Panama: What to Know Before you Arrive and While You're here

Money

Panama uses the US dollar. The balboa is pegged one to one and exists only as coins, which are the same size and weight as US coins. There is no currency to change.

Visa and Mastercard work almost everywhere in Panama City. Amex is patchier. Carry $50–100 in small bills for market stalls, fondas, taxis and tips — and avoid notes larger than $20, which many small businesses won't or can't break.

For ATMs, use machines inside a bank branch, a supermarket or a hotel rather than a standalone street machine. Expect a local fee of a few dollars on top of your own bank's.

Tipping

Situation	Norm
Restaurants	10% — check the bill, it's sometimes already added
Bars and cafés	Round up, or $1–2 a drink
Taxis	Not expected; round up
Housekeeping	$2–5 a night, left in cash
Tour guides	10%, or $5–10 half day / $10–20 full day
Porters	$1–2 a bag

Phone and internet

An eSIM is the easiest answer for a short stay — $12–22 for a few gigabytes, activated before you land, no queue and no unlocked-phone problem.

For a local SIM, the carriers are +Móvil and Tigo (formerly Movistar). Plans start around $5. Buy at a carrier store in a mall rather than at the airport, where they charge a premium. Bring your passport.

Coverage is strong across the city. It is patchy to nonexistent in San Blas and Bocas del Toro, which matters if you're taking a trip out there.

Groceries and pharmacies

• Supermercado El Rey, Avenida Central between Calle 10 and 11, opposite the American Trade Hotel. Small, convenient, noticeably more expensive than a full-size supermarket. Has a pharmacy counter.

• The "chinos" — small corner shops all over Casco, open late, good for anything you forgot.

• Mercado de San Felipe Neri for fruit, vegetables and fresh juice at local prices. Approach from the seaside.

• Felipe Motta for wine, beer and spirits.

• Machetazo near Plaza Santa Ana — much cheaper and more local, about seven minutes' walk. The surrounding streets are unrenovated; fine by day, take a car after dark.

• Pharmacies: Arrocha, Metro and Revilla are the main chains. Most everyday medicine is over the counter; antibiotics need a prescription. In Casco Viejo the closest pharmacies are: Farmacias Revilla and the one inside Supermercados El Rey.

  In Santa Ana, the closest are: the one inside Mr. Precio and the one inside El Machetazo.

  
  

Water, health and emergencies

Panama City tap water is treated and drinkable — Panama is one of the few countries in the region where that's true, and locals drink it. Some visitors still prefer bottled in the historic quarter because of older plumbing; both positions are reasonable. Do not drink the tap water in the countryside.

Emergency	Number
Ambulance and general emergency	911
Police	104
Fire	103
Hospital Punta Pacífica (Johns Hopkins affiliate)	+507 204-8000
Hospital Paitilla	+507 265-8800
Hospital Nacional — closest to Casco	+507 306-3300

Private hospitals here are genuinely excellent and doctors are usually bilingual. All expect payment at the time of service, so bring a card and claim on your insurance afterwards.

Tourist police patrol Casco on foot and bicycle and are the fastest help for anything minor.

Mosquitoes: there is no malaria risk in Panama City, so no antimalarials. Dengue does circulate. The mosquito that carries it bites during the day, particularly early morning and late afternoon — so repellent is a daytime item here, not an evening one.

Sun: nine degrees off the equator. UV is intense year-round and highest between 10 and 3, including on grey rainy-season days. The plazas have no shade.

Weather and what to pack

It is hot and humid all year — highs of 31–33°C, lows of 22–24°C, barely varying. What changes is the rain. Dry season is mid-December to mid-April (sunny, breezy, busiest). Rainy season is May to mid-December, with October the wettest month.

Crucially, the rainy season does not mean all-day rain. The pattern is a bright morning, a heavy downpour for an hour or two in the afternoon, then clearing.

Plan sightseeing for the morning and you'll rarely lose a day. Panama sits below the hurricane belt.

Pack: light natural fabrics, closed-toe shoes with grip, a compact umbrella or light shell from May to November, high-SPF sunscreen and a hat, insect repellent, one smart-casual outfit for the rooftops, and a light layer for indoors — restaurants, malls and the metro here are aggressively air-conditioned.

A few local manners

• Greet before you ask. Walking into a shop and leading with your request reads as rude. Say "¡Buenas!" — it works at any hour.

• English is widely spoken in Casco, much less so a few blocks out and with taxi drivers.

• Ask before photographing people. Guna women in traditional dress often ask about a dollar for a photo — that's normal and expected.

• The canal is a point of real national pride. Take the hint.

• Social invitations run ten to twenty minutes late as a matter of course. Business meetings don't.

• Casco Viejo is a living residential neighbourhood, not a heritage park. People sleep behind these walls. Noise late at night is a genuine neighbourly issue, and we'd be grateful if you'd keep it in mind coming home.

Transportation

From Tocumen airport

Tocumen (PTY) is 25–30km east. Reckon on 30–50 minutes, up to 75 in rush hour.

Option	Cost	Notes
Uber	$15–25	Usually cheapest; more when surging
Official airport taxi	$30	Published fare, 1–2 people. Cash only, USD
Pre-booked transfer	$35–60	Fixed price, meet and greet
Metro	$0.85	Not realistic with luggage — long outdoor walk, transfers, 60–90 min

Two things about the airport

Ride-hailing cannot pick up at the arrivals curb. You have to walk out and cross to the parking structure. The exact meeting row differs by terminal and changes — follow the instructions in the app, which are right at the moment you book.

Nobody who approaches you inside the terminal is your Uber. People solicit rides at the ground-transport area, including by claiming to be your booked driver. Walk past them.

Albrook (PAC), the domestic airport for San Blas, Bocas and Contadora, is inside the city — 15–20 minutes and $5–10 from Casco. One small terminal; ninety minutes before departure is plenty.

Around the city

Use Uber. It's cheap, safe, cashless and everywhere in Casco. inDrive is a good backup and often cheaper. Casco's streets are narrow and frequently blocked, so it's easier to meet your driver at the edge of a plaza than deep in the grid.

From Casco to	Uber	Time
Mercado de Mariscos / Cinta Costera	$4–5	5 min
Albrook mall, bus terminal, PAC	$5–8	10–15 min
Amador Causeway / Biomuseo	$5–9	10–15 min
Miraflores Locks	$8–14	20–25 min
Marbella / Bella Vista restaurants	$5–9	10–20 min
Tocumen airport	$15–25	30–50 min

Street taxis

Panama City taxis are not metered — they work on zones. Agree the total before you get in, and say "total, para todos", because the standard overcharge is to quote a price and then claim it was per person. Legitimate taxis are yellow with a "T" or "RI" plate. Typical in-city fare is $2–5, cash. Drivers routinely pick up other passengers heading the same way — that's normal here, not a problem.

The metro

Clean, fast and cheap — $0.35 on Line 1, $0.50 on Line 2, $0.85 if you transfer. You need a card ($2, reloadable, from the station machines); cash doesn't work at the turnstiles.

It doesn't reach Casco or Santa Ana. The nearest station is 5 de Mayo, a 15–20 minute walk that passes through Santa Ana. Fine in daylight. After dark, take an Uber instead.

On foot

The whole restored core is about a 1.2km loop. Cobblestones are uneven and slick in the rain, so wear shoes with grip. And the orientation trick again: water on three sides — walk toward the sea and you'll place yourself within two minutes.

You are staying in the old city — twenty-two hectares of Spanish colonial streets with the Pacific on three sides. It is small. You can walk from one end to the other in fifteen minutes, and you will need two or three days to actually see it.

If you ever feel turned around, walk toward the water. You will hit the seawall within two minutes and know exactly where you are.

The rhythm of the day

Casco has two good windows and one difficult middle.

• 6:30–10:30am. Cool, bright, empty. The best light on the facades and the only comfortable time for a long walk. The plazas have almost no shade.

• 11am–4pm. Hot, and in the rainy season this is when the downpour arrives. Museums, a long lunch, a rooftop, or a nap.

• 4:30–7pm. The neighbourhood refills. Sunset is around 6:15–6:45 all year — Panama sits nine degrees off the equator, so the day barely changes length.

Don't panic on day one

On a weekday afternoon Casco can feel deserted. Most people who work here live elsewhere, and the neighbourhood genuinely empties out. It fills again after 5:30pm. Guests sometimes conclude on their first afternoon that everything is closed. It isn't.

The rhythm of the week

Monday and Tuesday are quiet — several kitchens close early and some bars don't open at all. Wednesday is the sleeper night: live salsa and live jazz both happen. Thursday through Saturday are the real nights, when rooftops run to 2 or 3am. Sunday is good early and over by midnight.

What to wear

Two things, and both matter more than they sound.

Closed-toe shoes with grip. The cobblestones are uneven and the colonial tile gets genuinely slippery when it rains. Flip-flops and heels are an ankle risk here, not a style choice.

Panama City dresses well. Beachwear isn't worn in town — no swimwear, no shirtless walking. Smart casual covers every restaurant in Casco, and a couple of the rooftops will actually turn away shorts and athletic wear. Churches expect shoulders and knees covered. Bring one nice outfit; you will use it.

Plaza de Francia is closed new 2026

Restoration work on Plaza de Francia, Las Bóvedas and sections of Paseo Esteban Huertas began in May 2026 and is expected to run about two years. Expect hoarding and partial or full closure of the seawall promenade. Almost every guide and photograph online still shows it open.

The best substitute view is the mirador at Iglesia San Francisco de Asís ($5, Tue–Sun 9–5) or the Cinta Costera 3 causeway, which curves out over the water and gives you the skyline with the old town in front of it.

Getting Around & Staying Safe

Casco Viejo and the main areas of Santa Ana are generally easy to explore on foot, particularly during the daytime. If you are staying in Santa Ana, we recommend walking toward Plaza Santa Ana and from there continuing into Casco Viejo, where you’ll find most of the restaurants, cafés, bars, shops and attractions.

We recommend avoiding walking toward the El Chorrillo area. Although the area is regularly patrolled by police, it is not a tourist area and we do not recommend that our guests explore it on foot. When leaving Santa Ana, we suggest heading toward Plaza Santa Ana and Casco Viejo instead.

As with any city, some surrounding neighborhoods are less tourist-oriented, so we recommend staying within Casco Viejo and the main areas around Plaza Santa Ana rather than wandering into unfamiliar streets, especially at night.

When walking around, keep your personal belongings secure and avoid having your phone or valuables unnecessarily visible on quieter streets. For cash withdrawals, it is preferable to use ATMs located inside banks, supermarkets or hotels. If you are returning late at night, taking an Uber is an easy and inexpensive option rather than walking through areas you are unfamiliar with.

One situation worth being aware of: if someone in plain clothes approaches you, shows a badge and asks to inspect your wallet or cash for “counterfeit notes,” do not hand over your wallet or money. Politely decline and move toward a populated area or nearby business.

Panama is a wonderful country to explore, and Casco Viejo and Santa Ana are full of history, culture and local life. Simply stay aware of your surroundings and take the same common-sense precautions you would when visiting any city or country in the world.

While you’re here, make sure to explore the other articles on this blog! You’ll find our recommendations for museums, cafés, restaurants, things to do, and some of our favorite places around Casco Viejo and Panama City to help you make the most of your stay.

We hope you have a wonderful time exploring Panama, and we thank you once again for choosing our listing for your stay. We’re very happy to have you and hope you enjoy every moment of your visit!