The (Almost) Perfect Panama Itinerary — ALONG DUSTY ROADS

Adapting This Panama Itinerary for Shorter Trips

So, how can you condense our month down to a meaningful two weeks in Panama?

Whilst you won’t be able to explore all that Panama has to offer on a two-week trip, the shape and size of the country makes it amenable to covering quite a bit at a reasonable pace.

Based solely on our experiences and subjective perspective, we’d suggest the following as a rough start point:

• 2 days | El Valle

• 2 days | Santa Catalina

• 2 days | Boquete

• 3 days | Bocas del Toro

• 1 day | Panama City

• 2 days | San Blas

• 1 day | Panama City

The above comes to thirteen full days, and you can apportion the extra day wherever you want to stay longer! The Azuero Peninsula is cut solely because of the time available and the logistics of getting to / from there.

Note, some of you may prefer to put the Panama City and San Blas portion at the start – whatever works best for you!

Key Planning Questions & Context

Before you plan your own Panama itinerary, there are a few key questions you need to ask yourself:

· As most standalone trips will begin and end in Panama City, you need to work out if you want to visit it at the beginning or the end.

· This decision also factors into when you can visit the San Blas islands and how many days you have on them.

· How you pair up Panama City and San Blas is critical to your itinerary and route.

· A key timesaver is the flight between Panama City and Bocas del Toro – but don’t leave booking it until last minute.

· How much hiking do you want to do vs. beach time. If hiking is important, then El Valle and Boquete need to be on your list, but not both if you want more time on the islands and beaches.

· Do you want to visit both Bocas del Toro and San Blas? Most will (and should), and you’ll end up with FOMO if you do one over the other. These Panamanian archipelagos are very distinct in terms of culture and travel experience, so it’s actually unfair to just view them as direct competitors (though many understandably do). Rule of thumb: the San Blas is most people’s highlight in Panama, whilst Bocas del Toro can disappoint.

· As mentioned, we needed a definitive answer between Santa Catalina and Playa Venao. Today, we can quite comfortably put Santa Catalina forward as the place that was most wedded to our travel style. For certain trips – vacations, those wanting more modern amenities and facilities, less rustic, more of a party vibe – then Venao will be your preference.

Arriving from Costa Rica or Colombia?

If you’re on a backpacking trip in Latin America, then you’re more likely to arrive in Panama from Costa Rica or Colombia.

· For Central America backpackers working their way down, your most likely start point is going be crossing land border with Costa Rica. Journeys for this start in Puerto Viejo, and your first stop is likely going to be Bocas del Toro. However, if you don’t want to visit the archipelago, you’ll like continue south to Lost + Found Hostel, David, or Boquete.

Your overland Panama itinerary will then likely be Bocas del Toro > Boquete > Santa Catalina > El Valle > Panama City > San Blas.

However, those short on time or skipping through may just fly straight from Bocas del Toro to Panama City.

·Backpackers coming north from Colombia have to avoid the Darien Gap, and can choose to fly up to Panama, take the quick boat from Capurgana, or arrive via the adventurous, multi-day island-hopping boats from either Cartagena or Capurgana. Those boat rides are a rite of passage for most, as well as a logistical problem-solver, and they also allow you to tick-off the San Blas en-route.

Importantly, those boats from Colombia always mean your first proper stop will be in Panama City. From there, you can either follow our itinerary west, fly to Bocas del Toro, or do whatever else takes your fancy.

Going To Colombia After Panama?

Lastly, your Panama itinerary may ultimately be shaped by whether you’re pairing the country with Colombia – or your Latin American backpacking adventure is continuing south after Panama.

In that case, most of you will opt to take the boats to Cartagena or Capuragana. Tours are necessary for these and include the San Blas on the way, but journeys begin in Panama City.

An alternative option involves basically skipping all the best things to do in Panama by flying straight from Bocas del Toro to the capital, then taking the boat.

Lastly, if you don’t fancy those boats, then you can also fly down to Colombia from David or Panama City. Alternatively, do what we did back in 2015, when we skipped the San Blas and independently took the boat from Turbo over to Capurgana.