Panama: a trip between two oceans, 8 days to understand another Central America

Fifteen years working in Central America. At first, I mostly sold Costa Rica — the safe bet, the 'no-risk' country as we say in the trade. Panama, I barely saw it: a transit state, a canal, banks. Then a client twisted my arm in 2017 to compose a trip there. Three weeks later, I came back with an awkward certainty: we had all been missing the richest country in the region.

Go further: our guides when to visit Panama, 15-day itinerary, what to do in Panama and the Panama Canal.

That's the Panamanian paradox. Everyone knows the canal — that saltwater cut linking the Atlantic to the Pacific over 80 kilometers. And nobody knows what's around it. When I tell a French traveler I'm sending them to Panama, I often get something like: 'Oh right, the layover, yeah?' Not at all. It's a country. A real one. And it deserves eight days minimum, not three.

Here's what I tell my hesitant clients now.

Panama isn't one destination. It's four.

That's what unsettled me at first, and what fascinates me today: Panama doesn't have one face, it has four — and each could be a country in its own right.

Panama City, first. The vertical capital, perched on the edge of the Pacific. Imagine Singapore, but with a UNESCO colonial quarter planted right next door. The contrast is almost indecent. You cross the bay in a taxi, you see the Trump Tower (yes, it exists, shaped like a twisted wave) and three hundred meters further you're in 16th-century cobbled streets where families have been selling raspado for four generations. The Casco Viejo is my absolute favorite in the city. I slept there in a fully restored 1850 house, owned by a voluntarily exiled Spaniard who introduced me to the Tantalo bar and its rooftop with skyline views. That night I didn't sleep before 3 am. Too bad for the next day's program.

Then you take the road west, two hours, and you land in El Valle de Antón. It's a village you'd like to have invented. A dormant volcano crater at 600 meters altitude, mild climate, morning mists, hot springs, a Sunday craft market. Panamanians come here to decompress. Me, I had dinner at Don Carlos's — an old gentleman who raises trout in his garden and serves them in parsley butter for five dollars. It's the kind of place you'd normally keep to yourself.

The Azuero peninsula, next. It's probably the region most neglected by the guidebooks — and by far my favorite. Azuero is agricultural, deep, traditional Panama. Colonial haciendas with whitewashed chapels, plains as far as the eye can see, villages of artisans. In La Arena, on the outskirts of Chitré, I spent an entire afternoon with a family of potters — fourth generation, pre-Columbian technique, wood-fired terracotta. I left with two jars in my suitcase and a foolish feeling of having touched something authentic. Three years later, the jars are still on my mantelpiece in San José.

And finally San Blas. The autonomous archipelago of the Guna Yala. 378 islets, turquoise sea, stilt cabins, no 24/7 electricity, no wifi. There, I know we're tipping into another world — and not everyone is made for it. I've seen couples who loved it, I've seen others who cracked after two nights. The rule I give now: if you can't stand the idea of not charging your phone in the morning, go elsewhere. If the idea makes you smile, then San Blas will change you.

Why now and not in ten years

I'm not one to sell urgency. But on Panama, I have a firm opinion: go now, or at least don't wait too long.

The country is changing fast. The Pan-American highway between Panama City and Boquete has just been redone. A new ferry terminal for Bocas del Toro is under construction. Cruise lines are starting to disembark in the canal. All of that is fine — it makes travelers' lives easier. But it also changes the experience. When I arrived in Pedasí in 2018, there were three restaurants. The last time I passed through, earlier this year, I counted thirteen. It's still charming. In five years, it will be something else.

And then there's the price question. Panama remains 30% cheaper than Costa Rica for equivalent hotel quality. That gap will narrow. It's already narrowing.

Travel in Panama rewards those who take their time. That's why I love this destination. And that's why I'm bothered when clients ask me to do it in five days.

How much time to plan, without cheating

I say it with every request, I'll say it again here. Five or six days on site — don't go. It's a shame to pay for a long-haul flight for half a discovery. At eight days, you start to feel the country. At twelve, you enter its intimacy. At eighteen, you leave changed.

Our eight-day self-drive 'Essential Panama' program covers the right trio: Panama City, El Valle de Antón, the Azuero peninsula. It's what I propose nine times out of ten for a first discovery. For more ambitious travelers who want to add Boquete and its Barú volcano, or Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean side, we move to twelve days. And for those who want to combine Panama and Costa Rica, we have an 'Absolute' program of fifteen to twenty-one days. It's probably the most complete we offer.

How Toucan Discovery composes your Panama

I'll skip the technical details (seasons, formalities, transport) which I covered in Our practical guide to preparing your trip to Panama. And for the off-the-beaten-path experiences I recommend to clients who want to go beyond the standard, see this article on Panama's hidden gems.

Our approach, in two words: no massive groups, no catalog. Every hotel we offer, I've seen with my own eyes or slept in. If we list a lodge, it's because we paid for a night to check the sheets, the breakfast and the welcome. You have a French-speaking contact reachable 24/7 on WhatsApp throughout your stay. And for those who want to compose their trip themselves, we have our platform Toucan Discovery Dynamics which lets you test hotel availability and rates in real time.

Panama isn't an Instagram destination. There are no three mandatory selfie spots, no ready-made postcard, no places to tick off to have 'done' the country. It's a land you have to earn. And that's exactly what I like.

¡Hasta pronto, Panamá!

Also worth discovering: watch whales in Panama, one of the finest sights on the Pacific coast, from July to October.