Panama🇵🇦

Our first country of Central America is Panama. Unless you are planning to do the San Blas Islands Tour, Panama can be easily missed as there is not a whole lot to do here. We ended up staying for five more days to break up our travel to the border of Costa Rica, which was our next stop.

San Blas Islands Tour (Colombia to Panama)

We did the San Blas Island tour from Colombia to Panama. However, you can do it from Panama to Colombia if you are heading to South America. We did the six day, five night tour with Blue Sailing and it was the most incredible few days, making it another highlight of our trip! A blog going into details on the tour and company we went with will be here.

Panama City

🏨Hostal Casa Areka Panama

From the San Blas, we stayed in Panama City for two nights. Overall, there isn’t a lot to do in Panama City, so most people only stay for a night or two before moving on. We stayed in Hostal Casa Areka and it was a really good hostel! It is outside of the main centre of town, meaning we did have to get taxis back and forth, but it was the cheapest accommodation we could find and also included free breakfast. The dorms were pretty standard, with air con and shared bathrooms. There was also lockers, a kitchen and an outdoor pool. The free breakfast ran from 8am-10am and included pancakes and fruit, with coffee. You had to cook the pancakes yourself, but the helpings were generous and it was free, so we definitely made the most of it. I would have breakfast as early or late as possible to miss the queue, as only three people can cook at a time.

Miraflores Lock Panama Canal

One of the main things to visit in Panama City is the famous Miraflores Canal. We got a taxi from our hostel and spent the afternoon there, which is the recommended time to visit. Tickets cost 35 USD for the both of us, which included a ticket to the movie. The movie lasts around fifty minutes and goes into detail about the history of the canal and the maritime trade. Once the movie has finished, you can go to the waterway and watch a ship go through the famous gate locks before carrying on its journey into the Pacific/Atlantic ocean.

Old Town, Casco Viejo

Spend another day exploring Panama City‘s Old Town. Unlike most old towns, Casco Viejo is a vibrant, colourful place, famous for its cobblestone streets mixed with modern buildings and colonial architecture. It has an incredibly lively dining scene, with a variety of fancy cafes and restaurants to go to. We had one of the most amazing Italian meals we have ever had here, and we also experienced some of the famous night life, with a rooftop bar and DJ.

Metropolitan National Park

Spend the morning at the Metropolitan National Park, which is known for seeing all kinds of wildlife. Tickets are 5 USD each and you can spend a few hours exploring the different walking trails around the park. We saw a variety of birds including Toucans and also other different animals. It also boasts an incredible view of Panama City from the jungle canopy.

Other things to do in Panama City

• Walk or bike the famous Cinta Costera Costal Walk.
• Go to the Mercado de Mariscos Fish Market.
• Walk up Cerro Ancon Hill for panoramic views of the city and canal.
• National Park Soberania, Gambo.
• Zoo and Botanical Garden Summit.
• Sunset Rooftop Bar.
• Shopping at Multi Plaza, Multi Centro, Albrook Mall.
• Visit the Amador Causeway.

Bocas del Torro

We decided to stop off at Bocas del Torro, to break up our journey to the land border of Costa Rica. We got the overnight bus from Panama City to Almirante, which took around nine hours. From Almirante, you will need to get a taxi to the pier and get a boat to Bocas Del Torro. As we were staying on Red Frog Beach, we then had to get a second speedboat to our side of the island. Overall both boats took around twenty minutes to get to each island.

🏨Palmar Beach Lodge by Red Frog Beach
We booked two nights here, which was an incredible stay in the middle of the jungle. For our dorm rooms for two nights it cost us 140 USD all together, which is crazy expensive. However, this place is more of a paradise jungle/beach resort than a hostel and the price included breakfast, which were proper meals and came with coffee and juice. They also have private rooms, glamping tents and huts that you can stay in, but are more expensive. The facilities of this lodge are insane, they have a small beach which you can lounge on, an infinity pool, social and work area and a restaurant, which serves the most delicious meals. You also get a free coconut when you check in, which was exactly what we needed after a long travel day.

The place is called Red Frog Beach, because they have Strawberry Poisonous Dart Frogs, which are tiny and highly toxic and can be spotted around the island. You also have the chance to see wild birds like Toucans and Sloths in the nearby trees. We sadly didn’t see any Sloths, but can imagine it would be amazing to do so!

The main things to do in Bocas del Torro is to do boat trips around the islands where you can do snorkelling and see all kinds of marine life. As we had just finished the San Blas, we chose not to do any activities and made the most of our free time. We wanted to enjoy the relaxation, before getting back into fast paced travel up Central America.

Overall, Panama was a very quick stop off for us. If you have the time to take it slower, maybe volunteer and explore more of the remote areas, you definitely should, as I’m sure there are some hidden gems. However, because we were tight on time and money, we breezed through Panama only stopping at these two places!