If you're coming on vacation for a week, you can have action-packed days trying to fit everything in. If possible, stay for a few weeks or even a month. Here are some of our favorite things to do in Panama. 

The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is an integral part of what shaped Panama is today, and you can't come to Panama without seeing it. There are two viewing areas. The Miraflores Locks is a quick drive from panama City. It has a huge visitor's center with a museum, a movie theater and a restaurant and is near the Pacific Ocean. The Gatun Locks are on the Caribbean side. The locks are massive, and you have a sparkling view of the azur blue water.

Monkey Island in Panama


​Monkey Island is on the top of everyone's favorite thing to do while in Panama. Grab a bunch of bananas, get up with the sun, and embark on an adventure by boat through part of the Panama Canal. You'll marvel at the big ships as you pass them in Lake Gatun, which is the center of the Canal. 

Mercado de Marisco (the big fish market)

The Mercado de Marisco is located in Panama City, Panama, just across the street from the entrance to Casco Viejo. If you're walking along the planned bike and pedestrian paths of the Cinta Costera, it's a great place to stop on your way to visit old town Casco Viejo. Be sure to try one of the dozens of types of Ceviche. They are sold out of huge pickle jars and served in Styrofoam cups with a form and a packet of crackers. My favorite is the langostino ceviche...which are big prawns. 

Casino Hopping

Gambling isn't as big in Panama as say, Las Vegas, but it's hard to go far in Panama City without running into another casino. The easiest way to find a casino is to stay at a big-name hotel, and you'll be within stumbling distance.
  • Ocean Sun Casino at the JW Marriott (formerly the Trump Tower)
  • StarBay at the Hilton
  • Majestic Casno next to the now-closed Hard Rock (sorry, Covid killed the music)
  • Sortis Casino in the Sortis Hotel
  • Hotel El Panama
  • ... and many others.

Deep Sea Fishing

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About half the people who visit Panama want to either go whale watching to deep sea fishing. If you plan your time right, you can see whales on your deep sea fishing trip. One of our favorite vendors is Panama Canal Fishing.

Mercado de Abastos (Wholesale Produce Market)

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Produce Market. This is not a farmer's market but rather a wholesale produce market where restaurants and small grocery stores get their product. It has an abundant variety of Fresh fruit and vegetables separate by area--pineapples in one area, bananas in another, potatoes and onions in another. You can get the sweetest pineapple you have ever tasted for $1 each. Whole coconuts, mangoes, papayas, bananas, and other exotic fruit you have never heard of are all available for nothing more than pocket change. The vegetables are worthy of poetry—tomatoes that taste like tomatoes, avocados that are three times as big as Haas, and eggplant that is much more flavorful than the big fat eggplant you buy in the US. 

At the Wholesale Food & Produce Market in Panama City, you can also get gourmet items at deep discounts. For example, you can get a large bunch of flaky Ceylon cinnamon sticks at the produce market in Panama City for about $7 (a $40 savings over US prices) and Jasmine rice for about $1.40 per pound when you buy a 20-pound bag.