What to See on your Vacation in Panama City

Most first time tourists to the Republic of Panama are probably going to check out the Panama beach hotels and resorts first for their first vacation in Panama. After you’d found the hotel or resort in Panama you want to stay at, you are going to want to know more about what to see in Panama besides the beautiful beaches.

Panama City, which sits on the bay of the Pacific Ocean is one of the most modern, urban cities in Panama and in Central America, diverse, very cosmopolitan and sophisticated. It has miles of white sand beaches along the shores and in the city with many hotels and beach resorts in Panama at all prices ranges for you to choose from for your vacation in Panama city.
Panama City, due to its ideal location on an isthmus, is much like some of the other great shipping and trading cities of Singapore or Hong Kong. Economically, it is a thriving city, based on commerce, tourism and banking. The view in Panama is fabulous, there is the famous Panama Canal, the Pacific coast bay and ocean, glittering skyscrapers of El Cangrejo and mountains with lush forests that rise behind the beautiful skyline.

You will also find San Felipe, the old city center full of 19th Century mansions, old Colonial churches, You should also check out the ruins of the first European city settled in Latin America on the Pacific coast called Panamá Viejo. There is also Balboa to visit which was the former U.S. Canal Zone town given back to Panama in 1979.

To get away from the hustle and the bustle of urban Panama City, 20 km from the city in the bay is the Isla Taboga (“island of flowers”) and there is the tropical rainforests of the Parque Nacional Metropolitano.

If you’d like to explore the rest of the country, Panama City is a great base from which to start your journey of exploration. Day trips from Panama City include trips to the Caribbean coast up to Portobelo, the Canal and Colón.

Also, one of the most festive times to visit Panama is during the Carnaval time which happens one weekend a year, the weekend before Ash Wednesday. However, you must make sure to make your hotel reservations many weeks in advance of the carnival time because all hotels, including the beach hotels and resorts in Panama sell out quickly.