Parque Nacional Coiba

Panama

　　This national marine park contains Panama's largest island, the 503-sq-km Isla de Coiba, as well as astounding biodiversity; more than two dozen species of dolphin and whale have been identified, including humpback, killer and sperm whales. Several species of crocodile and turtle, and 15 species of snake roam the island...

Miraflores Visitors Center

Panama

　　The easiest way to visit the Panama Canal is to head to the Miraflores Visitors Center, just outside Panama City. This modern center features a four-floor interactive museum that looks at the canal's history, operations, expansion and ecology, an instructive 15-minute film and several viewing platforms, including the main one...

Taller Dario López

Panama

　　One of Panama's top artisans, Dario López has been making colorful masks for folkloric dancers since the 1960s. These days most of his masks and satin costumes worn by devil dancers are exported to the USA and Europe. Masks typically cost between US$20 and US$100. To visit his home workshop,...

Basílica Menor Santiago Apóstol

Panama

　　Natá's principal draw is this 16th-century cathedral, thought to be the oldest church built in the Americas still in use today. Indigenous artisans did all the woodcarving in the church, including the six side altars and the remarkable pulpit. A close look at the altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary...

Playa Polo

Isla Bastimentos

　　Polo Beach wraps around a sheltered cove and is protected by a reef. It has good snorkeling. Can be reached by short hike from Red Frog Beach. ...

Wizard Beach

Isla Bastimentos

　　The most beautiful beach on Isla Bastimentos is awash in powdery yellow sand and backed by thick vine-strewn jungle. It's connected to Old Bank via a wilderness path, which normally takes 20 minutes or so but can be virtually impassable after heavy rains. The path continues along the coast to...

Nivida Bat Cave

Isla Bastimentos

　　One of Bastimentos' most fascinating natural wonders, Nivida is a massive cavern with swarms of nectar bats and a subterranean lake. The cave lies within the borders of the Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos and half the fun is getting here. But it's next to impossible to do it on...

Red Frog Beach

Isla Bastimentos

　　Small but perfectly formed, Red Frog Beach is named after the rana rojo (strawberry poison-dart frog), an amphibian you're most unlikely to encounter here due to development, local kids trapping them to impress tourists, and a tidal wave of day-trippers in season. From Bocas town, water taxis (US$7) head to...

Playa Larga

Isla Bastimentos

　　This 6km-long beach on the southeast side of the island falls under the protection of the marine park. Hawksbill, leatherback and green sea turtles nest here from March to September. It's also good for surfing. To get here, you can follow the path past Red Frog Beach, but the best...

Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos

Isla Bastimentos

　　Established in 1988, this 132-sq-km marine park was Panama's first. Protecting 130 islands of the Bocas del Toro archipelago, including the coral-fringed Cayos Zapatillas, and the wetlands in the center of Isla Bastimentos, the marine park is an important nature reserve for mangroves, monkeys, sloths, caimans, crocodiles and 28 species...

La Gruta

Bocas del Toro Town

　　If sun, sand and surf isn't your thing then consider a trip to this cave in Colonia Santeña, a small village of cattle farmers 7km northwest of Bocas town. Here you'll wade through waist-high water while trying not to disturb thousands of sleeping bats overhead. It's all over in about...

Finca Los Monos Botanical Garden

Bocas del Toro Town

　　One of the joys of visiting Bocas is touring the 'Monkey Farm' botanical garden a couple of kilometers northwest of the center. Painstakingly carved out of 10 hectares of secondary rainforest over almost two decades, it contains hundreds of species of local and imported trees and ornamental plants, and is...

Parque José Domingo Médica

Boquete

　　Boquete's central plaza has flowers, a fountain and a children’s playground. ...

La Piedra Pintada de Caldera

Boquete

　　Some of the best examples of petroglyphs found in Panama can be seen in this park at Caldera, about 23km southeast of Boquete. It's located 400m down a marked trail about 1km past the police station on the right. ...

El Explorador

Boquete

　　Great for families, this private garden is located in a hilly area 3km northeast of the town center. You can walk to it in about 45 minutes. The 2 hectares of gardens are designed to look like something out of Alice in Wonderland, with no shortage of quirky eye-catching displays,...

Parque Recreativo Omar

Panama City

　　The biggest park in the city is filled with children, joggers and the occasional salsa class. It's located in Omar, behind the San Francisco neighborhood. Access is from Vía Belisario. ...

Plaza de la Independencia

Panama City

　　In this plaza, in the heart of Casco Viejo, Panama declared its independence from Colombia on November 3, 1903. ...

Museo Afro-Antilleano

Panama City

　　The small Afro-Antillean museum has exhibits on the history of Panama’s West Indian community, particularly their work building the railroad and later the canal. ...

Albrook Mall

Panama City

　　Next to the bus terminal, this mall has a cinema, a supermarket and dozens of stores, including American and European chains. If you need it, there's also an upscale chain hotel here. ...

Multiplaza Mall

Panama City

　　The biggest downtown mall, with designer shops, restaurants and a cinema. It's east of downtown, on the way to Panamá Viejo. ...

La Rana Dorada

Panama City

　　Replete with brass fixtures and polished wood bars, this gorgeous low-lit brewpub serves its own award-winning small craft beers, alongside tasty thin-crust pizzas or bratwursts (mains US$3 to US$9). After-work happy hour is just catching on, but it goes gangbusters here in indoor and outdoor spaces. A second location is...

Parque Natural Metropolitano

Panama City

　　On a hill north of downtown, this 265-hectare park protects vast expanses of tropical semideciduous forest within the city limits, and serves as an incredible wilderness escape from the trappings of the capital. Two main walking trails, the Nature Trail and the Tití Monkey Trail, join to form one long...

Tántalo Bar

Panama City

　　Though it serves casual lunches, this ultra-hip cafe-bar is best known for sunset happy hours on its rooftop deck. Pair your cocktail with fusion-style tapas. Cover is charged after 10pm, but to get a spot on the tiny roof deck, show up around 7pm. Wednesday is salsa night. ...

Mercado de Mariscos

Panama City

　　Get your seafood fix above a bustling fish market. Come early, as service at peak time is painfully slow. Gems include whole fried fish and cavernous bowls of ‘Get Up Lazarus’ soup (a sure hangover cure). Outside, stands ladle out delicious US$3 plastic cups of ceviche, including classic concoctions, Mediterranean...

Centro Natural Punta Culebra

Panama City

　　Ideal for families, CEM is operated by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). This informative marine museum features two small aquariums and a nature trail with three-toed sloths and iguanas in a surviving patch of dry forest, once prolific along Central America’s Pacific coast. Signs are in English and Spanish....

Lo Que Hay

Panama City

　　Neighborhood fondas (cheap restaurants) serve cheap Panamanian classics, but this one – by Panama's top chef – delivers a massive twist. Sexy rice (concolón) has a crust of crisp perfection, served with smoked tomatoes or fragrant clams. There's also tender whole fish, yucca tostadas with carpaccio and mango kimchee served...

Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

Panama City

　　Built between 1619 and 1626, this cathedral is the best-preserved building of the Panamá Viejo ruins. In traditional fashion, it was designed so that its two side chapels gave the cathedral a cross-like shape when viewed from the heavens. The bell tower at the back of the church may have...

Teatro Nacional

Panama City

　　Built in 1907, the interior of this ornate Casco Viejo theater has been completely restored. It boasts red and gold decorations, a once-magnificent ceiling mural by Roberto Lewis (one of Panama’s finest painters) and an impressive crystal chandelier. Performances are still held here. For information visit the office at the...

Museo del Canal Interoceánico

Panama City

　　This impressive museum is housed in a beautifully restored building that once served as the headquarters for the original French canal company. The Panama Canal Museum (as it’s more commonly known) presents excellent exhibits on the famous waterway, framed in their historical and political context. Signs are in Spanish, but...

Iglesia de San José

Panama City

　　This Casco Viejo church protects the famous Altar de Oro (Golden Altar), the sole relic salvaged after privateer Henry Morgan sacked Panamá Viejo. 　　According to local legend, when word came of Morgan’s impending attack, a priest attempted to disguise the altar by painting it black. The priest told Morgan that...

Plaza de Francia

Panama City

　　At the tip of the southern point of Casco Viejo, this beautiful plaza pays homage to the French role in the construction of the canal. Its large stone tablets and statues are dedicated to the memory of the 22,000 workers who died trying to create the canal. 　　Most of the...

Panamá Viejo

Panama City

　　Founded on August 15, 1519, by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias de Ávila, the city of Panamá was the first European settlement along the Pacific. For 150 years it flourished as Spain exported Peruvian gold and silver to Europe via Panamá. In 1671, Captain Henry Morgan sacked the city and it...

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo

Panama City

　　This wonderful privately owned museum features the best collection of Panamanian art anywhere, an excellent collection of works on paper by Latin American artists, and the occasional temporary exhibition by a foreign or national artist. ...

BioMuseo

Panama City

　　Celebrating Panama as the land bridge that has permitted astonishing biodiversity in the region, this world-class museum is a visual feast. Exhibits tell the story of Panama's rich biodiversity through engaging, oversized visuals, examining human presence throughout time, how the Atlantic and Pacific evolved differently, and the interconnectedness of all...