Panama City, Panama - 5 days

[meowmaps]

Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do/see?  We found a B&B/lodge about 20 minutes outside the city and they'll arrange tours for us.  I know the Canal is an obvious must-see.  We're also thinking of a day trip to Portobelo and possibly Monkey Island. We're not the most outdoorsy/adventurous people but I'd love to see some wild animals and maybe go bird-watching.  Does that sound doable without having to do a major/strenuous hike?  If so, do you have a specific guide or company to recommend?  What about specific must-sees in the city and places to eat?  In case it's relevant, we're going at the end of March.

Thank you! 

[sarahsas]

I highly suggest going to Metropolitan National Park in PC. We saw our first monkeys there and a bunch of birds. It's the only rainforest national park within city limits in the Americas. It's cheap, and you don't need a guide. I am not in shape and found the walk to be fine. The views from the top is great!! We got dropped off at the visitor's center and then you hike kind of up to the top, really not bad, and then down a paved road to another side. Easy to get a taxi to and from.

Avoid the restaurant at Miraflores locks. NOT worth it - the most expensive lunch we've ever had! The museum there is great.

[meowmaps]

Dec 23, 2014 17:08:16 GMT -5 sarahsas said:

I highly suggest going to Metropolitan National Park in PC. We saw our first monkeys there and a bunch of birds. It's the only rainforest national park within city limits in the Americas. It's cheap, and you don't need a guide. I am not in shape and found the walk to be fine. The views from the top is great!! We got dropped off at the visitor's center and then you hike kind of up to the top, really not bad, and then down a paved road to another side. Easy to get a taxi to and from.

Avoid the restaurant at Miraflores locks. NOT worth it - the most expensive lunch we've ever had! The museum there is great.

Thank you for your first-hand feedback about the Metropolitan National Park.  I'll definitely add that to my to-do list!  

[sunshinedaydreams]

We spent the majority of our time in Panama in other parts of the country, so I don't have too many recs.

We did the Miraflores locks of the canal, but if we'd had more time, we would have taken the train to Colon to the Gatun locks. Apparently you can get a lot closer to the canal/locks there, and you can see a lot of the construction they're doing on the new locks for even bigger ships.

Casco Viejo has some really cool buildings and is good to wander around. Make sure you ask a concierge or someone before you head out to mark safe places for you on a map. There are parts of Casco Viejo that are really nice and safe, and some that aren't so great. In one area, I had a local woman call me over and tell me to get a photo and get out of there so I didn't get my camera stolen. I wouldn't let this scare you away from going there, just keep it in mind and be aware of your surroundings.

There's a nice, long pathway in the downtown area - I forget what it's called - but it's an stone pathway that tons of people bike, run, walk on. It goes right along the water and has pretty good views of the city. We walked it from Casco Viejo toward the downtown area around sunset and got some great photos. At one point, it passes through a fresh seafood market. We didn't eat there, but they had really cheap seafood and it was packed, so I assume it's good.

For outside of the city stuff, maybe Gamboa or Valle de Anton? I don't have personal experience visiting these places, but I did research them quite a bit before we went. Check out TA for some photos and reviews.

For restaurants, I don't know what sort of a budget you're looking for, but we had amazing dinners at both Tantalo and Ego y Narciso. Tantalo is a pretty trendy place in the lobby of a hotel and serves tapas. We had a fantastic fried sushi and banana cake to die for there. Ego y Narciso was a bit more upscale and had steaks, etc. I had an amazing steak there, and they had a pretty good wine selection.

[meowmaps]

sunshinedaydreams - Thanks for the recs! I wasn't able to find Ego y Narciso's menu but Tantalo's looks amazing! I've got them both on my list.

[neonpink]

When I was in Panama I stayed in Gamboa, at the rain forest resort. While there we saw campybaras, tucans and a lot of other wild life.

We did not go to monkey island. Once there it sounded really sad. we did go to the smithsonian institute on the causeway and saw tons of sloths and other animals. We saw more animals in panama then I've ever seen on any vacation.

I don't really have recs for places to eat but true panama piña coladas are the most amazing thing ever. It's nothing like our cream ones. Eat the seafood. It's amazing. If you like sushi it can be the freshest since they have two coasts for fish. I had the best ceviche there. They are known for it. The fish market sells it by the container and I still think of the octopus ceviche.

If you are renting a car get an SUV and a gps. The roads are rocky and not really named.

[meowmaps]

Dec 26, 2014 0:42:40 GMT -5 neonpink said:

When I was in Panama I stayed in Gamboa, at the rain forest resort. While there we saw campybaras, tucans and a lot of other wild life.

We did not go to monkey island. Once there it sounded really sad. we did go to the smithsonian institute on the causeway and saw tons of sloths and other animals. We saw more animals in panama then I've ever seen on any vacation.

I don't really have recs for places to eat but true panama piña coladas are the most amazing thing ever. It's nothing like our cream ones. Eat the seafood. It's amazing. If you like sushi it can be the freshest since they have two coasts for fish. I had the best ceviche there. They are known for it. The fish market sells it by the container and I still think of the octopus ceviche.

If you are renting a car get an SUV and a gps. The roads are rocky and not really named.

Thank you for the recs and specifically, for the bolded information.  I was on the fence about Monkey Island so I feel better now about dropping it from my list.  I'm very interested in the Smithsonian Institute!  I'd love to see sloths and any other animals around.  

[SJ]

We also went to Tantalo and Ego y Narciso!

We were there in June 2013 on the way to Colombia for three nights and stayed in Casco Viejo. We rented an apartment through Los Cuatro Tulipanes and would highly recommend. We LOVED PC! Direct flight from Chicago (upgraded both ways on Copa), great food, good sightseeing, etc. We did a Jungle Boat & Miraflores Locks Tour through Ancon. Other than that we just ate & drank. Got ceviche at the fish market in addition to the restaurants noted above.