We spent a week in Panama, splitting our time between the capital, Panama City and the Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro. We were in Panama City for a total of three days. We had planned to spend longer here, but I contracted Covid in Costa Rica meaning that we arrived four days later than planned. The highlight of our visit was, of course, a trip on the Panama Canal. I can remember learning about the construction of the Panama Canal at school many years ago, so was very excited to finally be visiting this Engineering Wonder of the World.
Note: It is usually only possible to do the canal trip at weekends, so our itinerary was built around this. Also, many tourist attractions, such as the Canal Museum and the Biomuseo, don’t open on Mondays.
How to get to Panama City
Panama City has three airports. The main airport, Tocumen International Airport, is 15 miles north east of the city. The airport does have a Metro Station, but travelling to the city involves changing lines at San Miguelito. Plus, the metro system does not run as far south as the touristy old town. And to be honest, Ubers as so cheap and convenient that we didn’t bother with public transport at all.
Domestic flights to places such as Bocas del Toro operate from the smaller, more central Albrook Gelabert Airport, which is mid way between the Casco Viejo and Miraflores.
There is a third airport, Panamá Pacífico International Airport on the other side of the canal on the site of the former Howard Air Force Base. This is used by Wingo for flights to some South and Central American countries.
Getting around Panama City
As mentioned above, we found the best way to get between places was to call an Uber. The historic Casco Viejo is best explored on foot. The best way to enjoy the Cinta Costera and Amador Causeway is either on foot or by bike. There are several bike hire stations around these two locations.
Where to stay in Panama City
We originally booked a hotel on the slopes of Cerro Ancón; a hill which overlooks the city and the canal. However, it was unavailable for our amended dates. So we ended up at Plaza Paitilla Inn, which is located at the end of the the Cinta Constera in the upmarket neighbourhood of Punta Paitilla. It was a little further away from the old town than we’d hoped, but it is a lovely hotel with a great view across the bay, a good breakfast buffet and a nice pool. So overall, not too disappointing.
Panama City in 3 Days Itinerary
| Day 1 | Flight to Panama City Accommodation – Plaza Paitilla Inn Cinta Costera Photo Parador Cinta Costera 3 Dinner at Nomada Eatery |
| Day 2 | Panama Canal Lake Gatún Culebra Cut Centennial Bridge Pedro Miguel Lock Miraflores Locks Bridge of the Americas Amador Causeway Dinner at Papa John’s Pizza |
| Day 3 | Miraflores Visitor Centre Casco Viejo Iglesia de San José Metropolitan Cathedral Arco Chato Paseo las Bovédas Plaza de Francia |
Panama City Day 1
Flight to Panama City
It feels so good to be checking out of my isolation hotel and getting on the move again, even if the majority of the day consists of taxi-airport-plane-airport-taxi. As we come in to land over Panama, we have a spectacular view of all the ships queuing up to enter the Canal.
Accommodation – Plaza Paitilla Inn
Everything runs smoothly; the plane lands early, there is no queue at immigration, the bags arrive quickly and half an hour after we were due to land, we are sitting in our 17th floor glass-fronted hotel room in the Plaza Paitilla Inn admiring the view. It’s easy to admire the view, as there is a button next to the bed which opens and shuts the curtains!
Cinta Costera
Once we’ve settled in and I’m over my fascination with the electric curtains, we go for a walk along the promenade, or Cinta Costera (coastal beltway) as they call it here.
The Cinta Costera is a 4.3 mile long public recreation area that runs along Panama Bay from Punta Paitilla to the Casco Viejo. It has a foot path, a bike lane, gardens, sports facilities, lookouts and public art.
We walk the length (around 4 miles) of the Cinta Costera, from our hotel in Punta Paitilla to the Casco Viejo in the heat. It is very picturesque with excellent views across the bay, but by far my longest post-Covid exertion and I’m extremely hot and tired by the time we reach our ultimate destination.
Photo Parador
For that iconic Insta worthy shot, the Photo Parador is located around half way along the coastal stretch of the pathway.
Cinta Costera 3
The final part of the pathway, the Cinta Costera 3, consists of a pretty spectacular 1.5 mile long bridge, which runs round the bay around the Casco Viejo. You can walk the length of the bridge, which has three viewpoints along the way.
Dinner at Nomada Eatery
We find somewhere to rest and have dinner; Nomada Eatery. The food is great. And it’s happy hour – so a couple of medicinal frozen margaritas (passion fruit and strawberry) help to cool me down!
Then, we take an Uber back to the hotel to watch the sunset from our bed in the sky.
Panama City Day 2 – Panama Canal
Today is the highlight of my trip and it doesn’t disappoint; we are undertaking a partial transit of the Panama Canal. We booked our tour with Panama Marine Adventures. The partial transit takes around 5-6 hours and costs $155. If you want to opt for the full transit, this will take approximately 12 hours and cost $210.
Our trip a southbound transit – in general, ships travel northbound through the locks in the morning and south in the afternoon. So, we are picked up by a minibus around midday and taken to roughly half way along the canal in order to sail back to Panama City.
Lake Gatún
We are driven 20 miles to Lake Gatún; an elevated artificial lake created by damming the Río Chagres and flooding a valley. Here, we board our boat – the Pacific Queen, and set sail for the Pacific Ocean.
Culebra Cut
We pass through the huge Lake Gatún and into the Culebra Cut; a 7.9 mile long artificial trough blasted through the Continental Divide.
Centennial Bridge
After passing under the Centennial Bridge, where the Pan American Highway crosses the canal, we reach our first lock; Pedro Miguel.
Pedro Miguel Lock
To economise on time and water as we pass through Pedro Miguel Lock, we must buddy up with a bigger ship – out buddy is a container ship, the New Century 2. Once we are in position, which is fairly easy as we’re only small, it’s time for the huge container ship to be manoeuvred into place. Ships pass through the locks under their own power, tethered to locomotives on either side which keep them centred. With only around a 45 cm margin for error, it’s a slow and extremely skilful job.
Once the ship is in place, the lock gates close and we drop 9 metres to reach the height of the next lake; Miraflores. The process takes around 10 minutes and displaces over a million litres of water.
Time for a quick bite to eat during a lull in the action; a packed lunch and soft drinks are included in the tour. As is the very informative bilingual commentary, hence all the nerdy facts…
Miraflores Locks
Sandwiches dealt with, we head back on deck for Miraflores Locks. Here, there is a double lock with two sets of 9 metre locks to negotiate. This time, we are buddied up with an oil tanker – the Elka Hercules. The same routine, only times two; we get into position, wait for the container ship to be manoeuvred into place by the tugs and locomotives, water displaced, lock gates open, move forward and repeat. By the final lock, there is less jostling for position at the bow (most of the Americans have retired to the air conditioned bar) and I can actually get a better view of the process.
We are sailing through one of the two original sets of locks which measure 320 metres x 33 metres; to our right is the third set which form the canal expansion deal with even larger ships. We pass alongside two enormous fluorescent pink cargo ships (the One Motivator and One Maxim) which can carry 14,000 containers each.
Bridge of the Americas
After the locks, we continue under the Bridge of the Americas (when it was built, it was the only thing linking the American continents) towards the ocean, sailing parallel to the Amador Causeway.
Amador Causeway
The 3.7 mile long Amador Causeway joins three former islands to the mainland and was created with spoils from the digging of the canal. Nestled between the Islands are marinas and a cruise terminal. There are also restaurants, trails, viewpoints and a shopping centre. At the top end of the Causeway, you will find the Biomuseo in a unique building designed by Frank Gehry.
At the Amador Causeway, our five hour canal journey is over and we disembark (with a quick photographic interlude) into the minibus waiting to take us back to our hotel.
Dinner at Papa John’s Pizza
It’s been an exciting but tiring day. So no exciting dinner plans tonight, just a pizza and a couple of beers from a branch of Papa John’s Pizza before retiring for the night.
Panama City Day 3 – Miraflores Visitor Centre and Casco Viejo
Planning a trip to Panama City was a bit like doing a jigsaw; you can only do the canal trip at weekends and many tourist attractions are closed on Mondays. So putting together an itinerary which incorporated everything I wanted to do was fiddly. Then I caught Covid and we had to change all our plans. The result – our only full day for sightseeing is a Monday, when most touristy things are closed, so we spend much of the day wandering around looking at the outsides of things.
Miraflores Visitor Centre
But first, one of the city’s star attractions. Around 6 miles further north west of the old town is the Miraflores Visitor Centre. This consists of a museum with a viewing platform over the Miraflores Locks. There’s also an IMAX film about the history of the canal.
We’ve timed it completely wrong; just before we arrive, a cruise ship turns up and nearly all its passengers disembark to watch their ship pass through the lock from the Visitor Centre. So we end up behind a queue of hundreds of elderly Americans and have to wait ages to be let in.
Eventually, the cruise ship is through the lock, the elderly Americans are bused back to rejoin it, and it’s our turn to access the viewing platform. We get to watch a couple of ships pass through the lock, complete with a running commentary, which is very interesting.
It’s a crazy idea – a canal between two oceans, passing over a mountain, slicing a country (a continent even) in two! Apparently, the first attempt (by the French) was to build a level canal by cutting a hole through the mountain, but that failed because the engineer only visited Panama in the (short) dry season and once it started raining, 22,000 workers died mainly from drowning but also from being bitten by snakes/spiders.
The Visitor Centre is open daily from 8 am until 6 pm. But it’s best to check the Transit Schedule to seen when maritime traffic will be at its heaviest (ships usually start passing through Miraflores around 8.45 am and 1.45 pm). Tickets for foreign adults cost $17.22.
Casco Viejo
We spend the rest of the day in the Casco Viejo – the old town. Or to be more precise, the old new town. The original site of the town (Panama Viejo) was a few miles to the northeast. After it was sacked by Henry Morgan in 1671, the city was rebuilt in its new location, hence Casco Viejo is the old new town or is it the new old town?
We consult my guide book and plot a route, starting at Palacio de las Garzas. My guide book helpfully informs me that this is the residence of the President of Panama. It omits to mention that the area is heavily guarded, so getting anywhere near it is impossible. Our Uber drops us as close as it is permitted, and we set off for out next destination on foot.
To be honest, it’s such a picturesque neighbourhood with interesting buildings and plazas up every little street, so we switch to the old man’s favourite mode, aimless wander, and just pootle around taking photos, sitting on a bench in the shade from time to time as it’s too hot to walk for any length of time.
The Casco Viejo contains an eclectic mix of buildings – from embassies and fancy boutique hotels to slums and ruins. And several churches. The most interesting church is the Iglesia de San José.
Iglesia de San José
My guide book tells me that the Iglesia de San José contains a golden altar removed from Panama Viejo. Rumour has it, that shortly before the pirates arrived, the priest concealed the altar. When infamous pirate Henry Morgan asked where it was, the priest replied that it needed repairing and asked for a donation. Henry allegedly replied that he thought the priest was a bigger pirate than him! My guide book has omitted to mention that taking up most of the crypt, is the biggest, tackiest nativity scene I’ve ever seen.
Metropolitan Cathedral
Equally as grand, but without the tacky nativity scene, is the 17th Century Metropolitan Cathedral.
Arco Chato
Amidst the ruins of the 17th Century Santo Domingo Convent, you will find the Arco Chato. This ancient arc is remarkable for being unsupported and yet having survived for hundreds of years.
Paseo las Bovédas
We continue to the furthest point of the Casco Viejo; the Paseo las Bóvedas – a picturesque flower covered walkway with views over the ocean and canal, which leads to Plaza de Francia.
Plaza de Francia
In the Plaza de Francia, you will find a monumental cock which pays homage to the French attempt to build a canal. Which could probably best be described as a monumental cock up!
We have walked the length of the Casco Viejo in the heat. Time to catch a taxi back to our hotel. One last dip in the pool before our trip to Panama is at an end.
- Trip taken: February 2022
- Updated: September 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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