Panama City, Panama 2 Day Itinerary
Panama City, Panama: 2-Day Itinerary
Panama City is the only capital in the Americas where you can stand in a colonial district, look left at a modern financial skyline, and look right at ships queuing for a passage that connects two oceans. Two days is tight but enough to understand why this city surprises most visitors who expected something forgettable.
Getting In
Tocumen International Airport (PTY) sits about 25 kilometres east of Casco Viejo. Official yellow taxis from the airport post fixed prices: roughly $35 to Casco Viejo and $30 to the central city. Uber is cheaper at $22-27 to Casco Viejo, but Uber and other app-based drivers cannot pick up at the arrivals curb; you must exit the terminal, cross the road toward the parking structure, and wait in the designated app-vehicle zone. Worth the short walk. The Metro Line 2 also connects the airport to the system for $0.35, but requires a connection and is best for those without heavy luggage.
Day 1: Casco Viejo and Panama Viejo
Start at Panama Viejo (Panamá La Vieja) before the heat builds. These are the ruins of the original city, founded by the Spanish in 1519 and burned in 1671 by the pirate Henry Morgan. Entry is around $15 for adults and $8 for children. The 17th-century cathedral tower can be climbed for a panoramic view over the modern skyline and the Pacific, and few tourist experiences in Panama City produce a more dramatic contrast than standing amid 500-year-old stone with the glass towers of Punta Pacifica behind them. Go when the site opens at 8am; the tour groups tend to arrive after 10am.
Take an Uber from Panama Viejo to Casco Viejo (Casco Antiguo), the UNESCO-listed colonial district on the peninsula at the opposite end of the waterfront. The two are distinct: Panama Viejo is archaeological, Casco Viejo is a living neighbourhood that has been in progressive restoration since the 1990s. The French quarter around Plaza Francia, the balconied Spanish colonial streets, and the views across the Canal entrance from the promenade are all within easy walking distance.
Lunch at Fonda Lo Que Hay in Casco Viejo. This is credited with kickstarting Panama’s culinary renaissance by treating Panamanian street food as restaurant food worth taking seriously. The ceviche, patacones (fried plantain) and ropa vieja arrive at prices well below the tourist-restaurant average (under $20 per person). It fills up; arrive before 12:30pm.
The afternoon is for the neighbourhood itself. The Iglesia San José on Avenida A houses the famous Golden Altar (Altar de Oro), a baroque gilded altar that Panamanian legend says was painted black by priests to hide it from Morgan’s pirates. Whether true or not, the altar is extraordinary. Entry is free; a small donation is appropriate. Walk from there north to Plaza de la Independencia and then to the Paseo Las Bóvedas waterfront rampart for the canal view at golden hour.
Dinner at Café Unido for a relaxed evening, or, if you are willing to spend and book well in advance, Dónde José takes only 16 diners per night at a counter-style open kitchen, with a 10-course tasting menu at $95-130 per person using ingredients from small Panamanian producers. It books weeks out on weekends; check availability before you arrive in Panama and use WhatsApp to contact them rather than email.
Stay in Casco Viejo. The neighbourhood is well policed, walkable, and the boutique hotel scene has matured significantly. American Trade Hotel and Tantalo Hotel both offer rooftop bars and rooms in the $150-250 per night range. Do not walk out of Casco Viejo at night in the direction of El Chorrillo (the neighbourhood to the north); take an Uber instead.
Day 2: The Panama Canal
The Miraflores Locks Visitor Center is the main Canal viewing point accessible from Panama City without a boat tour. It opens daily from 8am to 5pm, and adult entry is $17.22, which covers all four observation decks, a canal museum and the IMAX theatre. Buy tickets online at visitcanaldepanama.com before you go to skip the queue.
The key practical detail: ship transits cluster in two windows, 9-11am northbound (Pacific to Atlantic) and 2-5pm southbound. If you arrive at 9am you will almost certainly see a large container ship or tanker locked in and rising. The scale is disorienting up close: ships that look small from a distance fill the lock chamber from wall to wall, with sometimes less than a metre of clearance on each side.
Book an Uber from Casco Viejo (about $15-20). The drive is 20-25 minutes. Allow two to three hours at Miraflores, including the museum floors and the IMAX film which gives good historical context on the Canal’s construction.
For those with more time and interest, the Agua Clara Visitor Center on the Atlantic side near Colon shows the newer expanded locks (opened 2016) which handle the larger Neo-Panamax ships. It is roughly 80 kilometres from Panama City, so an organised tour or private driver makes more sense than independent transport. Note: the city of Colon itself has the highest crime rate in Panama; go to Agua Clara on a tour and do not venture into Colon independently.
Lunch back in Panama City at El Trapiche in the El Cangrejo neighbourhood, a traditional Panamanian restaurant that has been running since 1985. The sancocho (a thick chicken and yam soup that is essentially the national dish), fried yuca, and fresh fruit juices at under $15 per person are the reason locals treat this as an institution. El Cangrejo is a relaxed, residential neighbourhood with good street-level dining options and a lower tourist footprint than Casco Viejo.
The Amador Causeway in the afternoon: a 2.5-kilometre road built from rubble excavated during the Canal’s original construction, linking three small islands to the mainland south of the old Canal Zone. The Biomuseo, designed by Frank Gehry with its multicoloured folded roof visible from the water, sits at the Causeway entrance. It contains exhibits on Panama’s extraordinary biodiversity significance as the land bridge that allowed species to cross between North and South America. Entry is around $22 for adults.
Final dinner at a seafood spot on the Causeway with views across to the city skyline. Mi Ranchito is the long-established choice for corvina (sea bass, Panama’s signature fish) at accessible prices. The evening breeze off the bay makes this one of the more pleasant outdoor dining spots in the city.
Things to Know
Panama uses the US dollar as its currency alongside the technically legal Balboa; in practice, everything is priced and paid in dollars. Uber works well and is the strongly recommended transport option for tourists over yellow taxis. The city’s Metro is clean, modern, air-conditioned and costs $0.35 per journey, and is a practical option for daytime movement between El Cangrejo, Albrook and the Metro lines that serve the city.
The most documented scam involves men in plainclothes claiming to be police officers and asking to inspect your wallet for counterfeit currency. Real police in Panama do not do this. If approached, decline and walk away; if they follow, enter any public building.
Panama City is hot and humid year-round. The dry season (January-April) has less rain and somewhat cooler evenings. The wet season (May-December) brings afternoon downpours, typically 30-60 minutes, after which it clears. The city does not shut down in the wet season but outdoor plans need flexibility. Carry water; heat exhaustion can sneak up faster than expected in full midday humidity.
The tap water in Panama City is safe to drink, which is unusual in Central America and worth knowing before paying for bottled water at restaurants.