Meny
Essential

Panama Essential

10 days, including travel days
Panama City’s high-rise skyline is visible while ships wait for their passage through the canal. Less than an hour away the rainforest begins, and a few days later the journey continues to the islands of Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean coast.
The first stop is Panama City, where the modern financial district, the older streets of Casco Antiguo and the Panama Canal lie unusually close together. A guided day connects the city’s history with the significance of the canal. At the locks, global trade becomes tangible as large ships are raised and lowered through the system, while Casco Antiguo reveals a smaller and more walkable side of the capital.

The next section lies nearby but feels far removed from the city. Gamboa and Soberanía National Park are surrounded by tropical forest along the Canal Zone. Early mornings are best for birds and other wildlife, and a boat excursion on Gatún Lake shows how the canal has also become an aquatic environment bordered by forest. A nature guide helps find monkeys, birds and other species without promising any sighting in advance.

The final days are spent in Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean side. Small islands, mangroves, coral environments and communities are scattered across the water, and boats are the natural means of transport. One day is used for an organised excursion among islands and natural habitats. The next is more flexible, with time for swimming, kayaking, restaurants or simply a slower day by the sea.

In a relatively short time, the journey moves from city and global trade to rainforest and Caribbean island life. The canal is central to the journey, but Panama continues far beyond the locks.
Culture Nature Coast and beach
Journey route Destinations in the order visited
  1. Panama City and the Panama Canal
  2. Gamboa and Soberanía
  3. Bocas del Toro
ScopeEssential
PaceBalanced
Physical level2 of 5
AccommodationHotels and lodges close to nature
RoutePanama City → Bocas del Toro

Journey details

Stop 1 · 3 days / 2 nights

Panama City and the Panama Canal

Panama City was founded in 1519 as the first European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. It became the terminus for routes across the isthmus and a central point in Spain’s expansion and movement of goods and precious metals between oceans and continents.

The first city, Panamá Viejo, was destroyed after Henry Morgan’s attack in 1671 and abandoned. Ruins of churches, convents, bridges and houses reveal the original urban plan. Two years later the centre moved to a more defensible peninsula that today forms Casco Antiguo.
Panama City and the Panama Canal
Stop 2 · 3 days / 2 nights

Gamboa and Soberanía

It takes very little time to leave Panama City’s high-rises behind and stand in tropical forest beside the waters of the Panama Canal. Gamboa and Soberanía National Park lie close to the capital but form part of one of Central America’s most species-rich ecological corridors.

Two nights allow for an early morning in the forest and a boat trip on the canal lakes and side channels. Monkeys, crocodiles, iguanas and abundant birdlife occur here, but the forest rewards attention. On Pipeline Road and other trails, calls, movement in the foliage and an experienced guide often make the difference between a blank green wall and a forest full of detail.
Gamboa and Soberanía
Stop 3 · 4 days / 3 nights

Bocas del Toro

Bocas del Toro lies on Panama’s north-western Caribbean coast close to the border with Costa Rica. The province includes mainland forests, wetlands and a large archipelago, but for most travellers the stay begins in Bocas Town on Isla Colón.

Bocas Town is the archipelago’s transport hub, with an airport, boat docks, hotels, restaurants and wooden buildings recalling Afro-Antillean history and the importance of the banana trade. The town is small enough to explore on foot but becomes intense on weekends and in high season. Water taxis continue to Carenero, Bastimentos and lodges without road access.
Bocas del Toro

Daily itinerary

Days:
110

Day 1: Scandinavia → Panama City and the Panama Canal

Departure for Panama City and the Panama Canal
Flight to Panama City and the Panama Canal.

Departure from Scandinavia towards Panama City. The first stay is in the capital, where the Canal Zone and historic city provide the introduction before the journey continues into the rainforest.

Departure for Panama City and the Panama Canal
Meals
Meals on board according to the airline service
Transport
International flight
Physical level
Light
Time of day
Afternoon/evening

More information

  • Flights, accommodation, transfers and excursions according to the final quotation
  • Local guides and activities according to the personalised itinerary

  • Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses
  • Optional activities not specified in the final quotation

  • Travellers who want to combine canal history, rainforest and a few Caribbean days in a relatively short journey
  • Those who appreciate clear changes of environment without long domestic flights

  • Those looking for a long beach holiday
  • Those who want to include Panama’s western highlands in the same journey

The canal and rainforest lie close to Panama City, while Bocas del Toro requires a flight or a longer combination of road and boat. Caribbean sea conditions affect boat excursions.

The final price depends on travel dates, departure point, flight availability, hotel standard, room type and number of travellers. International flights are included according to the itinerary and price level stated in the quotation. Exact inclusions and price are always confirmed in a non-binding quotation.

Panama City is combined with a central hotel, Gamboa with accommodation close to the rainforest and Bocas del Toro with a smaller hotel at or near the water. Location matters more than maintaining a single hotel category throughout the journey.

  • Route: a short road journey to the rainforest and a flight or road-and-boat combination to Bocas del Toro
  • Altitude: no destinations at high altitude
  • Pace: three bases in ten days