Panama: 2 week travel itinerary

Panama is an amazing country with so much to do. It has incredible islands with white beaches and transparent water, cloud forests, jungles and volcanos. It is the only place you can see the sun rise over the Pacific ocean and set over the Caribbean sea.

Getting there and away:

From Costa Rica: crossing the border at Sixaola in Costa Rica to Panama was very swift and painless. We were coming from Puerto Viejo and heading to Bocas del Toro.

1. Get the bus for 45 mins from Puerto Viejo to Sixaola.
2. Walk from the bus station to what looks like a shop someone’s house to pay the exit fee of $8 and walk to the bridge to get stamped out of Costa Rica.
3. Walk across the bridge and fill out a form in immigration. Walk to the immigration office and get stamped into Panama. All took about 10 mins in total.

Getting to Bocas del Toro you will need to take a collectivo to Almirante to take the boat to Bocas main island. They will charge you $10 but try haggle to $7.

The boat to Bocas will take 40 mins and cost $10 open return or $6 one way.

From Colombia: it is impossible to pass via land from Panama to Colombia and vice versa due to the Darian Gap which is notoriously dangerous. Even the Panamerican highway stops. The options getting from Panama to Colombia is via air or by taking a boat.

A common option is taking a cruise or speed boat and spending a few nights on the San Blas islands, an archipelago of deserted islands off the coast of Panama owned by a traditional community known as the Kuna Community. Details of the San Blas adventures trip will be covered in detail in another post.

Bocas del Toro (4 nights)

These are an archipelago off the Caribbean coast of Panama boasting wildlife, parties and pristine postcard perfect beaches. There are a few islands off the main island, Bocas town, that visitors can stay just for a day or a few nights. The main island runs boats to and from the smaller neighbouring islands. I stayed four nights on Bocas and I could have spend weeks exploring all the islands, spending a few nights on each.

Things to do:

1. Take a boat tour around the islands. We took a full day boat trip to Dolphin Bay to see dolphins, sloth Island to spot sloths high in the trees, starfish Island to snorkel with them and to Isla Zapatillas to chill out on a perfect Caribbean beach. The tour cost $22 and included drinks and snorkelling mask. Take snacks with you for lunch. The one restaurant they stop in for lunch is very expensive.

2. Get f**ked up at filthy friday. Every Friday an island bar crawl takes place from Bocas town kicking off at 11.30am and officially finishing up at 9pm in Agua Longue. Although the party continues for those able at Selinas, where the boat drops you back to. It costs $40 for the day and includes entrance and transport between the islands, a t-shirt and a bag. It’s expensive but it’s well worth it for a brilliant party.

3. Visit Red Frog Beach to spot the posinous red frog. These tiny red frogs are only found in Panama and can be deadly.

4. Scuba dive. I didn’t dive from Bocas but there are a few dive shops scattered around the island.

5. Hike around Bambuda Lodge. I didn’t get to visit this hostel in Bocas del Toro but I stayed at there sister hostel in Boquete and it was the best hostel I’ve ever stayed at. They have a fresh water pool and a water slide from the bar into the sea. The hostel is located on the reef so its great for snorkelling and the hiking trail through the jungle is well marked. Definitely worth stay there for a night or two.

We were invited to a boat party the day after Flithy Fridays so instead of hiking I spend the day on a cateraman sailing around the islands and hanging out with starfish on starfish beach. This is an incredible way to see the islands.

Where to stay:

Bocas– Selina’s or Mamallenas. Mamallenas is a bit further from the port but its near Priscilla’s bar where Filthy Fridays kicks off. It does a good free breakfast of DIY pancakes, nice bathrooms and AC on all day.

Selina’s location is ideal and the party finishes here for Flithy Fridays. Clean rooms with AC, which is a must with the heat and humidity in Bocas.

Red frog beach: Palmars beach Lodge

Isla Solarte: Bambuda Lodge

Where to eat:

• Cafe del Mar- lovely cafe doing breakfast, lunches and burgers for dinner. Their homemade bread is amazing. Good healthy choices and vegan and veggie friendly.

• Golden Grill- not exactly fine dining but this place refills your water bottles for $0.25 (one of the only places on the island), is always open, sells pizza by the slice, is super cheap and makes a incredible ham and cheese toastie.

• Falafel Bocas- this bar has a restaurant attached that does a great falafel wrap and bagels until 12 but they’re closed on the weekends.

Lost and found hostel (2 days)

This is one of those destination hostels that are in the middle of nowhere but are a must visit due to their uniqueness. This hostel is located in the cloud forest of Chiriqui. The food is excellent here and they have a kitchen to cook in. The meals are done family style.

Getting there from Bocas

The lost and found hostel is en route to/from Bocas and Panama city so it is a perfect way of splitting up that long journey. From Bocas:

1. Take the boat to Almirante and don’t lose your return ticket like me.
2. Take a taxi for $1 to the bus stop headed towards David and tell the bus driver and everyone around you that you want to go to Lost and Found. This 3 hour journey costs $7.
3. When you get off the bus it’s a bit of a hike to the hostel. I left my big bag with the owners of the vegetable shop just at the entrance to the path to the hostel. They kept my 20kg big rucksake for 2 days for $2. If you arrive after dark you’ll need a torch. It’s a steep 15 min walk from the road. Very easy without a 20kg rucksack.

Things to do

There are loads of free things to do here around the hostel.

1. Hike the Indian Jones trail and find the treasure. There are clues left along this route. They are difficult but Joe and I missed about 5 clues which made it much harder but its a fun hike to do. If you solve the riddle at the end you get to roll a dice in the bar for a prize.
2. Solve the Sherlock Holmes puzzle. This is a smaller trail around the hostel to find the clues and solve the mystery.
3. Go on a guided night hike to find noctural wildlife. This hike is a short hike mainly looking for birds, insects and snakes. It takes about an hour. We saw a few snakes on this walk.
4. Swim in a canyon. You can take a bus from the entrance to the hostel which will drop you about a kilometre walk from the canyon where you can swim. It’s much warmer here than in the hills of the hostel.
5. Swim in a secret waterfall. There is a waterfall you can hike to from where the bus drops you to. The water is cold but freshing and its a very easy hike to the waterfall.

Boquete (3 nights)

Getting there and away: from lost and found hostel I caught the bus to David and then changed at David to a bus going to Boquete. It was very straight forward and saved me $15 on a shuttle.

From/To Panama city: get the bus (1 hour) to/ from David and then get a bus from the same bus station to Panama city. These buses are very comfortable and cost $15 for a 7 hour journey. They are freezing though as they blast the AC so wrap up!

Things to do

1. Hiking-there are so many hikes to do around Boquete. The main trail is the sendero los quezteles hike which starts a 15 min drive from Boquete Town and takes about 5-6 hours. It is 8km in each direction. Another popular hike is the lost waterfall hike. It takes about an hour there and an hour back and you can swim in two of the three waterfalls. It costs $7 to enter.

2. Soak in the caldera hot springs– there are hot springs 11km from Boquete. I didn’t visit them but I heard they are worth a visit.

3. Climb Volcan Baru and watch the sunrise over the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. I have done a lot of volcano hikes in Central America and this was by far the toughest but most rewarding at the end. It is possible to hike without a guide. It is a gravel path the whole way to the top with not much to see along the way, especially since you start at midnight and hike throughout the night in the dark.

The hike is free and takes between 4-5 hours depending on fitness levels. The hike isn’t necessarily difficult but it is long and steep at points. The darkest adds another level of difficulty and it is very cold at the summit so start in a t-shirt but have gloves, a hat, scarf, jumper and coat. I started layering up two hours into the hike.

Watching the sun rise over the clouds, illuminating the Caribbean and Pacific coastlines was incredible. It is like nothing I’ve ever witnessed and I nearly got emotional just seeing how beautiful it was and how quite it was at the summit to begin as I was the first to reach the summit by 30 mins.

4. White water rafting– an activity I skipped here but a friend did it and highly recommended it. He went on a tour organised by Bambuda Castle.

5. Spot the elusive resplendent quetzal bird. This bird is extremely rare and only found in certain parts of Central America. If you take a guide along the pipe line trail which is an hour in each direction you have a good chance of seeing the quetzal bird and howler monkeys.

Where to stay

Bambuda Castle. This is hands down the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in. It is legit a castle complete with turrets, spectacular views, a draw bridge and a moat. I stayed in this castle for $14 a night. They have dorms and cabins. It has a games room, a pool, jacuzzi, huge kitchen, gardens and loads of space to longue around grand tables with high backed chairs resembling thrones. The food is amazing here and meals are served family style. I didn’t want to leave and stayed an extra night.

Where to eat

• Perfect pair- this cafe serves the best hot chocolate in Panama apparently. They serve delicious chocolate treats and hot chocolate that you stir with a chocolate spoon.

• Bamboo- this place shows the football matches and does good pizzas in the center of Boquete.

Panama city (2 days)

Panama City holds the title as the wealthiest city in Central American and this is apparent with its juxtaposing new modern skyline with skyscrapers to one side and its old, colonial part with beautiful artitechture, know as Casco Viejo, to the other. Casco Viejo houses the cities trendiest bars, restaurants and boutique hotels and is where most tourists choose to stay.

Getting there and away

If you come via air you will fly into Panama city Airport. There are plenty of long haul buses that start and finish in Panama City from other major cities in the country and in other major cities in Central America.

I caught a bus from David to Panama city for $15. It takes between 7-8 hours and they run a night bus service which takes 6 hours.

Things to do

1. Panama canal: this engineering masterpiece is a water way between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. It is one of the most shipping links and commercial ventures in the world. It is fascinating learn about the building of the canal and how important it is for international shopping and trade of goods. I knew what a canal was, sure we’ve plenty of them of Kildare but I didn’t properly understand that it was a man made water passage through Panama connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. A must do! Tickets are $20 and includes the museum.

2. Stroll around Casco Viejo– it is the oldest city the Americans filled with Spanish colonial architecture, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and full of rooftop bars, restaurants, hostels and boutique hotels.

Where to stay

Luna’s Castle– this is a nice hostel located in Casco Viejo and the San Blas Adventures pre departure meeting takes place here. It’s location is excellent and they do a good free breakfast for $14 a night. No air con in the dorms however and Panama city gets fairly hot and sweaty.

Selina’s– as with all the hostels in Selinas hostel you know what you’re getting. This is no exception. Lovely and clean, air con in the dorms, good kitchen, bar and common spaces. No breakfast included though.

Where to eat

• Nacion sushi- this is a chain of Japanese restaurants in Panama and Costa Rica. One of their restaurants is located in a building in Casco Viejo with three restaurants and a rooftop bar. Excellent sushi and Thai meals which aren’t too expensive. A sushi roll to share (they’re huge!) and a main will set you back $10.

• Nomada eatry- nice cafe doing good breakfasts, lunches and weekend brunches. Their sweet potato fries are excellent.

Leaving Panama (4 days on San Blas islands)

I left Panama on boat with a cruise called the San Blas Adventures. I will cover this in another post but I couldn’t recommend crossing from Panama to Colombia or vice versa via the San Blas islands and spending a few days on these paradise deserted islands and getting a glimpse of kuna life in a traditional kuna village.

The other options is to leave via air if you’re going to Colombia or further south as you can’t leave via land.

Thanks for reading!