Panama City travel guide
Panama City travel guide: vibrant & prosperous
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Panama City is a diverse city, which is divided into 3 islands that are connected together by a road. You will find the most high buildings and about 76 banks that are located in this city. Because the city is tax-free, many westerners come to settle here. For this reason, Panama has become a vibrant & prosperous country and looks quite similar to a southern European city. In summary, this city gives you a perfect start to begin your lovely journey without experiencing a massive culture shock. There are lots of nice sights and near the city you will find a special and astonishing national park called ‘Soberanía’. Have a look at my Panama City travel guide!
Safety
Surprisingly, the city is quite safe, just be careful in some areas, not everything is equally safe. Subsequently, it is a better idea to get a taxi in the evening, when crossing through the city. Perhaps, you are staying in Casco Viejo, in this district you can easily walk to your lodging in the even fall, as the police check up on you regularly.
Panama Viejo
A little history
Panama Viejo is a city where all the ruins are still standing, of which the church tower is still in reasonable condition. It is surrounded by mangrove forests. The meaning of ‘Panama Viejo’ is Old Panama, this old city located at sea is where the Spaniards used to rule. During the 16th century, the Spaniards had all the power and fought against the indigenous population to conquer the city. Panama Viejo was the port of embarkation for sailing to Peru and waging war with the Incas. From time to time, they managed to extract a lot of value from Peru, such as gold and many treasures. Additionally, Panama Viejo was the perfect place to transport valuables to Spain. Although, one day, the city was attacked by a mercenary pirates hired by the English.
How to get there?
The old city used to be eight kilometres away from Panama City, but nowadays, the capital has grown so much that Panama Viejo is located within the capital. Please note that the districts around Panama Viejo are not that safe, whereas Panama Viejo itself is safe. Ordering a taxi is the best option.
Visit the fish market: Mercado de Mariscos
How about a delicious fresh lobster or another tasty fish? Should you be in to fresh fish, pay a visit to the ‘Mercado de Mariscos’. Basicly, this is a large fish market in the middle of the city on the edge of Casco Viejo. Next to the fish market, you will find many restaurants, but we found the staff very pushy, and we personally do not like that. For this reason, we went inside and discovered that you can have your freshly bought fish prepared in a restaurant above the fish market for a small price, just perfect!
Panama Canal
The origins of the canal
Panama Canal is a successful project, made by people, and still serves as one of the most important canals in the world.
Firstly, the Panama Canal was initially built by the French, but unfortunately, they did not succeed because there were many diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. Eventually, it was the Americans who succeeded in building the canal.
It took a year before a doctor developed a vaccine against yellow fever, following with a solution for Malaria. Because the water flowed instead of lying still, there were fewer mosquitoes and therefore less Malaria.
Visiting the canal these days
The canal is a must-see when visiting Panama City. Nowadays, the Panama Canal is a protected nature reserve, so the ecosystem cannot be disturbed. Because of this, many animals live in nature, even jaguars have been spotted, which is a seriously endangered species these days.
It is a very narrow passage and only the captains who are certified for this are allowed to sail through the Panama Canal. Markedly, it is only possible to sail through the canal in the morning and in the afternoon, to make ships wait a day or two, but most of them are prepared to do that. If you have to sail via the southernmost tip of South America, it will take about 22 days. The route through the canal takes eight hours.
Casco Viejo
Undeniably, you will not miss all the high buildings in the city. Significantly, there is one place that is quite different from the rest of the city, Casco Viejo, the old town of Panama. There are no large towers, but cute characteristic historical buildings and the atmosphere is relaxed with many nice restaurants. The inner city is well guarded by the police, as it also borders a lesser district. Many lodgings are located here and for tourists this is the place to be. Therefore, prices for accommodation and restaurants are quite higher.
Bahai temple, where any faith or non-believer is welcome
Go up!
How about getting to the top of the mountains and visiting a temple with astonishing views? If you have a rental car at your disposal, this option might be just a bit more accessible, otherwise you could also be dropped off here by taxi. From the city, you can see an egg-shaped temple upon in the mountains. My boyfriend and I looked at this in amazement and wondered what it is.
What is it?
The temple’s name is ‘Templo Bahá’í’. This temple offers space for prayer and meditations, everyone is welcome here, but in silence, and you are not allowed to take photos inside. The area where this temple is situated is peaceful, and you have charming views of the city from here. Remarkably, there are several more such temples around the world, such as in Kampala (Uganda), Frankfurt (Germany) and Battambang (Cambodia). A rather special one is in Santiago (Chile).
Day trips in this Panama City travel guide
From the city, you can take several day trips to the surrounding areas. There are numerous tours that offer great day trips to the Soberanía National Park. You can make beautiful hikes here, but you can also visit the indigenous people. We chose to visit the indigenous people and found it a cool experience to visit them. If you want to read more about the Emberá, read this article.
Travel to other destinations
Buses
From Panama City, you can go to several destinations. The main bus station from which most buses depart is called ‘Albrook’. Buses depart from here to, for example, David, Colón and the Atlantic coast. There is also a night bus that heads out to Bocas del Toro and ends at the port of Almirante, which takes about 9 hours. If the bus arrives on time, make sure that you have booked an extra night in the place of arrival, this prevents you from standing on the street in the middle of the night with all your stuff.
Domestic flights
You could also choose to take a domestic flight to, for example Bocas del Toro, you will then arrive at the main island and from there you can also visit the other islands.
Last update: 07-02-2024 © Doris Leone
