Panama backpacking itinerary, by the time I got to Panama, Its been almost two months of travelling through out all of central America, all the way from Mexico city. During that time I have managed to cover 7 country and more than 22 region. I had big plans for Panama, but I was running low on motivation, time and money. Believe it or not some time you do get tired from travailing and exploring, that is something I did not believe can happens, but it dose happens sometime, the trick is to take some time and connect with yourself, and this will usually reset you to your blissful self. Sorry back to the itinerary and Panama. So Panama is very diverse, and had a lot of backpacker friendly attraction, and so many area to explore. I decided spend my time to explore two region of Panama Bocas del Toro national park and Panama City, which I will tell you a more about shortly.
Panama Backpacking Itinerary
Destination: Central America, Panama
Season: December 2017
Length: 6 days
Theme: Backpacking | City | Culture | Snorkeling | Diving | Sceneries | Island hopping
Panama Itinerary at glance
Panama Itinerary at glance
Panama Border Crossing → Almirante → Bocas del Toro → Panama City and surrounding area
Panama backpacking itinerary
- The Icon for the transfer method
- The h for the number of hour of transportation time
- am or pm is the time of departure from the city
- The D for the number of days i spent in the city
- The ←→ for day trip
Buses are very reliable and safe in my experience. Also the bus leave in the morning and night, depend on the route you are taking, so you can enjoy night bus, which I really enjoy, because it save you time and money.
Panama Itinerary at glance
Panama Border Crossing →2h Almirante →1h Bocas del Toro →9h Panama City and surrounding area
Panama Backpacking Itinerary
Panama Backpacking Itinerary
Panama Backpacking Itinerary
Day 1-4 Bocas del Toro
By the time I entered into Panama, I decided to find a spot to relax for a short while. After some asking around, I made my mind to go Bocas del Toro. Which I highly recommend to put on your Panama Itinerary. After crossing the border from Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica into Panama, I took a one hour bus ride to Almirante, from which I took a Ferry to Bocas Island. After around 40 minutes of sweet boat ride I was in the beautiful Bocas del Toro.
Bocas town, is the capital of Bocas del Toro, Bocas is a small nice town, with a very chilled positive vibe, of course the main highlight is the beautiful islands shattered around the Caribbean sea in the amazing Bocas del Toro national park. With lots of water activity and surfing spots. There are large number of island to explore in Bocas del Toro, which you can also stay or sleep in if you like too. My favourite island was Zapatilla Cay in Bocas, which it is a most visit island if you are in Bocas. As well as the island hopping and the water activity Bocas have nice kick of night life with decent number of partying spots.
I spent most of my day time enjoying the Caribbean and island hopping exploring Bocas del Toro. You can easily arrange a day tour from the many agency in town or your hostel. Evening time I was exploring the town, Bocas del Toro is very backpacker friendly and you can easily make friends on the go as you explore the area. One tip I recommend, stay in a hostel with sea front, There are few hostels to choose from, I stayed in Hostel Mamallena Bocas del Toro, which was in right in the centre close to restaurants and the main attraction of Bocas town, and it has an amazing sea front.
After around four days of relaxing I was ready to move on to my next stop, Bocas del Toro is beautiful, but its still a small town and few days was enough for me to explore it and move on to my next stop.
Top things to do in
- Explore Bocas del Toro National Park
- Go to Zapatilla Cay Island
Accommodation in Bocas
I recommend to stay in a hostel with sea front, There are few hostels to choose from, I stayed in Hostel Mamallena Bocas del Toro, which was in right in the centre close to restaurants and the main attraction of Bocas town, and it has an amazing sea front. Selina Bocas del Toro, is another good option but its a much louder, its a good choose if you like partying hostel.
Transport to and from Bocas del Toro
To get to and from Bocas del Toro you need to take a Ferry, In my case I took around 40 minutes Ferry to Bocas Island from Almirante. The Ferry goes on daily bases at different time through out the day. But always give your self extra time as delay can happen.
Transport from Bocas del Toro to Panama City
After nice four days of enjoying beautiful Bocas del Toro, It was time to move on. I did not have a clear plans but I took the earliness Ferry to Almirante. The good thing is the main bus stop is not far from Ferry port. From Almirante, I decided to hit Panama City as a next stop. After few hours of waiting and a movie the bus was finally in. It took me around eight hours to get to Panama City from Almirante.
Panama Backpacking Itinerary
Day 5-7 Panama City
As you might already know me by now, I don’t like to spend time in cites to close to civilisation away from nature. But sometimes life force you to do certain things. Its was the time to wrap up my Central America trip and book a ticket back home to rest and prepare for my next adventure. So here we go I am in Panama City for first time, It took me around 60 days from Mexico City to get to my last stop in my Central America Itinerary, Panama City.
One thing you need to know about Panama City, that it has two parts. Casco Viejo, The historic district of Panama City and the rest of Panama. You should locate yourself at Casco Viejo. As it is close to most of the attraction you need to see in Panama City. I my self stayed at Luna’s Castle Hostel in Casco Viejo, which I highly recommend to stay in it or around this area as it is in a central location. After checking at my hostel and confirming my flight back home, I had around three days to explore Panama City.
Unlike many capital city, Panama City is a bit chilled and I think the fact that the city is surrounded by the Gulf of Panama give it this kick. I spend around three days in Panama City, which I think was more than enough to explore its historical dimension as well as visiting the Famous Panama Canal and enjoy jogging and cycling around its beautiful coastline and seeing its local markets.
Top things to do in
- Explore Casco Viejo the historical part Panama City
- Panama Canal
- Jogging and cycling around Panama city beautiful coastline
- Explore local markets and try local food
- Trip to San Blas Islands
- Sailing from Panama to Colombia
Unfortunately I did not do the last two activity myself but it was highly recommended by other traveller
Accommodation in Bocas
I my self stayed at Luna’s Castle Hostel in Casco Viejo, which I highly recommend to stay in it or around this area, as it is in a central location.
Transport from Panama City
Panama City is a large city and its the Capital of Panama. You can easily travel to any destination you like to from there. Some of the traveler I met they continued their travel to Colombia. However in my case, Panama City was my last stop before flying back home.
Panama Backpacking Itinerary
