In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.
Voykit pocket guide · Panama
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.
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.
- Country
- Panama
- Local name
- Ciudad de Panamá
- Best months
- Jan · Feb · Mar · Dec
- Time zone
- America/Panama
- Stay
- 2 days: Casco Viejo morning, Miraflores Locks the next morning
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- 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.
- Daily spend
- Budget $25–45 excl. bed · Mid $45–100 excl. bed · High $100+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Install an eSIM before you fly, or buy a tourist SIM at the counters in Tocumen arrivals (passport needed).
- Emergency
- All emergencies 911 · Police 104 · Fire 103
- Plugs
- 120 V; type A and B sockets, as in the United States.
- Tipping
- About 10% in restaurants if service is not already added; round up for drivers.
- Water
- Bottled water is the easy choice; ice in established places is usually fine.
- Toilets
- Cafés, malls, hotels and museums; carry tissues.
Get in
By air
- Tocumen International Airport (PTY)
- 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.
Get around
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.
- Late at night
- 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.
See and do
01Miraflores LocksEsclusas de Miraflores
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.
02Biomuseo
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.
03Panamá Viejo ruinsPanamá Viejo
The ruins of the first city on the Pacific, with a cathedral tower: 75 minutes, in the early morning, hat on.
04Metropolitan CathedralCatedral Metropolitana
The old town's main church on Plaza de la Independencia: twenty minutes inside, then the square; go before the heat.
05Plaza de Francia
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.
Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Gamboa rainforest | Car or tour, about 45 min each way | Half day |
| Portobelo and Colón coast | Car about 1.5–2 h each way | Full day |
| Taboga Island | Ferry from Amador, about 30–60 min | Full day |
Eat
- Mercado de Mariscos
- Walk-in ceviche and fried-fish counters over the seafood market on the Cinta Costera; go before 12:00 or after 14:00.
Sleep
- Bella Vista and Avenida Balboa
- Quieter nights in larger hotels with lifts and a car at the door; a 15-minute ride to Casco Viejo.
- Casco Viejo
- 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.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Buenos díasBWEH-nos DEE-as |
| Thank you | GraciasGRAH-syas |
| How much is this? | ¿Cuánto cuesta?KWAN-toh KWES-ta |
| Not spicy, please | Sin picante, por favorseen pee-KAN-teh por fah-VOR |
| The bill, please | La cuenta, por favorla KWEN-ta por fah-VOR |
| Please take me to this address | Lléveme a esta direcciónYEH-veh-meh ah ES-ta dee-rek-SYON |
| Stop here, please | Pare aquí, por favorPAH-reh ah-KEE por fah-VOR |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'buenos días'; avoid: Skipping greetings in shops
- Dress: Long trousers in offices and churches; avoid: Beachwear in the city
- Guna communities: Ask before photos, pay the fee; avoid: Walking into homes or ceremonies
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.
Scams and watch-outs
- 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.
One and two days
1 day
The first day of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Casco Viejo morning, a 12:30 lunch table
- 07:30Metropolitan Cathedral
- Plaza de Francia (optional)
- 12:30Lunch table 12:30 (Casco Viejo)
- Hotel or AC café 13:00–16:00; the sea wall at sunset if energy allows.
2 days
The first two days of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Casco Viejo morning, a 12:30 lunch table
- 07:30Metropolitan Cathedral
- Plaza de Francia (optional)
- 12:30Lunch table 12:30 (Casco Viejo)
- Hotel or AC café 13:00–16:00; the sea wall at sunset if energy allows.
Day 2 — Miraflores Locks, then seafood at the market
- 08:00Miraflores Locks
- Mercado de Mariscos
- Rest at the hotel in the afternoon; the rains usually come after 14:00 from May to November.
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá: www.visitpanama.com/
- Panama Canal Authority: pancanal.com/en/
- Wikivoyage — Panama City: en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Panama_City
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Printed from Voykit (/panama-city). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.