Destination OS · Old town mornings, Canal ships, glass towers
Panama City Ciudad de Panamá
Panama City is a morning city: Casco Viejo and the Miraflores Locks before 11:00, indoors from midday, taxis by app after dark.
- Cash
- 2/5
- Heat
- 5/5
- Stroller
- 2/5
- Friction
- 55/100
Rules in force · 4
- Panama ↗Check entry rules for your passport with Panama's National Migration Service or a Panamanian consulate; proof of onward travel and funds may be asked for.
- Panama ↗Do not travel independently in the Darién; the UK and other governments warn against parts of it, and there is no road crossing to Colombia.
- Panama ↗Guna Yala (San Blas) is governed by the Guna people: visitor fees apply, and photography of people usually needs permission and payment. Book through Guna-run or licensed operators.
- Panama City and the Canal ↗Check the Canal Authority's daily ship schedule before you plan the locks: the visit is worth most when a ship is due.
Overview
Panama City packs a colonial old town, a working Canal and a tower skyline into one hot, wet, traffic-heavy city. The trips that go wrong walk Casco Viejo at noon, plan the Canal locks without checking the ship schedule, or add a long transfer on a rainy afternoon. Four areas cover a first visit; the airport, the locks and the causeway are car rides away from one kept bed.
Fits
- Stopover and short city breaks
- Travellers who like old towns and working infrastructure
- Early risers
Does not fit
- Travellers who hate heat and humidity
- Strollers and wheelchairs in Casco Viejo (cobbles and kerbs)
- Anyone planning long walks between areas
- 2 days
- Casco Viejo morning, Miraflores Locks the next morning
- 3 days
- Casco Viejo, the Locks, Amador causeway and the Biomuseo; mornings outside, afternoons indoors
- 5 days
- Three-day loop + Panamá Viejo ruins + one slow day or a rainforest morning in Gamboa
- Don't confuse
- Panamá Viejo is the ruined first city, east of downtown; Casco Viejo (also called Casco Antiguo) is the 17th-century old town that is lived in today.
Decide
You will like
- Old-town evenings
- Ships in the Canal
- Short flights to the islands
You will hate
- Midday heat
- Rush-hour traffic
- Afternoon downpours
When
Panama City: next 7 days
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Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.
Air quality
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Model estimate (CAMS via Open-Meteo), not a street-level station; readings near busy roads run higher.
Dry season; hot, breezy.
Driest month; Carnival dates move.
Dry, very hot by afternoon.
Hot; first rains late in the month.
Rainy season starts; afternoon storms.
Wet afternoons; mornings usually fine.
Showers most afternoons.
Wet; humid.
Wet; heavy rain possible.
Among the wettest months; flooding on some roads.
Wet; national holidays crowd the old town.
Rains ease; Christmas season busy.
Money
- Budget
- $25–45 excl. bed / day
- Mid
- $45–100 excl. bed / day
- High
- $100+ excl. bed / day
- IC card
- No transit card needed for a first visit: ride-hailing cars, taxis and walking. The Metro has its own rechargeable card if you use it.
- Cash rule
- Keep $20 in small notes; use ATMs inside banks or malls, and refuse to pay with $50 or $100 notes at small shops.
What things cost
| Coffee in Casco Viejo | $3–5 |
| Empanada or fried snack | $1–3 |
| Fish plate at a market counter | $8–15 |
| Sit-down restaurant meal, per person | $15–35 |
| Local beer | $2–4 |
| Bottle of water, shop | $1–2 |
| Ride-hailing car across the centre | $4–10 |
| Taxi from Tocumen to Casco Viejo | $30–40 |
| Miraflores Locks ticket | $20–35 (check the Canal Authority) |
| Biomuseo ticket | $20–30 |
| Tourist SIM or eSIM, about a week | $8–20 |
| Mid-range hotel room, per night | $70–140 |
Arrive
PTY to Casco Viejo: one taxi from the official counter or a ride-hailing car, 40–70 minutes depending on traffic — the risk is not the ride but a rainy rush hour and a hotel door that locks.
Move
- Default
- Walk inside a cluster; ride-hailing car between clusters.
- Passes
- No pass. Rides inside the centre are cheap; check the fare in the app before you ride.
- Last trains
- The Metro closes at night and does not reach Casco Viejo or the locks; ride-hailing runs late but drivers may cancel in heavy rain.
- Other modes
- Other modes (Rome2Rio)
Luggage
- Lockers
- Few public lockers; hotels hold bags after check-out.
- Forwarding
- No forwarding service culture; keep the big bag at the hotel for trips to the islands or highlands.
- Dead zone
- Late check-out flights: ask the hotel to hold bags and for a shower room.
Essentials
- Paying
- Cards work in hotels, malls and most restaurants; cash for markets, small cafés and taxis. US dollars are the paper money; Panamanian coins are used for small change.
- Tipping
- About 10% in restaurants if service is not already added; round up for drivers.
- SIM & data
- Install an eSIM before you fly, or buy a tourist SIM at the counters in Tocumen arrivals (passport needed).
- Plugs & power
- 120 V; type A and B sockets, as in the United States.
- Drinking water
- Bottled water is the easy choice; ice in established places is usually fine.
- Toilets
- Cafés, malls, hotels and museums; carry tissues.
- Opening hours
- Museums often close one weekday (often Monday); check each place. Shops in Casco Viejo open late morning.
- Health
- Heat and humidity all year, mosquitoes (dengue is present), sun. Travel insurance with medical cover.
- Accessibility
- Casco Viejo has cobbles, high kerbs and uneven pavements; newer hotels, malls and the Biomuseo are step-free.
- Laundry
- Hotels do same- or next-day laundry, priced by the item or kilo.
- Emergency numbers
- 911.
Pack
- Light, breathable clothes and a hat
- A rain jacket for May–November
- Shoes that grip wet cobbles
- A layer for over-cooled shops and restaurants
Clusters
Morning and evening cluster: cathedral, plazas and the sea wall; cobbled and hot at noon, with bags forbidden on the streets.
rescue coverage 91% · max p90 7′ · half
Half-morning cluster: ships pass the locks, a viewing terrace and a small museum; go early, indoors after 11:30.
rescue coverage 91% · max p90 7′ · half
Morning or late-afternoon cluster: the Biomuseo and a flat seaside path; open and shadeless at midday.
rescue coverage 91% · max p90 7′ · half
Morning cluster: the ruins of the first city, open and shadeless; a tower climb and a small museum.
rescue coverage 91% · max p90 7′ · half
Days
Mornings outside, afternoons indoors, evenings in the old town; the last day ends with the bags already in the car.
Places
A colourful museum of Panama's natural history at the start of the Amador causeway: 90 minutes indoors, then a flat walk by the water.
The old town's main church on Plaza de la Independencia: twenty minutes inside, then the square; go before the heat.
Watch ships lift through the Canal's Pacific locks from a terrace: 90 minutes, best in the morning and only worth it when a ship is due.
The ruins of the first city on the Pacific, with a cathedral tower: 75 minutes, in the early morning, hat on.
A small plaza and sea wall at the tip of Casco Viejo: a monument to the French Canal effort, sea views and the skyline; 25 minutes.
Eat
Walk-in ceviche and fried-fish counters over the seafood market on the Cinta Costera; go before 12:00 or after 14:00.
Sleep
Quieter nights in larger hotels with lifts and a car at the door; a 15-minute ride to Casco Viejo.
Desk: staffed 24h
First-timers: restored streets, restaurants and the sea wall on foot; choose a hotel with a 24-hour desk and a drop-off within 100 m.
Desk: staffed 24h
Survive
Safety
- Casco Viejo is busy and patrolled in the evening; the streets around its edge (toward Santa Ana and El Chorrillo) are not: take a car at night.
- Heat: AC stop every 60–90 minutes; drink bottled water.
- Emergency: 911.
Red lines
- Do not walk the streets of El Chorrillo, Curundú or Santa Ana at night, even close to Casco Viejo.
- Canal locks: stay behind the visitor-centre railings.
- Do not photograph police or the presidential palace guards up close.
Practical
- Toilets: cafés, malls and museums; carry tissues.
- Tap water in Panama City is treated and commonly drunk, but many visitors use bottled water.
Nearby: Panama regions
Phrases that do the work
Greeting
Hello
Buenos días
BWEH-nos DEE-as
Thanks
Thank you
Gracias
GRAH-syas
Market
How much is this?
¿Cuánto cuesta?
KWAN-toh KWES-ta
Food
Not spicy, please
Sin picante, por favor
seen pee-KAN-teh por fah-VOR
Café
The bill, please
La cuenta, por favor
la KWEN-ta por fah-VOR
Taxi
Please take me to this address
Lléveme a esta dirección
YEH-veh-meh ah ES-ta dee-rek-SYON
Taxi
Stop here, please
Pare aquí, por favor
PAH-reh ah-KEE por fah-VOR
Scams and red flags
- Street taxis that name a high price for tourists or refuse the meter: use a ride-hailing app or agree the total before you get in.
- Airport touts offering a 'cheap' ride inside arrivals: use the official taxi counter or your app.
- Distraction thefts on buses and at busy corners: keep phones out of sight near the roadside.
- Unofficial guides at the locks or in Casco Viejo who ask for money afterwards: agree a price first or decline.
Festivals and events that change the plan
| When | What | Effect on your plan |
|---|---|---|
| Feb or Mar (four days before Ash Wednesday) | Carnival | National party; many offices and shops close and the centre is packed. |
| Nov 3, 4, 5 and 10, 28 | November national days | Parades and closures; Casco Viejo is crowded, and many offices are shut. |
| Dec 31–Jan 1 | New Year | Fireworks and traffic; book rooms and cars early. |
| May–November | Rainy season | Heavy afternoon rain; outdoor stops belong in the morning. |
Day-trips from here
Gamboa rainforest
goCar or tour, about 45 min each way
Half day
Birdwatching and the Chagres river; go early.
Portobelo and Colón coast
go off seasonCar about 1.5–2 h each way
Full day
Colonial forts on the Caribbean side; check road and weather news.
Taboga Island
goFerry from Amador, about 30–60 min
Full day
Beach day; check the ferry times the day before.
Sources
- Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (official)
- Panama Canal Authority (official)
- Wikivoyage — Panama City (secondary)