I had been hearing a lot about Panama over the last couple of years. Then, at a New Year's party, a friend shared that she had rented a cottage by a beach for a month-long retreat to work on her latest book. It all came together in my mind and I planned an 8-day solo trip to Panama so that the end of my trip would coincide with the end of hers.
Panama is an attractive destination as it delivers urban, adventure, and beach travel all within a small country. Plus, it's not expensive and the people are kind and friendly. This is what led to it being on our list of the Best Budget Solo Travel Destinations for 2025.
The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Panama is the engineering feat of the canal. The canal was started by the French, completed by the Americans, and doubled in capacity by the Panamanians. But there's much more in Panama City and beyond. Below is my 8-day itinerary as well as a summary of all my expenses.
8-Day Panama Itinerary
Panama City, Day 1. I arrived at Tocumen International Airport Panama around 4:00 pm. Because it was later in the day and dark falls around 6:00 pm near the equator, I booked a taxi to pick me up so I would arrive at my destination while it was still light.
- Lesson 1 about Panama: Despite my plane arriving at Terminal 2, I was ushered out of Terminal 1 because I traveled with carry-on luggage only. Apparently this is standard process. My taxi, as you might guess, was at Terminal 2.
- Lesson 2 about Panama. Panamanians are friendly and helpful. A random tour guide called the taxi for me and directed him to find me. He straightened things out and explained how they had gone wrong.
The drive into Panama City is fascinating. The modern city with its towering glass and metal buildings appears very suddenly over one particular rise in the road. On the right of the highway are far more modest dwellings. The economic range of Panama is immediately evident.
I checked into the Hotel Coral Suites, where I stayed solo in Panama for three nights, and then went out to grab dinner before dark. I'm always cautious on my first night.
A note about Hotel Coral Suites: I paid US$184.80 for three nights. The rooms are very large and clean, with a kitchenette. They are very basic and there is no carpet, which I like. The real bonus is the rooftop pool which offers a beautiful view of the city. The hotel is also very close to the Metro.
Panama City, Day 2. I had two destinations for this day. I started in Casco Viejo, the old city, taking a free walking tour which I had booked through Guru Walk. The guide was excellent and it was the perfect orientation to Panama. He began with a 20 minute history of Panama and then we started walking. There was, naturally, another solo traveler on the tour which was about 2 1/2 hours long.
In the afternoon I went to the BioMuseo, one of my best experiences on my solo trip to Panama. This museum covers the formation of Panama millions of years ago, the implication for the planet in terms of weather systems, the salinity of oceans and the implications for biodiversity in the Americas. It was absolutely fascinating. There was one interactive display, the one on weather systems, that I watched a number of times.
A note about Uber in Panama City: Because I was heading to destinations that were not on the Metro line, I used Uber this day. From the hotel to the Plaza de la Independencia in the old city was US$2.40. From there to the Biomuseo was US$5.19. Back to my hotel was US$4.22. As you can see, Uber is inexpensive in Panama.
Panama City, Day 3. Having ended my first two days solo in Panama on the rooftop of my hotel, I was fascinated by the view and what looked like a wall of modern buildings towering into the sky. On Day 3 I walked into this international financial center (thanks to the canal) to see what it was really like. I walked for hours and found a range of buildings from different decades. The World Trade Center, built in 1996 is a mere 21 stories. The P.H. Yoo Panama, built in 2008 is 78 floors. And still, I found a simple house and a one-story strip mall in its midst. It wasn't quite what I had thought.
From modern Panama City I walked into a suburb of sorts and took the Metro to Albrook, the end of Line 2 and a bus terminal from which you can get a bus to anywhere in the country. I got a local bus to the Miraflores Visitor Center Panama Canal observation area.
It is possible to take a boat tour of the Panama Canal which will take you one way through the locks. I have, however, been through many locks and while the engineering is amazing, I really didn't feel the need to do it. The Miraflores Visitor Center was interesting and enough for me. There is an IMAX film about the history of the canal and a viewing area where you can see the locks in action. The best viewing times are from 9:00 am to 11:00 am and from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
A note about taking transit in Panama City: The subway costs US$1.25 and buses cost $.35 per trip. There are two subway lines. From my hotel, I had quick access to Line 1 which goes to Albrook station. Returning to the airport, I took Line 1, then transferred at San Miguelito to take Line 2 to Corredor Sur. From there, you get a short train into the airport. You can get onto the Metro using a credit card. There is usually one turnstyle that takes credit cards so you have to look for it. It has credit card stickers on it. If you're going to take buses, you'll need to buy a Metro Pass and load it up.
Panama City to El Valle d'Anton, Day 4. When I was at Albrook Station on Day 3 I checked out the situation for taking the bus to El Valle d'Anton. When does it leave? All the time. How much does it cost? US$4.95. It seemed too easy–but it was exactly that easy. As a result, there was no rush for me in the morning. I took my time, went out for breakfast, and made my way to Albrook where I bought a ticket and was guided to the bus which left within 10 minutes. The ride to El Valle, as the town is known locally, was about 4 hours.
I stayed at Valle Luna which I'm not going to recommend for your solo trip to Panama. It was clean, pretty, and fine but it was a house down a dirt road without an address. It took some time finding it and, if I'd had any mobility issues, it would have been a problem. There was no sense of hospitality. I just had a room in what felt like a vacant house. They also said they required cash, which I wasn't prepared for. This took time out of my day to sort out. I'd say they were taking this under the table yet I paid Booking.com rates. Not a terrible stay but enough small annoyances that I wouldn't go back or suggest it to anyone else.
After finding and dropping things off at the house, I walked the length of the town. It has one main street with shops, restaurants, cafes, and a market.
A note about intercity buses. Intercity buses stop to drop people off and pick others up en route. This means that the 3-hour bus ride can be much longer. Mine was just over 4 hours. But what entertaining hours they were! People were getting on and off with different items in their hands. I was by the door so I could see that some paid and others didn't. It seemed like an arbitrary system to me, but there was a system. The bus I was on was like a small school bus. At one point there were 12 people in the area where there were only six passenger seats. It was not a “chicken bus” (old school buses brightly coloured). To take a chicken bus you stand by the side of the road and flag one down, tell the bus assistant your destination, and they take the fare and let you on.
El Valle, Day 5. In El Valle, the real attraction is not the town but the nature surrounding it. El Valle sits in the crater of an extinct volcano. It's flat and then the sides of the crater go straight up as mountains. My goal this day was to see some of the natural beauty and how people really lived. But first, I wanted coffee.
The sweetest cafe in town is Kare Coffee. It's on the main street but set back and down a slope, surrounded by nature. The cafe has a small building where they serve the coffee and light fare. The seating is on covered patios all around the cafe. The menu offers great gluten-free options (an amazing waffle) and excellent coffee. From the photo above, you can see that I met and joined a great group of very exuberant young travelers. As there were no free tables, they invited me to join them. It was a lovely addition to my solo experience in Panama.
Next I wanted to explore the back end of the town and get into the mountains a bit. I rented a bike. An electric assist bike was recommended, but my recommendation is a regular bike unless you're really going into the mountains, which I didn't have time for on this day. Most of the town is very flat. By riding through the back streets I had fun supporting the local soccer team in a match with a rival town, seeing the normal day of locals, and viewing the mansions of many of Panama's most wealthy.
A note about communicating in Panama if you don't speak Spanish. I have very little Spanish. I have no complete sentences. However, there are two great options. For a real conversation, definitely use Google translate or something similar. I had some in-depth conversations this way. For practical situations, picking up a few words here and there and then using sign language can be quite effective. Billete is a ticket. Bus is bus. Those two words together and touching my grey hair got me the senior discount. You can also read How to Communicate When You Don’t Speak the Language for more.
El Valle to Playa El Uverito, Day 6. While I'm a fan of Booking.com for hotel reservations, I now don't trust their taxi booking system. I believe that they outsource this to another company and, as I discovered, their booking systems don't always connect properly. In my account, my taxi was confirmed but the taxi didn't arrive. When I contacted customer service, I was told that the taxi company had declined the fare. So, I was stuck. Solo in Panama, or anywhere else for that matter, this is frustrating. Fortunately, the woman who cleaned the home where I was staying managed to find me a taxi to take me to Playa Uverito. So it was mostly a day in transit. I went for breakfast in the morning, figured out my taxi by early afternoon, and met my friend in Uverito for supper.
Playa El Uverito, Day 7. There's nothing like a long walk on a secluded beach early in the morning. The ocean is always changing as are the tiny creatures that live off the ocean. The heat in Uverito can be quite oppressive so Elizabeth (who had already been there for about a month) and I did some visiting in the morning and went indoors from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. We're both writers, so my time in Uverito was for the beach, visiting neighbours she had met, working, and endless conversations. We visited Las Tablas, the main city nearby, but it does not offer a lot.
Departure, Day 8. The story of this day is best told in a separate post. Please read PayPal Airport Scam: Almost Caught in a Long Con.
Cost of My 8-Day Solo Trip to Panama
As you have seen from the prices outlined above, Panama is not an expensive destination. Here's what I spent on the ground.
- Hotels (5 nights): US$334.80. Panama City at Hotel Coral Suites $184.80. El Valle d-Anton $150. Playa Uverito was free as I stayed with a friend.
- Transportation: US$195.27. Pre-arranged taxi from the airport: $16.00. Three Ubers in Panama City: $11.81. Metro and buses in Panama City: $4.10. Bus to El Valle D'Anton: $4.95. Taxi to Playa Uverito: $150. (If I had taken a bus it would have been a full day of travel. The original taxi booked would have been $120–if they had shown up.) Bus from Playa Uverito to Panama City: $6.00. Metro to airport: $1.25.
- Food and activities: US$646.55. I typically bought yogurt and a banana each day for breakfast then went out for coffee. I paid cash for most meals. I brought US$400 in cash which was plenty. I put an additional $246.55 on my credit card.
- Travel insurance: CA$72.00
- Digital SIM card: US$14.00
Grand total for my solo trip to Panama: US$1,262.62 on the ground and approximately US$700 for my flights.
