Panama City and the Panama Canal
Summary
Panama City is definitely worth a visit. First up, you get quite the pleasant surprise when you arrive at just how developed it is with its shimmering glass skyscrapers all the way along the Pacific coastline and an efficient, clean feel that is very different to any other city in Central America. But its the colonial architecture of Casco Viejo Old Town on the waterfront and the great engineering feat of the Panama Canal that are the highlights
Considering you often have to fly through Panama City to get to where you’re going in this part of Central America, I’d actually say the city itself its a must visit if in the region. As someone who’s a bit geeky when it comes to engineering, I personally found watching the ships pass through the docks of the Panama Canal mesmerising
Although sorry for the particularly poor photos for this one!
highlights
#1 Sitting mesmerised as you watch the ships pass through the giant locks of the world famous Panama Canal, one of the Engineering Wonders of the World
#2 Wandering the old colonial streets of the Casco Viejo Old Town
#3 Taking the Panama Canal Railway from Panama City to Colon and getting to see the sheer scale of the work put into the canal
#4 Checking out Panama City itself - looking up a lot at the skyscrapers!
Travel Tips
- Panama Canal options – you’ve got a few options for checking it out at various parts: (i) The Miraflores Locks and visitor centre next to Panama City (the Pacific side); (ii) The Agua Clara / Gatun Locks next to Colon (the Atlantic side); (iii) Take the Panama Canal Railway between the two to get a fuller look at the canal:
- If you’re pressed for time, then stick with the Miraflores Locks – they have a great visitor centre, and cracking view over the ships passing through, plus its a nice spot for food / grabbing some early sundowners from 4ish (best times to see the ships are 9am-11am and 3pm-5pm when they are more frequent)
- My recommendation though is to do all 3 because the train is a great way to see the jungle and territory the canal goes through, and each lock is very different. Get the early morning train at 7:15am to travel from Panama City to Colon, which takes around 45mins. There will be a heap of taxis there to take you to the Locks (or get an Uber) where you’ll want to spend an hour or so watching the ships and maybe watching the video on the construction. Then head back to Miraflores by taxi / uber which takes around an hour (don’t wait for the return train which leaves at 5:15pm and you’ll be super bored by that time). If you push it, you can be done by midday
- Don’t bother watching the movie at Miraflores, unless you’re looking for a super artistic series of films about broad Panama (not the Canal)
- The Old Town Casco Viejo is definitely worth a visit – surprisingly lovely to wander round and get lost in. A bit touristy in places, but not hard to find some quieter spots and to grab a table in one of the outside areas
- Two restaurants I’d really recommend, both in the Old Town:
- Higher end, with a superb restaurant and cracking rooftop bar is Salvaje Restaurante y Rooftop (need to book for the rooftop)
- Lower end, with a great atmosphere is Fonda Lo Que Hay
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other train ride experiences
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone