Home › Travel Guides › North America Travel Guide › Panama › Travel to Panama
Image gallery

Ruins, old town, Panama City

© Creative Commons / Advanced Source Productions

Travel to Panama

Flying to Panama

Flights to Panama can be booked with many large airlines, including Continental (CO) (www.continental.com) and British Airways (BA) (www.britishairways.com). The national airline is Compañía Panameña de Aviación (CM) (www.copaair.com). December to March is the peak season so prices are slightly higher, and fares also rise in the summer months from June to August. As with most parts of the world, prices are highest around Christmas and New Year.

Air notes:

Popular Colombian budget airline Aires (www.aires.aero) is not running its routes between Panama and Colombia as of December 2011, having been almost entirely bought out by LAN. Those wishing to cross the Darien Gap will need to look at other airlines such as Copa (www.copaair.com) or options for travelling by sea.

Flight times:

There are no direct flights to Panama from London. Flights to Panama City go via Miami and Newark. From London to Panama City is 14 hours and from New York is 5 hours 30 minutes.

Air passes:

Oneworld (www.oneworld.com) provides single or multi-continent air passes. The Visit North America pass includes the US, Mexico and much of the Caribbean as well as the Central American countries of Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador, which can work well for those travelling from the US to Central America. Choose between two and ten flights; pricing is based on a zone system.

The All America Air Pass (www.allairpass.com) that used to be provided by All Airpass has now been discontinued.

Departure tax:

As of 2010, departure tax has risen to US$40, but is included in airfares. Children under two years of age and passengers in transit to another country not leaving the airport and remaining for under nine hours are exempt.

Travel by rail

There is currently no rail link between Panama and other international destinations.

Driving to Panama

Travel by road from Costa Rica into Panama is a very straightforward business, with decent roads and reasonable borders. Paso Canoas, accessed via the Panamerican Highway, is the most popular border to cross but gets exceptionally busy. Guabito-Sixaola on the Caribbean coast is fairly informal and makes a good route towards Bocas del Toro.

The other option is the Rio Sereno crossing. It is a quiet crossing and usually very laid-back, but is hard to access by public transport and be careful if you’re bringing a car or motorbike in to have all your documents properly filled out and ready to be stamped – they can be strict. This is a good crossing for those en route to Boquete. Travelling by coach is an excellent option: the Ticabus (www.ticabus.com) runs from Costa Rica into Panama for very affordable prices.

Getting to Panama by boat

Panama’s main port is the port of Balboa, a port of call for both passenger and freight vessels. The Panama Canal is the major route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It is common to get a boat into Panama from Cartagena in Colombia via the San Blas islands as one of the travel options between Colombia and Panama. Boats usually leave from Portobelo in Colón province.

By water note:

These boats are usually private and arrange to fill berths via hostels and hotel, and so should be booked in advance. While these boats depart frequently, they are dependent on the weather conditions and can be delayed.

Cruise ships:

Almost all cruises that go anywhere near this region will go to or through the Panama Canal.

Ferry operators:

There are no official international public transport ferries going in and out of Panama. For or full or partial transit of the Panama canal, try the following companies: Canal and Bay Tours (tel: (507) 209 2009 / 209 2010; www.canalandbaytours.com), Panama Canal Tours (tel: (507) 226 8917; www.pmatours.net) and Panama Jones (tel: 1 888 726 2621; www.panamacanal.com).

River routes:

The few hardy souls who attempt travel through the Darién Gap might find themselves travelling by river through the dense jungle, but these are not official routes and will depend largely on what your guides decide.

Recommended Sites:

Protect yourself from malaria
Before you travel, find out if your holiday destination is in a malaria zone.
(An educational initiative organised and funded by GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health. UK/MARK/0173/10 September 2010)
Travel insurance
For residents of over 150 countries. High levels of medical, evacuation, emergency & most adventure activities covered.