Things to do in  Panama City

Everything about this excursion was fantastic! It was our first day in Panama City and this was a perfect way to see a ton. I would recommend this to anyone traveling to Panama City looking for a fun and efficient guided tour.

This was a great tour to see all around Panama City. Mayra was a fantastic guide. She was fun, upbeat and had good information. There were lots of opportunities for great photos and good information about the history of Panama. Highly recommend.

Great way to see Panama City and the canal. Knowledgeable guide made the most of our time. I recommend this tour.

This tour is a must on day 1 or day 2 for anyone looking to see more on Panama City and to learn more about the amazing history of this beautiful country. The tour guide was fantastic and taught me so much. I would recommend this tour to anyone. My only mistake is that we didn’t do this tour sooner. Please do this tour!!!

We got a private tour with Dennis, so we customized our experience based on Dennis' recommendations. He went out of his way to make it as enjoyable as possible. Highly recommend!! A great thing to do on your first day in Panama City to see what the city has to offer. Our favorites: Panama Canal, Amador Causeway, Casco Viejo.

So glad to have booked this tour for our short stay in Panama City. Although the Panama Canal Visitor Center is closed on Mondays, Jose was able to get us to a vantage point to see some boats making their way through the locks! Jose was quite knowledgable and personable. We learned so much, not the least of which is, we need to return one day!

It was fun and interesting to learn the history of Old Panama City. Even though our guide was 25 minutes late, he made it up to us! And spoke perfect English!

The tour was so great! I like it so much! Every stops were nice view! I will tell my friends to visit Panama City specially take the night tour.

Nice trip, if you have only one day in Panama City , this is a good choice. Tony ensure you get to see a vessel passing by the canal lock

Great experience, from booking to confirmation, through pickup, going to the various locations and ending with the drop off. Jose is a great guide with local connections that can get you to the right spot at the right time. By the end of the tour he became the Mayor of Panama City, what with all the hand shakes and fist bumps from the locals along the way. Swift entry and exist at each site, a skill to avoid traffic along the way and getting us to the things we wanted to see as well some hidden gems along the way. He packed in the Canal, shopping, duty free, lunch, museums and local stories in a busy half a day. There's only one way to see Panama City is that with Jose's guidance.

This was an exceptional experience, strongly recommended - read on for details... Here's our trip in more detail than what you can find from the tour descriptions - note that your specific trip iteniary may be different. We booked a private tour and our driver Dan was waiting downstairs at our hotel promptly at 8am. We drove out to Chagres National park in his Toyota Rav4. All along the way, Dan engaged with us in conversation, talking about recent developments in Panama, as well as what needs improvement. He pointed out sights along the way, and talked about other things we may be interested in seeing in Panama on our vacation. I don't recall exactly but it seemed like we were on the road for an hour and half. We arrived at Puerto Corotú, which is a small rudimentary port of sorts. Our guide Dan changed into water shoes, grabbed some fruits and water, and led us down the embankment towards the Chagres River, where a slew of Embera wooden canoes with small outboard engines was waiting for visitors. Each canoe is manned by an engine driver in the back and a spotter at the front, both Embera tribe members in traditional clothing. We motored upstream along the Chagres River, taking in the beautiful rainforest scenery along the way, watching people fishing, washing clothes, and kids playing on the banks. The boat trip took about 30 minutes and we docked at the entrance of a tributary, and the spotter lead us off on a trail along the creek, with Dan following behind everyone to make sure no one fell behind. The trail was mostly bare dirt, with some very rocky parts, and involved a few water crossings. After mounting one final boulder, we were greeted by the sight of the waterfall and the pool below it. We didn't go for a swim, just waddled around in the shallow parts of the pool. The water was very clear and would have certainly made for a refreshing swim. The hike back to the canoe took about 15-20 minutes, though time always seem to pass more quickly on the return trip. The canoe then took us to the Embera village, which we had passed along the way up the river. A group of Embera folks came out to greet us from the river. At the village, we were treated to an explanation of some aspects of the Embera people, how they live, their customs, and a light lunch of fried fish, those heavenly fried plantain round things, and fresh fruit. Dan made sure we had water and urged us to help ourselves to more food. Rolling out of the lunch hut, we carried ourselves to the humongous entertainment hut, where the tribe members performed some music and danced for the visitors. The tribe members then invited the visitors to join them in dancing - we had a blast and really enjoyed ourselves. After these official events were over, we browsed and purchased some craft items and took a stroll through the village. Dan was always around to help take group photos, help translate, and answer any questions. A group of tribal people walked us down to the river and waved goodbye as we motored away down the river wearing comical orange life floaties. At the car, Dan helped us do a final check that everyone has their belongings, including phones, and we drove back to Panama City, with more conversations about Panama and Central America along the way. In all, it was a very good tour. We didn't find it physically demanding and our tour guide Dan provided the perfect balance between being helpful and letting us experience things directly. We strongly recommend this experience to anyone who has a day in the Panama City area and is looking to explore the natural beauty of Panama and its people.

This was the highlight of our trip to Panama City! Our tour guide was Marivella and she was wonderful! She spoke excellent English, gave us a brief overview of Panama, the canal and the monkeys that we would be seeing. She properly set expectations that we may not see all types of monkeys. Yet we were luckily that her team knew where to go, how to call the monkeys, and we say all three different species! It was great fun!

Roberto gave us a fabulous tour. He speaks perfect English, very understandable even by my heart of hearing husband, and was very knowledgeable about the history of the area, which we really enjoyed. He took us to the old city, the new city, and to the Panama canal locks museum. Right now, the museum is closed except for the observation deck, but being up on the deck was cool and we got some great pictures. I highly recommend that anybody who is in Panama City for a day do this half-day tour with Roberto. Such a kind and patient person, and we learned so much!

We met Roderick in front of the Central Hotel Panama Casco Viejo where he helped us arrange parking for our rental car. We were running a little late due to Panama City traffic and called Roderick to let him know via the cell phone provided. He picked up right away and told us not to stress he will be waiting for us. We started the trip in Independence Square where very quickly we could see that we had a very good tour guide. Roderick is a beautiful person, full of energy and good vibrations, very warm and friendly, immediately made us feel very comfortable. If you want he can do the standard group tour kind of thing offered by the larger tour operators where you step through the list of sights in Casco Viejo, but that is not what we were looking for. Yes we wanted to see the standard sights, be we wanted a more authentic walk that could evolve organically. One of the highlights of the tour was a spontaneous decision to stop in a small coffee shop as we were walking by when Roderick asked if we like coffee. He said let me show you something neat. We went in and did a taste testing of the Gesha coffee Panama has become famous for over the last five years, and his friend who did the testing told us a lot about the Panamanian craft coffee scene, it was cool, very informative, and delicious. We really did not know much about Panamanian coffee before hand but since realize it is very important for Panama, this Gesha craft coffee. The other thing we noticed about this coffee shop was all Panamanian customers, not the tourist that where numerous everywhere else. We continued the trip doing things very organically, hoping from site to site and doing fun things in between for our kids. Bought some souvenirs at the markets, he showed us a good spot to get our 5 yr old a Panama hat when he was getting very hot. He got us some coconut water straight from the nut. When my 5 yr old was about pooped out, he picked him up and carried him a little ways and used his good vibes and great personality to get him going again until the end of the trip. He also treated my 14 year old very well too and talked to him a lot. Roderick was simply great and provided a very fun and customized tour to meet our specific needs. Essential we had a knowledgeable local guide (and great human being) to show us the town for the morning.

It was a phenomenal tour. The tour guide, Esteban, was on time and enthusiastic. He was accommodating to the fact that we were on a time crunch. In a couple of hours, we were able to see the historic and modern city as well as the canal. He was very knowledge about the history and culture of Panama. Specifically, he knew the best times to see boats crossing the canal. He could also clearly articulate his ideas in both English and Spanish. I would definitely recommend him to anyone wanting to go on a tour of Panama City. It was an incredible value for its fair price.

Miguel grew up in Panama City and gave us an excellent tour with insightful history on the city and country. We arrived at the Miraflores Lockes early enough to see two ships go through. Afterwards the driving tour took us to significant parks and monuments on the way to Casco Viejo. Miguel patiently navigated the challenging traffic in the old city until we found parking. We did some walking, visited an air conditioned church and headed to the bustling fish market for lunch. We also met Tony, who was giving a family the same tour. We thought this tour was well worth it and we liked Miguel so much we booked the Monkey Island and Gambia tour for the next day, Highly recommend.

This was the highlight of our Panama City trip. We were picked up on time by Enrique who made this trip so enjoyable. It started with a boat ride in the canal which was very awesome, then few stops to see monkeys. The landscape is beautiful. Then a drive to see the locks in Agua Clara, this is the newer side. It was pretty impressive to see and learn about how it operates. Last, there is short and nice visit to a fortress, pretty views and good pic spots. Enrique prepared some amazing sandwiches for lunch, and brought fresh fruit with him! He was so nice and full of knowledge. Highly recommended!

A must do tour to see Panama City from a different view. Bicycles are pretty good, the ride is flat except for a very short climb. U got gears anyways. Good wide bike lane, very nice scenic route. Nice stop at a waterfront restaurant for tapas and drinks. Superb guide, many thanks!

I had a blast during this excursion. My tour guide was amazing and shared so much about the Guna Yala community and culture. I wish there was consistency though, my friends went with another guide and didn't have the same experience with their guide. Based on the info my guide told me I wish the tour was called the Guna Yala Tour instead of the San Blas Tour. As for the tour be prepared to be outside all day. Make sure you eat breakfast and pack snacks. If you get motion sickness I highly suggest packing medicine. I forgot mine, but luckily we stopped along the ay to get breakfast and I was able to grab some. It took about 90mins to get to the islands from our hotel in Panama City. Bring a towel, I forgot mine but luckily had something else to lay on at the beach. There are also some beach activities and equipment available to use on the island. The food provided was amazing I had the catch of the day which was a fried red snapper and I ate every piece of it! Overall it was a great day and I learned alot and got tons of beach time! Do not hesitate to book this excursion!

It was very nice to get out of Panama City for a day. Spent my day with an exellent guide, Hector and his beautiful daughter Stacy. I also had a chance to visit the sloth sanctuary and a tropical garden, did a bit of shopping and had a nice lunch. It's always nice to meet the local dogs and have a chance to share my lunch with them. I also learned a lot about the local history of Anton Valley. I highly recommend this tour.