Many people view Panama City as a connector city on their way to South America or a place to visit for the day in order to view the Panama Canal. Truth is, so did I. I didn’t really have too many expectations going into the trip and was a little worried that spending 4 days there would be too much time (I was actually there for 6 days but 2 of them were spent celebrating a wedding and then promptly recovering from said wedding). I’m so happy to report that I was so pleasantly surprised and am so glad I spent as much time as I did in this beautiful city!!! The main takeaway from my trip here is that it is an underrated city. Over the course of my stay, I experienced a great mix of exploring the city, learning about its history, connecting with nature, relaxing, and getting to know the city’s robust nightlife. Keep reading to learn how to spend 4 days in Panama City and have an absolutely wonderful time!

Top 9 Things to Do When You Have 4 Days in Panama City

Panama City is split into two major sections; New Panama and Old Panama. On the Old Panama side, you will find Casco Viejo which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is home to some of Latin America’s most important historic monuments.  I spent the majority of my time in the Casco Viejo area, and you’ll find that most visitors do.

1. Go on a walking tour & learn the history of El Chorrillo with LocalInPTY

My super talented and fellow blogger friend Andrea of @itsatravelod messaged me while I was in Panama and suggested I hook up with her friend Victor of @localinpty, a local guide who would be able to show me the “real” Panama City. You see, Panama City is great, but it suffers from what most big cities suffer from – gentrification. As awesome as Casco Viejo is – it’s super important to walk out past the rooftop bars and trendy restaurants and get to know the people and the culture of where you’re visiting – because isn’t that what travelling is all about?

So I met up with Victor for a private tour of El Chorrillo – a neighboring barrio to Casco Viejo. It is often called dangerous and not a place for gringos to go. Instead what I saw were children laughing and playing in the streets, old men playing dominos while drinking cold beers, and people just living their daily lives. 

With dilapidated buildings and broken-down cars on the side of the street, I could see how this neighborhood could be misconstrued as a dangerous area, but not once did I feel unsafe, or in any kind of danger as other people had warned me about. Perhaps this is in part due to the fact that I was with a local the whole time (Victor literally seemed like the mayor of the neighborhood – little kids were running up to him and hugging him and people waved to him) but either way, I felt a similar way to how I feel in Bogotá or anywhere in Colombia for that fact – everyone tells you how dangerous it is until you’re there and you realize that it’s really just another place where people live out their daily lives. 

Another part of Victor’s tour includes visiting “the last real Panama Hat Maker” which was unfortunately closed that day, but he still told me a little bit of the history and why it’s important to keep visiting this hatmaker. Did you know that what you probably think is a Panama hat is not actually an authentic Panama hat? It’s an Ecuadorian hat! In 1906 US president Theodore Roosevelt was photographed wearing this Ecuadorian hat on a visit to the construction site of the Panama Canal which increased the popularity of the hat design and also was mistaken for a Panama hat!

Apart from meeting locals, visiting a Panama Hatmaker, and exploring the neighborhood, Victor also includes a history lesson on his tours. Throughout the tour, Victor would point out graffiti written on many walls referencing the date of December 20, 1989. One of them read “Cuantos muertos fue a diciembre 20 1989?” which translates to: how many died on December 20, 1989?

What came next was absolutely heartbreaking. He showed me video footage and news coverage of the US invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989. Essentially, the US government bombed and destroyed one of Panama’s most highly populated barrios with the purpose to target Manuel Noriega, the country’s military dictator, who had been indicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges. What happened instead was that between 500-1,000  innocent men, women, and children were killed in the process – the exact number of lives lost is still unknown to this day.

I had a similar feeling to when I visited the Vietnam memorial museum in Ho Chi Minh. There are certain things that are left out of the history books in school when growing up and learning in the American schooling system, and this invasion is one of them. To this day they don’t know exactly how many people died, and years later they found mass graves of women, children and elderly people that were created to cover up this massive and illegal violation of human rights. This is something I literally never learned about until going on Victor’s tour, and I am thankful to him for educating me and any other people that come on his tour.

Victor also runs a school for the local kids, many of which are not enrolled in any sort of formal school, and he dedicates all of his weekends and free time to the kids of El Chorrillo.

Moral of the story, when in Panama City, support Victor and his tour company LocalinPTY by going on a tour with him and get to know the “real” Panama City!

2. Hike up Cerro Ancon

Aside from my tour of El Chorrillo with LocalinPTY, this was probably my favorite thing to do while in Panama City! I had researched a bunch of day trips to hike in the jungle, or visit an indigenous community (also not sure how ethical it would be to visit?), but decided that none of the trips were exactly what I was hoping for, and they were all a bit pricier than I intended for this trip.

Instead, I opted for something located within the city that was completely free – hiking up Cerro Ancon.

IT. WAS. AWESOME!

I had heard that on a good day you may see a monkey OR a toucan, and if you’re really lucky, you’ll see a sloth (aka my favorite animal in the world). I figured that since this was just a small slice of nature within a city, the likelihood that we would spot wildlife would be minimal. We ended up spotting monkeys, toucans, other tropical birds, lizards, colorful frogs AND sloths!!!

The hike was a great workout, the wildlife was incredible, and the views of the city from the top are just incredible! On one side you get a clear view of the old city on the right and the new city on the left. Seeing the juxtaposition of the old and new from that perspective was so unique! On the other side, you get a view of the Panama Canal and can see all of the cargo.

I would consider this a do-not-miss experience while in Panama City, and as I said, it’s FREE! Really the only expense will be getting there via Uber/taxi which should cost around $5 from Casco Viejo. All you have to do is put Cerro Ancon into your Google Maps and it should take you to the base of the hill.

You will be dropped off in a parking lot with a big colorful sign that says “Bienvenidos Complejo Turistico Mi Pueblito.” There isn’t great signage, but you’ll see some stairs and you basically just follow those up until you hit a paved road that winds up the mountain. The whole trip I’d say takes about 3 hours including taking time to stop and take photos/fawn over any wildlife you see 🙂 Enjoy!

3. Eat all the seafood at Mercado de Mariscos

Just a 1o minute walk or less from Casco Viejo is Mercado de Mariscos, a fish market where you can dine on freshly caught seafood! The market is split into two sections; one side is the seafood market where you can pick out your fresh catch to be cooked up, and the other side is where you will find dozens of food stalls selling meals of seafood, rice, plantains, beer, etc.

You can either buy straight from the restaurants or pick out your own fish to be cooked up. We opted for the market side and just chose our meals from a menu. Be prepared to negotiate and to be bombarded by salespeople – everyone will fight to have you sit at their food stall! Don’t forget, almost everything is negotiable so don’t pay the price that you see on the menu 😉

After your delicious seafood meal, take a walk along the harbor right next door to Mercado de Mariscos. There’s a lovely walking path with beautiful views!

4. Go on your own walking tour of Casco Viejo

Wander aimlessly along the cobblestone streets and admire cathedrals and colonial-style architecture throughout the picturesque neighborhood of Casco Viejo! I believe there are walking tours that you can go on, but I enjoyed wandering around myself, stopping to take photos of street art and check out the many landmarks on my own. As a guest of Las Clementinas, they provided a numbered map of all of the most historic buildings in the area so that you could go on a self-guided tour of the neighborhood! Some landmarks included Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus and Iglesia de La Merced.

I had the unique pleasure of actually attending a wedding at Iglesia de La Merced, a church built in circa 1680 which is one of the city’s oldest standing structures!

Casco Viejo is super hip and trendy with loads of rooftop bars, jazz clubs, unique shops, street art, and colorful buildings everywhere you turn. Do yourself a favor and make sure to give yourself ample time to wander these streets and discover the beauty around every corner!

5. Visit the Miraflores Locks/Panama Canal

Although I tried to make the point earlier that Panama City is much more than just a famous Canal, it goes without saying that a visit to the Panama Canal is a MUST on your 4 days in Panama City!

My biggest tip – don’t pay for a ticket! When you arrive at Miraflores Locks, there is a line to purchase a ticket to the viewing deck and there is a line for a free ticket that will get you access to the restaurant viewing deck. All you have to do is go to the cafe/restaurant viewing deck and purchase a water/tea/coffee/beer and watch the massive boats pass through!

I’d say an hour or so is perfect unless you’re really into ships. We went around 5 pm and the lighting was gorgeous – we watched the locks fill up and let through what seemed like mile-long ships! It’s also worth noting that it wasn’t very busy, so I recommend going in the evening after all of the tourist crowds have come and gone already.

6. Try the local fare at Coca Cola Cafe

Coca Cola Cafe is a little restaurant only a few minutes walking from Las Clementinas and is knows as the oldest restaurant in Panama! The interior is super retro, with old Coca Cola signs and diner-style bar stools.

I went for the beans & rice and was not disappointed 🙂 At one point I seemed to be the only foreigner in there, as locals were coming and going during the lunch hour, filling their bellies with authentic Panamanian dishes. After about a half hour I noticed that more foreigners started to enter, and I loved the mix of locals and visitors. I’d recommend this as a great spot to try the local cuisine for a super cheap price.

7. Sip a delicious cuppa joe at Cafe Unido

Located within the American Trade hotel, Cafe Unido is a hip cafe serving up locally sourced coffee and yummy bakery favorites like chocolate croissants.

Not only is the coffee good, but the interior design is also to die for. The high ceilings, ornate tiles, and macramé wall hangings gave this place such a trendy-boho-style vibe. Highly recommended!

8. Check out the vibrant rooftop bar scene in Casco Viejo!

Panama City has to have one of the strongest rooftop bar scenes I’ve ever seen! There are dozens of rooftop bars to admire the beautiful city from above, but here are my top 3 recommendations.

Salvaje Rooftop

Arguably the best view of the Panama City skyline, Salvaje Rooftop Bar boasts a rooftop pool and awesome seating that gives patrons a front row seat to beautiful city views. Definitely check this place out if you’re looking for a vibey atmosphere with killer views!

Tantalo Rooftop Bar

Tantalo Rooftop bar offers more of a party-vibe, with an open-air terrace that houses live music and lots of dancing! Would recommend this place if you’re looking for a fun night out for sure!

Casa Casco Rooftop Bar

Casa Casco Rooftop Bar is unique because it is the top floor of a building that houses restaurants on each level! Treat yourself to some sushi at Nación Sushi and then head up a few levels to the Terraza for beautiful views and an open-air setting perfect for an after-dinner drink.

9. Cool off with a local brew

The craft beer scene in Panama is growing and you definitely want to check it out! Here are two microbrew pubs I had the pleasure of visiting and tasting their local selections!

Casa Bruja

Located right underneath Las Clementinas, this craft brewpub is THE perfect place to try some microbrews made right in Panama City! Their craft beer menu is packed with inventive and delicious brews like “Chivoperro”, first Panamanian Pale Ale India to be bottled, and the Cayuco, a soft beer with secret spices that their sorcerers carefully chose to mix with a bit of our tropical fruit.

Their magical back courtyard will definitely put you under a spell, with vine-covered walls, wrought iron banisters, and Edison bulb string lights illuminating the patio. It is stunning and a MUST during your 4 days in Panama City!

La Rana Dorada Brewery

La Rana Dorada is another great craft brewpub to visit! They have a second-floor terrace that looks out onto the street and is a great place for people-watching. Grab a beer flight to sample all of their beers – it comes in a boat-shaped vessel!

Where to Stay When You Have 4 Days in Panama City

Las Clementinas

If you’re currently researching where to stay in Panama City, then look no further. Las Clementinas is a boutique hotel/serviced apartments located in Casco Viejo,  just a stone’s throw away from all of the local nightlife and historic landmarks that make this neighborhood so desirable.

Las Clementinas is a beautiful 1930s-era building that has been restored to its original charm with some added modern touches. This property is not only a piece of history, but it’s also one of the most unique places to stay in Panama City. It’s a hidden gem that’s highly worth discovering!

I’ll start with my favorite thing about Las Clementinas- the outdoor spaces! I couldn’t believe how many outdoor spaces there were to relax and enjoy the warm Panamanian weather in! The rooftop terrace was by far the most impressive, offering gorgeous views of the Panama City Skyline as well as the surrounding landscape in Casco Viejo.

That’s not to say that I wasn’t equally as in love with the many other back patios and hidden gardens located amongst the property. I found plenty of little nooks to relax and enjoy my artisanal beer from Casa Bruja which is located all within the same building!

–>Book your stay with Las Clementinas!<–

My next favorite thing? The apartment I got to call home for four days! Let me tell you guys, this place was absolutely gorgeous. Complete with a living room, dining area, fully-functional kitchen, private bedroom, ensuite bathroom, and a wrap-around balcony offering views of the local neighborhood – I was in bliss.

Each morning I would make a cup of coffee, fix myself breakfast from my fully stocked fridge and breakfast basket that the staff at Las Clementinas kindly gifted me, and would head out to the balcony to take in the local scene.

I absolutely LOVED the decor of the apartment which had a historical charm to it, with earthy colors and textures paired with colorful native patterns. It was so well designed and made me feel like I was staying in a Luxury Apartment without the stuffiness that often comes with luxury.

The bathroom also had stunning design elements like original tiling from the 1930s and cozy bathrobes which I spent the majority of my time in (hehe).

Las Clementinas also offers extra services like a private chef, airport transfers, extra cleaning, laundry, fridge service (they’ll stock your fridge for you!), cheese & wine, and Casa Bruja beer sampler all for an additional cost. Talk about service!

I am so grateful I had the opportunity to get to know this place over the course of my 4-day stay, and am especially grateful to the incredible staff like Jose & Paola who went above and beyond to make my stay one of my best ever. They’ve done an incredible job at breathing new life into this iconic building and making it a beautiful, comfortable, and special place for travelers to enjoy. I will most definitely be back.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary stay with Las Clementinas in exchange for my opinions, but all opinions are my own. I only recommend places that I love!

Wander On,

Wanderluluu xx