Our world trip started in Panama. We stayed in Panama for a total of 21 days. In this period we traveler from Panama-city all the way to Bocas del Toro Our travel time was from January 26 to February 16. During this time we have been able to see and experience a lot of Panama and therefore we would like to share this with you. Are you curious about our experiences with Panama? Then read this blog!
Experiences
Activities
In terms of activities, there was not much to do in Panama. We both really liked Casco viejo in Panama City. We liked the new part a bit less. There were only high-rise apartment buildings here with banks and decent business people. On the other hand, you saw quite a few bums or very poor people. Especially on the outskirts of the city.
Apart from Casco viejo, Panama does not have a lot of historical buildings and monuments. We personally found this quite unfortunate. Outside of Panama City, we didn't find all the other cities that interesting or special. In cities such as Santiago de Veraguas and David there was not much to do or visit.
We thought the Panama Canal was a must see. We found this to be one of the best experiences in Panama. It was very impressive and cool to experience once.
Unfortunately there was little tourism when we were there. As a result, many tours and restaurants were also closed. This is probably also due to the circumstances of recent years. We also encountered few tourists at all. We thought this was a shame, since you don't meet other people that way. This sometimes feels like you are traveling alone through a country.
Visiting natural parks such as Metropolitan Park and Boquete was really fun. This is also what there is mainly to do at the moment. You will soon meet other tourists here. Just like on Bocas del Toro. We also really liked this, because there was a lot to do and there were many other tourists.
Experiences with security in Panama
Panama is generally not unsafe per se. We have never really felt very unsafe. We sometimes got an unpleasant feeling of how heavily secured everything was in Panama. For example, there is a lot of heavily armed security at banks and casinos, but also at the local supermarket. In addition, there are police driving around with huge guns. It gave us a bit of an unpleasant feeling, because you get the idea that it is necessary. This was mainly in and around Panama City. In the smaller towns and on the island near Bocas del Toro this was actually not the case.
Accommodations
One of our coolest hotels in Panama had to be our first in Panama City. Plaza Paitilla Inn hotel is located in the new part of the city and, in addition to a lovely swimming pool and breakfast, it has a beautiful view of the city. Panama also has a lot of beautiful hotels, unfortunately there is not a lot of choice. For example, there are only about 1700 hotels in Panama to book on booking.com. Because there is little choice, we could not really book last minute. You then simply have the chance that a hotel is full or a lot more expensive. There is really just not enough supply for the demand at the moment.
Restaurants
We actually went out for dinner every day in Panama. This was because we could never really find an accommodation with a kitchen. Our food experience in Panama is not very good. Personally, we didn't really like the food in Panama. For example, we found that too much cheese was often put on the food. There was also often a lot of meat on the menu. And there was a lot of deep-fried, even the sushi… We also didn't think the own kitchen was very special, and we got bored quickly. You can read exactly what you could eat here in our most popular food in Panama blog.
Besides the fact that we didn't find the food very great, there were also few tasty coffee shops. We could only find many in Panama City. These were super fun because of the combination of the beautiful old buildings with nice hip coffee shops in them. The coffee here was also very good. Another plus about Panama was that the national Imperial beer was also very tasty.
Locals
As we have mentioned in other blogs, we found the locals in Panama, with the exception of Boquete and Bocas del Toro, not very friendly and inviting. You don't feel very welcome as a tourist. In addition, you will receive little to no help if you are unable to find a solution. Especially if you don't speak Spanish well, they quickly don't feel like helping you anymore. We also found the hotel staff not always friendly.
Another thing we personally were not prepared for is asking for a tip. In restaurants they always asked for a tip if you didn't indicate within 1 minute that you wanted to tip at checkout. If you gave little or no tip, they were angry. If you did give a tip, they weren't really happy either, and they would not thank you.
Experiences with the infrastructure in Panama
I think Panama's Infrastructure was one of the best in all of Central America. The nice and beautiful places in Panama are far apart. You have to travel a lot and especially long stretches to visit these places. The cities in between are not special and there is actually nothing to do. So you have to take into account long days in the bus or car to get to your next destination.
Fortunately, the roads in Panama were fine, except for some parts. The road to Santa Fe, for example, consisted of many potholes. There were also good connections with public transport. You could easily take the bus and it was not expensive at all. You can read how much it cost in our costs blog of Panama.
Another thing that was really well organized in Panama was the Internet for your phone. You could easily get a SIM card with unlimited internet, which also works well everywhere (with the exception of mountains). Especially as a digital nomad you are always looking for a good connection. Later in Central America we also found out that the wifi in hotels in Panama was actually quite good.
A final point is that in Panama there are many large supermarkets and shopping malls with many new shops. The first one is certainly nice if you need water, snacks or some personal care products.
Nature and wildlife
Panama really has a lot of untouched nature. This is unfortunately difficult to visit, because there are few tours / nature parks that are easy to visit. As a result, you have to figure out a lot yourself and walk your own paths. There are therefore no toilets, restaurants, etc. in these places. We personally like it when there is something more organized in terms of parks. We don't necessarily need a whole tour including a guide. But we do like it when a nature park has an easily accessible entrance. And in addition, for example, a small restaurant for a cup of coffee, or at least the possibility to buy something to drink or snacks.
You will not find this untouched nature everywhere. It's mostly only in certain spots. Outside of that, not everything is really green. Especially Boquete, bocas, santa fe, and metropolitan park were the most beautiful and greenest places in Panama. Besides these places, there was not lots of green around Panama.
In Panama you can spot many animals in nature. We have seen the most wildlife on bocas ourselves: howler monkeys, parrots, and sloths. We also spotted some animals in the metropolitan park in Panama City.
Climate/Weather
The weather in Panama was warm, about 30 degrees. Still, it was generally a very pleasant temperature. You regularly had a nice breeze and fresh air. Looking at all of Panama, the temperature didn't really differ much. There was only a few degrees difference between two places. We also had little rain, occasionally a heavy shower but that was quite nice. In the end, all the rain combined was so little that it never got in the way of our plans.
The best experiences in Panama
What did we like most about Panama? Bocas del toro was definitely the nicest part of Panama. A paradise in itself with lots of fun and nice restaurants. In addition, we found Boquete to be a really great place because of the nice tours and very beautiful nature to discover. We also thought Casco viejo, the only historic part of Panama, where you can walk through the city, look at buildings and have nice restaurants with a nice atmosphere, is definitely worth a visit. We found the Panama Canal very impressive ourselves and something you should definitely visit.
Conclusions about our Panama experience
Do we want to come back here and was it worth it?
Panama is an incredibly beautiful country, and we would like to come back just for the nature. We would like to see if things have changed over time. Was it really covid or is it always like this? If nothing has changed in terms of closed tour operators, restaurants, etc., we don't have to stay there long. There is 1 thing for which we would like to go to Panama again. That is visiting the San Blas Islands. We did not visit them, and we do regret it a bit.
Could we stay here for a long time and do we want to start something here?
Since Panama has few accommodations, tours, and nice restaurants throughout the country, this would be a good option to start something. However, Panama does not have the atmosphere in which we would like to work. It feels a bit lonely among the locals. In addition, we wonder how long it will take before there are enough tourists again to make it fun and profitable. Partly because of the above, we would not want to stay here for a longer period of time.
Opinions and experiences can of course always differ a lot. This blog is written from our own experience, but maybe you experience it very differently! Do you think Panama is for you? If you would like more information, please send us a message.
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