Panama

Understand

The isthmus connects two major landmasses—South America with Central and North America—resulting in incredibly diverse flora and fauna. Panama is often cited as the country with the most bird species in the world, boasting close to 900. Several Indigenous tribes still thrive here, living much as their ancestors did, which contributes to the richness of the nation's cultural fabric. The Panamanian government maintains strong ties with the United States and is highly supportive of business, development, and tourism. The International Monetary Fund has praised Panama’s diversified economy and predicts it will have one of the strongest GDP growth rates in the coming years. The country is well-known for its highly developed international banking sector, with nearly 80 banks from around the world—such as HSBC, BBVA, and Citi Bank—maintaining branches in Panama. The expanding Panama Canal continues to drive the country's service-based economy and remains one of the most important transportation hubs globally. Beyond its strong economic foundation, Panama's physical infrastructure—including modern hospitals, airports, and roads—is significantly more advanced than that of its Central American neighbors. Panama is home to a large expatriate community; around 25,000 U.S. citizens live in the country. It's worthwhile to spend some time reading about Panama and connecting with locals, expats, and other travelers before arriving. Consider joining local forums, expat blogs, or the Central America Forum. Many local blogs can provide the most up-to-date information on issues like flooding, earthquakes, trail closures, and the best places to eat.

Climate

Less than 9 degrees north of the equator, most of Panama enjoys temperatures that are fairly consistent year round, with daytime te

See

The Panama Canal - one of the world's most important interoceanic connections and probably the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking about Panama. There are different ways to explore the canal: the most visited place at the canal is the Miraflores Visitor Center / Miraflores Locks in Panama City (see the city's article for details). It is located at the old canal with its smaller locks for smaller ships, but still very impressive. To see the new, expanded canal, you can visit the Agua Clara Visitor Center in the city of Colon (Panama), on the Caribbean side of the canal. In addition, it is also possible to book a luxury train ride along the canal, or a boat ride on the canal. Panama City - being not only the capital city of, but also by far the biggest an

Getting there

Entry requirements Citizens from the following countries can enter Panama visa-free because their countries hold treaties with Panama that entitle their citizens to visit for up to 180 days without a visa, having a passport valid for at least 6 months upon entry: Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Belarus, Belgium, Botswana, Bhutan, Brazil, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Egypt, Fiji, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Georgia, Gibraltar, Grenada, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Korea, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Solomon Islands, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, The Vatican, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

This usually also applies to people of other nationalities (India, for example), if they have a residence permit issued by any of the above countries. For example, an Indian national living in the United States will be

Getting around

By bus

There are two kinds of buses in Panama: the ones you find on the highway, and "city buses" (Metrobuses, which replaced the Diablos Rojos (Red Devils). The highway buses are constantly making journeys from terminals in Panama city to different destinations along the Pan American Highway, and back to the terminal. They're pretty frequent, and the buses will pick you up or drop you off at any point along their route, and most of them are air conditioned. The roughly linear shape of the country makes it ideal for a bus system, so ideal in fact that you don't really need to rent a car to get around most areas. Take a bus to the intersection on the Pan American highway that you want. You can get on a bus any place on the Pan American highway going towards Panama City, but all trips originating from within the city require a ticket. The Grand Terminal in the city is large and modern, and will remind you of an American shopping mall or airport (it actually is a shopping mall, Albrook Mall, too). Schedules for all Panama are listed here. The highway buses are very cheap, count on a fare of about US$1 per hour traveled, sometimes less. One exception is fares from Tocumen airport, for which both buses and taxis charge through the roof (by Panamanian standards), simply because they can. If you want to get on a bus, stand by the side of the road, hold out your arm and make obvious pointing motions toward the ground. If you're on the bus and want to get off, yell "parada!" or tell the driver in advance. You'll get the hang of it pretty quick. The locals are very helpful with tourists on buses, and may offer help. Never ask for the fare in the bus: the bus drivers will most certainly always round up numbers in that case. Instead, know the fare beforehand (by asking the loca