16 things to know before you visit Panama City in 2024

11.03.2024 - 01:05 / lonelyplanet.com

Panama's capital is a cosmopolitan cityscape with a skyline dominated by gleaming skyscrapers and streets full of culture, incredible food and enticing attractions.

Explore on foot and take a stroll along the bay while the Pacific breeze keeps you cool, before exploring Panama City's different neighborhoods and finding its colonial history etched on every street.

Tourist crime here is low and most are of the low-key, opportunistic type you'll encounter in any major city. Keep your wits about you, avoid the more rough-and-tumble parts of town and you'll be just fine. 

From planning your trip to local etiquette, here’s what you need to know before traveling to Panama City.

Every neighborhood has its advantages and disadvantages. With cobblestone streets and Spanish colonial architecture, the historic quarter of Casco Viejo is the most memorable and romantic part of the city.

It has lots of high-end restaurants, luxury lofts and swanky rooftop bars, but a dearth of budget-friendly places to eat and its public transport links aren’t the best.

The Calidonia district in the southern part of the city occupies a grid of streets from Plaza 5 de Mayo to Calle 42 Este. Avenida Central bustles with market stalls, and the roads to the south are dotted with budget-friendly hotels.

The district is also near plenty of Metro trains and buses. You can pick up cheap street food during the day when kitchens open for local hospital staff and civil servants. After dark, however, Calidonia becomes shady and downbeat with limited dining options.

To the east of Calidonia, the so-called banking district is a patchwork of several districts or corregimientos, including modern and emerging neighborhoods that host the lion’s share of high-end lodgings and Airbnb rentals.

There are a few hostels and not nearly enough economical hotels. Many decent restaurants are dispersed throughout the banking district but are not always within walking distance.

If you’re in town to party, the Marbella and Bella Vista neighborhoods have great access to the bars and clubs on Calle Uruguay. El Cangrejo is an entertainment zone with a casino, good Metro train links on Vía España and a parade of restaurants on Vía Argentina. 

The high season coincides with the dry season – mid-December to early April – when prices are generally higher. The major festivals of Christmas, New Year, Carnival and Semana Santa see a price increase in the capital, but not as much as the beaches, where most city-dwellers spend the holidays.

Mid-April to early December is the cheapest time to visit Panama City, as long as you don’t mind getting soaked by the rain.

Most deluges last only an hour or two in the afternoon, but the season gets wetter as it goes on. In the depths of it, the