi, or boat in the archipelagos.

When to go

December through April is the dry season — peak tourist time, sunny days, low humidity. May through November is the rainy season — afternoon downpours, lower prices, fewer tourists, the canal jungle is at its greenest. February to October is best for surfing on the Pacific coast.

For more on travel in the region, browse our [Central America stories](/blog) or our [USA category](/category/usa) for connecting trip ideas. The [Tourism Panama](https://www.tourismpanama.com/) site has the official events calendar and a useful map of the country's protected areas.

Panama is a small country that punches well above its weight. The canal, two coastlines, the cloud forest and 365 islands — all in a country you can drive across in a day. Two weeks. Pack a swimsuit, a long-sleeve shirt, and a willingness to take small boats. You will leave wondering why nobody told you to come sooner.

Quick reference for Panama

**Currency:** the US dollar (called the *balboa* locally). ATMs everywhere. Cards accepted in Panama City, Bocas del Toro, David and the larger towns. Bring small bills for boat fares and tips in San Blas.

**Language:** Spanish; English widely spoken in tourist areas, less so in the interior.

**Best months:** December–April for the dry season, sunny and clear. May–November is the rainy season — afternoon downpours, lower prices, fewer tourists, the canal jungle at its greenest.

**Best 7-day route:** 2 days in Panama City and the canal, 2 days in San Blas (or Bocas — pick one), 3 days in the other. Skip Boquete and the Pacific surf coast unless you have 10+ days.

**Best 14-day route:** Panama City + Canal (3 days) → San Blas (3 days) → Bocas del Toro (3 days) → Boquete and the cloud forest (2 days) → Pacific surfing at Santa Catalina (2 days) → back to Panama City (1 day).

**Don't miss:** a partial canal transit by tour boat, an evening in Casco Viejo, snorkelling at Coral Cay in Bocas, swimming in San Blas, the climb up Volcán Barú from Boquete on a clear night (you can see both oceans at sunrise).

**Onward to Colombia:** the legitimate overland alternative to the Darién Gap is a 5-day catamaran sailing trip from Panamanian San Blas to Cartagena, around $500–700 per person all-inclusive. Avoid attempting the Darién on foot — it's dangerous and strongly discouraged by every government's travel advice.