Panama Travel Itinerary: 7 Days
Seven days is tight for Panama, but it is enough to see the capital, dive into a world-class marine park and still get up into the mountains — as long as you resist the urge to add a fourth base. This is the itinerary we build most often for a week, and every leg runs on shuttles.
Days 1–2: Panama City
Day 1. Land at Tocumen and settle into Casco Viejo. Spend the afternoon walking the old town — Plaza de la Independencia and the cathedral, Plaza Bolívar, the sea wall — and finish on a rooftop. Casco has been UNESCO-listed since 1997 and was re-founded in 1673 after the original city was destroyed.
Day 2. Miraflores Locks in the morning (non-resident tickets about $17.22 for adults; buy online to skip the queue, and arrive early while transit traffic is heavy). In the afternoon, the ruins of Panamá Viejo — founded in 1519 and part of the Colonial Transisthmian Route that UNESCO inscribed in July 2025. Sunset on the Amador Causeway.
Days 3–5: Santa Catalina & Coiba
Day 3. Morning shuttle west across the isthmus, roughly seven hours, ending where the pavement meets the Pacific. Santa Catalina is a one-road fishing village with a famous point break. Arrive, book your boat, eat early.
Day 4. The full-day trip into Coiba National Park — three snorkel stops, white-tip reef sharks, turtles, and the ranger station beach. Budget the $20 cash park fee on top of the tour. If you are travelling between July and October, humpbacks are often visible on the crossing.
Day 5. Your choice: a second Coiba day (most people who did day four want one), a surf lesson at Playa El Estero, or a slow morning and a fishing trip.
Days 6–7: Boquete
Day 6. Shuttle to Boquete, about five hours, climbing into coffee country where the temperature finally drops. Afternoon: the Lost Waterfalls trail or a coffee-farm tour.
Day 7. Hot springs, the Pipeline Trail, or the summit of Volcán Barú if you are fit and want the both-oceans view at sunrise. Fly home from David (25 minutes away) or shuttle back to the capital the next morning.
The legs at a glance
- Panama City → Santa Catalina · ~7 h
- Santa Catalina → Boquete · ~5 h
- Boquete → David airport · ~40 min
What we would cut, and what we would not
Do not try to add Bocas del Toro to a seven-day trip that already includes Coiba — you would spend two of your seven days in transit. If beaches matter more than mountains, swap Boquete for Boca Chica or Las Lajas. If you have ten days rather than seven, our 10-day itinerary adds the Caribbean properly. Price every leg in the route finder; groups of five or more should ask about a private van.
Getting around Panama
We run shared and private shuttles linking Panama City, Santa Catalina, Boquete, Bocas del Toro, David and more — plus Coiba National Park day tours from Santa Catalina.