PanamaSights.com - Panama Province

Head of Province: Panama city (the town of)
Population: 1,388,357 inhabitants (2000 census)
Surface:
Coastal Area: Pacific Ocean
Major Islands: Del Rey, San Jose

There are plenty of things to do in the province of Panama. It does not matter whether you stay in the capital or visit (and you should) other places outside the capital. There is always an easy way to move around and people would be happy to help you out.

Panama city itself is a bustling capital with lots of international banks, shops where you can get food, clothes and jewellry at an affordable price.

This is very easy, since you arrived to the Tocumen Airport and have most likely booked a hotel in Panama. Perhaps the best way to explore the capital is by renting a car or booking a tour with your tour operator. If you drive in Panama city please beware of the aggressive traffic, keep your eyes open because sometimes cars (and even buses) come from the most unexpected places!. Traffic is extremely chaotic here. Make sure you read the articles about driving referenced at the bottom of this page.

Public transport in Panama is extensive but chaotic (understatement). It is very cheap (about $0.50 per ride in a bus) but quite frankly I would not advise tourists to venture in a bus (and stay out of their path if you appreciate your life! they won't stop).

There is however plenty of buses going to the country side from the Albrook Bus Terminal. You can take taxis as well, it is not that expensive but make sure you agree on the price first. I do not think that within the capital you would pay more than $5.00/ride.

If you have to fly to another destination within the republic of Panama you would do so from the Albrook Airport. This is the same airport that used to be located in Paitilla, except it is now in the former Panama Canal area.

Cruise ships arrive to the terminal in Panama city. Sometimes on the terminal in Colon and then transported to Panama city by train or bus. You can also travel by boat to the islands or book a tour to cross the Panama canal.

The province of Panama has a large coastal area. You can do it on the mainland (and then preferably out of the capital) or in the islands.

You can practice almost any sport you wish for. The most popular that tourists engage in doing are fishing, diving and watching Panamanians.

name	town	phone
Hostal Casa de Campo	Cerro Azul	270-0018
Coronado Club Suites	Coronado	240-4444
Playa Corona	San Carlos	250-8037
Motel Punta Chame	Punta Chame	264-4036
Cabanas Gorgona	Nueva Gorgona	269-2433
Punta Galeon	Contadora	214-3719
Hotel Contadora	Contadora	264-1498
Hotel Taboga	Taboga	250-2122
Hotel Chu	Taboga	250-2035

Panama La Vieja TorrePanamaVieja

was the original location of Panama city as founded by the Spaniards. Although it was destroyed the ruins still remain for you to walk around and imagine who it was. You won't miss the tower of the former Cathedral of Panama. Right across there is a good restaurant to taste nice Panamanian food. On the top floor of the facilities there is an artisanal market where you can buy molas and other things. In the same building you should not miss visiting the Museum with old artifacts of the city, maps, while doing so you will be supporting the maintenance of this historical place which is now in the list of UNESCO World Heritage.

Casco Viejo became the new location of Panama city after pirate Henry Morgan sacked and burnt Old Panama City (Panama La Vieja). Here you can find a good concentration of interesting places to visit. The whole area more or less became dilapidated after years of neglect but in the recent years it has received much attention and is being renewed little by little. The contrast of "abandoned" and "renewed" is quite striking. The old buildings are still preserved of course. You can start at the "Plaza" (the old town square) and visit the Cathedral of Panama. There nearby you can also visit (and you should) the Museum of the Interoceanic Canal.

From there make your way to the square of the former Hotel Colombia to visit the monument to Simon Bolivar, the visionary who created the Great Columbia. Then proceed to visit the Church of Panama called "Altar de Oro" (Golden Altar), this Jesuit church as a true golden altar. This was the altar that was in the church in Old Panama City. When Henry Morgan attacked the city the jesuits painted the altar in black so that it would escape the greedy eyes of the pirates and so it was spared thinking it was not worth anything. It was then moved to the new city.

Then move on to the sea side of Casco Viejo, walk on the promenade whose lower part used to be used in colonial times as a prison. There you can also visit the monument to Ferdinand Lesseps, the French visionary that began the construction of the Panama Canal and who was also responsible for the Suez Canal.

Once you are done there go around and admire the National Theatre which was re-opened some years ago after major renovation to preserve its original beauty.

There nearby on the sea side you will also want to visit (outside) the Presidential Palace of the Herons.

Mi Pueblito A few kilometers before reaching the Bridge of the Americas there is a road that also leads to the former Canal Zone. Here you can visit Mi Pueblito which is a nice replication of a "generic" town on the country side. Not only can you walk into a house as if you were in the country side, you can see a wonderful exhibition of Polleras (National female dress) and have tasty dishes in the restaurant enjoying the view of Mi Pueblito and the city. This has been expanded to include an annex of a typical town of Afro-antillean Panama as well as similar one but of the Kuna indians.

Causeway (Calzada Amador) has been totally renewed in the past years and is now a place with hotels and a haven. It also has several good and cozy restaurants of all prices where you can sample the fantastic local cuisine. This place is popular among panamanians on their spare time, here people go for a long walk to breath sea air, see the ships entering the Panama canal, a good view of the Bridge of the Americas over the Panama Canal. You can also rent bicycles (long queue!) or just sit on the benches.

Summit Garden also known as Soberania National Park is nearby Albrook. It is a combination of Zoo and national park. Here you can not only see the animals but stroll in nature admiring the vegetation. There are picnic facilities as well as plenty of space for other activities such as skating, cicling, etc.

Camino de Cruces National Park located in the Gamboa Area. You can only enter with a guide, this is a national park. Camino de Cruces was the path through the jungle that was used by the Spaniards to move all the merchandise and riches coming from South America to the town of Portobelo, Colon. And from there it was shipped to Spain. Part of the Camino de Cruces was over the Chagres River. It was a perilous route in its time.

Taboga Island is a popular beach escape for people of the capital that do not wish to go to the beaches outside the capital (or don't have a house there). It has a couple of hotels and a very small town with a town square and a cute church. It is called the Island of the Flowers, name it deserves when the flowers bloom (not all year round). You can go to Taboga Island by boat from Albrook, you can see the island from Calzada Amador (Causeway) but the boat trip takes about one hour and costs less than $10 round trip. Avoid going during weekends, it gets really crowded and the boat is full to the max (over capacity).

Contadora Island is on the Perlas Archipielago, it is a tiny island (compared to Isla del Rey, the major island of the archipielago) but has a couple of hotels and wonderful beaches with white sand and crystalline waters. You can go there by speed boat (leaving Albrook) or by air (a 20 minute flight costing about $50 round trip).