21 Best Things to Do in Panama
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was one of the hardest technical projects ever. It is a man-made waterway that links the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The canal is more than 48 miles long and was first opened in 1914. It makes the trip between the two seas much faster. The Miraflores Canal Visitor Center is where people can learn more about the project, the problems that were encountered, and the solutions that were found. The movies, exhibits, and interactive displays are fun and educational ways for people of all kinds to look around. Fewer ships pass by during the day, so visitors should go after 2:00 pm. They can eat on the deck at the Miraflores Restaurant and watch the huge ships move by while they eat.
Ancon Hill, Panama
The foothill that is now the Ancon Hill reserve is 654 feet high and was once used as a place to run the Panama Canal. The unbuilt-up hill is the highest point in Panama City and has stunning views of the city center below. A 30-minute hike will get people to the top, and then they can go experience the jungle. The hike can take between one and two hours, and to escape the heat, it’s best to do it early in the morning. In the park, people can see Geoffroy’s tamarins, nine-banded armadillos, sloths, and deer. Bird watchers will enjoy figuring out which of the 39 kinds of birds that visit the hill they are.
Biomuseo
It was opened by the non-profit Amador Foundation to create and keep a biodiverse tropical center that people could use to learn more about, enjoy, and explore the area. This is a great place for tourists to learn more about the country’s woods, water, and other natural resources. It is supported by the well-known Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Many people know Frank Gehry as a famous builder. The building has eight galleries and a biodiversity park. People of all ages will enjoy walking around the park, which is like a live extension of the museum and has plants that are native to the area.
Boquete, Panama
Boquete is a small town in the province of Chiriqui that is a famous spot for both locals and tourists in Panama. There are tall hills and mountains all around the beautiful spot, which makes for an amazing view. People come from all over the world to enjoy the cool weather and closeness to the beautiful Volcan Baru. The town is one of the most popular places to visit in Panama, and its beautiful natural setting makes it a hub for people who love the outdoors. It’s amazing to discover the hiking trails, beautiful waterfalls, old volcano, and rare plants and animals. The Valle Escondido Resort and the Lucero Country Club, both of which have full-service spas and exercise programs, are great places for visitors to relax.
Bocas Del Toro
There is a line of islands called the Bocas del Toro archipelago off the coast of the Caribbean Sea. It is a unique part of Panama that all tourists must see. The lush tropical plants and beautiful white sand beaches in Bocas del Toro make it a biodiverse dream world that is hard to describe. Bocas Town is the capital of the main island, Isla Colon. It has seafood restaurants, gift shops, and a lively scene that goes late into the night. Surfing, bird watching, forest trekking, snorkeling, visiting the nearby Indian town, playing with marine turtles, and navigating the water in a sailboat are all popular things to do.
Adventuras Panama
Since 1994, Adventures Panama has been giving exciting tours of the country. Some of the places that people can visit in Panama through their packages are the capital city, the Chiriqui Highlands of Boquete, the port city of Colon, Mamey Island, and many more. The tours can be customized based on your hobbies, like going to see the tribes, exploring the rainforest, having a honeymoon, or making a trip just for you. People who like to take risks will love the things they can do on the tour, like kayaking, rafting, camping, diving, and canyoning. One of the best ways to see Panama and make sure you don’t miss anything during your trip is to go on a tour.
Bridge of the Americas
The Thatcher Ferry Bridge was the first name for the Puente de las Americas or Bridge of the Americas. The bridge is in Panama City and goes over the Pacific Ocean to connect the Panama Canal to the other side. It is over 1,654 meters long. It was one of the few bridges that didn’t swing between North and South America until 2004. The bridge was very important to world trade because it made it easier for cars to cross the canal. Bridge visitors can enjoy the impressive structure of the bridge and cross the walkways to enjoy beautiful views of the area.
Casco Viejo
The historic area of Panama City is called Casco Viejo. It is also called San Felipe or Casco Antiguo. When it was finished in 1763, the settlement was built after the houses there had been destroyed by pirates. The area was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, and there are many interesting places to see there. People love to visit El Palacio de las Garzas, which is the home and office of the President of Panama, La Catedral Metropolitana, which is the city’s main Catholic church, and the church and convent of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Cerro Azul
It only takes 40 minutes to get from the busy city of Panama City to the mountain town of Cerro Azul. This small town is great for a quick weekend getaway because the weather and views are a lot like the Swiss Alps. The ride raises people to a height of about 3,000 feet, from which they can see beautiful views of the valleys below. Along the way, people will see a beautiful show of flowers, including big bougainvilleas and orchids of all shapes and sizes. People who love being outside will love discovering the streams and rivers that flow into Chagres National Park.
Coronado, Panama
Coronado is a beach town in Panama that both tourists and expats like to visit. The town on the ocean is only an hour from Panama City and has beautiful beaches with black and white sand that lead to the Pacific Ocean. Coronado is one of Panama’s best-developed tourist towns, and it has a lot more to offer than just swimming in the ocean and lying out in the sun. People who come can play golf or even learn how to do it if they don’t already know how. Besides that, they can surf, go horseback riding on the beach, buy souvenirs, and eat at some great places. There is live music at night, and there are bars on the beach that keep the party going late into the night.
Embera Village Tours & More
The Emberá people came from the Darien area of Panama and have lived on this land for hundreds of years, long before Panama was a country. In Emberá, a land far from Panama City, more than 30,000 people live at the moment. People can take tours of the land and learn more about the native people’s customs, culture, and language. There are day tours that pick you up in Panama City and take you on a boat ride through a pristine rainforest full of birds, sloths, and monkeys. On the way to the town, you can cool off in a waterfall. People will be greeted with traditional music when they get there. They can rest in the community hut and eat a tasty lunch before going on a tour of the rest of the town.
Phone: 314-397-7750
Karavan Gallery, Panama
A beautiful collection of arts and crafts from all over Panama can be found at the Karavan Gallery. A lot of the things here are inspired by Congo art, which is a big art movement in Central America. Traditional items like blankets and more modern items like pillows are both hand-stitched by Kuna women. They all show off the unique way the Kuna people sew. Native American groups like the Emberá and the Wounaan also make crafts that you can buy at the store. The baskets, woven items, hats, plates, and tribal masks are just a few of the things that show how skilled these artists are.
Moto Tour Panama
Moto Tour Panama is a motorcycle tour business that is an official partner of BMW Motorrad in Panama. They offer tours that let people see paradise on two wheels. The business rents out motorcycles for shorter amounts of time and lets people use them for self-guided tours, group tours, and guided tours. Panama is a great place to go on a motorcycle journey because it has many roads that go along the coast, up and down mountains, and through jungles and forests. In one of the most unique ways possible, visitors will be able to see the land and find scenes and views that will take their breath away. The best way to see these amazing routes is on a motorbike with Moto Tour Panama’s experienced guides!
Omar Park
People in Panama City like to spend time in Omar Recreational and Cultural Park. People from all over the city come here to get away from it all and enjoy some fresh air. The 141-acre land used to be a famous golf course. It was opened to the public in 1973 and is now full of fun things for people of all ages to do. The park has a big playground for kids, a basketball court, a soccer field, tennis courts, walking, jogging, skating tracks, exercise equipment, and a lot more. There are fitness classes in a covered area, and during the summer, performances can be seen outside. In the park, there is also a library.
Natural Science Museum
People from all over the world have been able to explore the wonders of natural science at the Natural Science Museum, or Museo de Ciencias Naturales as it is called locally, since 1975. The whole family will enjoy it, and you can spend all day visiting the museum and the nearby Central Park. Geology and fossils are the main interests of the museum, which collects, studies, protects, and shows off a wide range of local and foreign species. People can also see how the museum works to protect Panama’s natural resources and species that are in danger of going extinct. Here you can see a collection of preserved mammals, birds, and snakes.
Nina Concept Store, Panama
In Panama, there are a lot of stores and shops that sell a wide range of goods, from clothes and toys to electronics and home goods. You can tell that the Nina Concept Store is a different and fancier place to shop because of the way the items are designed and the quality of the customer service. Nina’s has a lot of gifts and presents that people can bring back from vacation, but it also has fine jewelry and art. People can take a break from shopping and enjoy a meal or a coffee at the well-known cafe inside the mall.
Panama Trails Day Tours
Specialists and experts work for Panama Trails Day Tours. They have the skills, knowledge, and drive to show tourists what Panama is really like. The tours take visitors to the best parts of Panama and let them pick the ones that interest them the most. There are packages for family vacations, trips to enjoy nature, romantic getaways, and exciting experiences. Tourists can also make their own tours, which include meeting the Emberá Indians, hiking and zip-lining through the forest canopy, swimming at Starfish Beach, seeing the Miraflores Locks, and walking around the historic capital.
Panama Viejo
Panamá Viejo is what’s left of Old Panama City, which used to be Panama’s center. The settlement was formed in 1519 and had just over a hundred people living in it when it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. It got more people and buildings very quickly, but over the years, fires, pirate attacks, and earthquakes damaged or destroyed many of the buildings. Now, people can see the remains of the first European settlement, which include the Matadero Bridge, the church, the structure of the San Juan De Dios hospital, the San Jose convent complex, and many other things.
Parque Natural Metropolitano
You can find Metropolitan Natural Park, also known as Parque Natural Metropolitano, as the only wildlife haven in all of Panama City. People from all over the world have been going to the park since 1988 to relax and explore. Park features like the Los Trinos lookout point and the Caobos Trail make it a great place for people who like being outside to go hiking. There are many kinds of plants and animals for visitors to see. Bird lovers will have a great time because there are so many kinds of birds. The park’s highest spot is Cedar Hill Lookout. From there, people can see Panama City, the Bridge of the Americas, and the Panama Canal.
Phone: +507-232-5516
Punta Culebra Nature Center, Panama
The Marine Exhibition Center of Punta Culebra is another name for the Punta Culebra Nature Center. It is run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The center’s main goals are to teach about and protect marine coastal areas. It has many interesting exhibits and hands-on activities that the whole family will enjoy. There is a touch tank with turtles and other sea life, as well as the Fabulous Frogs of Panama. The nature center also has a track that goes through a tropical dry forest. Sloths, raccoons, iguanas, birds, and butterflies are just some of the animals that you might see there.
Phone: +507-212-8793
The Interoceanic Canal Museum
The Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panamá opened in 1997. It is also called the Interoceanic Canal Museum or the Panama Canal Museum. It is a public museum that doesn’t make money and is all about building the Panama Canal. The displays and objects go back a long time, to when the French first tried to build the canal, long before it was open to the public. It takes people through the different steps, from the beginning to when it was turned over to Panamanian control. The museum building is also important to the history of the canal because it was used as an office by both the French and the Americans while the canal was being built.
Treasures of Panama by Reprosa
Treasures of Panama by Reprosa is a business that works to protect and share Panama’s history, culture, traditions, and natural beauty. The award-winning business makes things that people all over the world love and that have been given as symbols of Panama to royalty, politicians, and artists many times. The company works with tribes from all over the country to make engravings, jewelry, and works of art by hand. They are experts at copying native items. People can buy these replicas of Panama’s treasures and take a guided walk of their workshop to see what they do behind the scenes.
Parque Municipal Summit, Panama
The Parque Municipal Summit is a botanical park and zoo/wildlife rehabilitation center that covers 218 acres on the edge of Panama City. You must see it when you are there. It’s fun to walk through the big park, which is full of plants from around the world that were brought here to see how they would do in Panama’s warm climate. The zoo has a playground for kids and a lot of animal exhibits. The harpy eagle, which is the national bird of Panama, is probably the most famous animal there. There are also many saved wild animals at the zoo, such as a pair of mountain lions that were left alone.
The Panama Museum of Current Art, also known as MAC, is the only place in Panama City to see modern and current art. MAC is committed to promoting modern art and making it available to everyone. It also honors the variety of Panama’s people and how they have shaped the country’s art. The museum’s permanent collection has more than 700 pieces that were mostly made by artists from Panama and other Latin American countries over 50 years. The museum has changing temporary exhibits all year long, as well as a schedule of public lectures, talks, and demos that are either very cheap or free.