Day Tours & Excursions Across Panama
We are best known for moving people between towns — but the van does not have to stop at the hotel door. If there is somewhere in Panama you want to see, tell us and we will put the day together: transport, timing and a local guide where the site needs one. Most of what follows is a full or half day and can start from wherever you are staying.
✓ Every trip is quoted for your group — tell us the date, how many of you and where you are staying
Chiriquí Highlands — trails, cloud forest and hot springs
Cool mountain air, coffee farms and the best hiking in the country, all within reach of Boquete.
- Sendero Los Quetzales — The classic highland trail inside Volcán Barú National Park, linking Boquete with Cerro Punta around the flank of the volcano. Closed for years and reopened in 2025. Cloud forest, ridge viewpoints and the best chance in Panama of spotting a resplendent quetzal. Park entry is paid separately to MiAmbiente, in advance.
- Volcán Barú summit — Panama's highest point at 3,474 m. The overnight climb is timed so you reach the top before dawn — on a clear morning you can see the Pacific and the Caribbean at the same time.
- Lost Waterfalls & Pipeline Trail — Two shorter Boquete walks. The Lost Waterfalls trail reaches three falls with pools you can swim in; the Pipeline Trail is an easy forest walk that is excellent for birdwatching.
- Los Cangilones de Gualaca — A natural slot canyon carved into rock about an hour from Boquete — deep blue-green water between smooth stone walls, and a favourite swimming and jumping spot for Panamanians.
- Caldera hot springs — Volcanic thermal pools around 45 minutes from Boquete, mostly between 38 and 45 °C. A good pairing with Cangilones on the same day.
The Canal watershed — lakes, rivers and rainforest
Under an hour from Panama City there is dense rainforest, a lake full of islands and container ships passing through it.
- Gatún Lake & Monkey Island — A boat trip from Gamboa, where the Chagres River meets the Canal. You pass transiting ships, then explore the lake's quiet bays looking for white-faced capuchins, howlers, Geoffroy's tamarins, sloths, toucans and caimans.
- Soberanía National Park — One of the most accessible rainforests anywhere — the Audubon Society's annual count here has recorded more than 500 bird species in 24 hours. Easy trails, big trees, early starts.
- Chagres River & an Emberá community — Upriver by dugout canoe to a jungle waterfall you can swim under, and a visit to an Emberá village where the community shares its own history, music and craft.
Lake Bayano and its caves
East of the capital, a very different kind of day — and one most visitors never hear about.
- Bayano caves — Limestone caverns cut over centuries by an underground river that still runs through them. You cross the lake by boat from a Guna community, then wade and scramble through the cave system with a guide. Wet, dark and genuinely adventurous — bring shoes you do not mind soaking.
- Lake Bayano birdlife — The drowned forest along the shoreline, with bare trunks standing out of still water, is one of the strangest and most photogenic landscapes in Panama, and full of birds.
El Valle de Antón — inside a volcanic crater
Two hours from Panama City and 600 m up, in the crater of a dormant volcano. The easiest green escape from the capital.
- Waterfalls and crater trails — Chorro El Macho and the walk up the India Dormida ridge, with the whole crater laid out below you.
- Thermal pools and the Sunday market — Hot springs, mud baths, and the handicraft market that fills the main street every Sunday morning.
Pacific coast and islands
From Santa Catalina and Boca Chica, the day trips go out to sea.
- Gulf of Chiriquí islands — Short boat rides from Boca Chica reach empty turquoise coves and white-sand islets — the calmest snorkelling water on the Pacific side.
- Santa Catalina and the estuary — Surf lessons on the beach break, sunset at the point, and the mangrove estuary behind the village.
- Coiba National Park — The UNESCO-listed marine park, reached from Santa Catalina. We coordinate the shuttle and the boat day so the timing works — see our Coiba tours.
How it works
- Tell us what you want to see. A trail, a lake, a waterfall, a cave, an island — or just “something outdoors near Boquete for a day”. We will suggest what fits your dates and fitness.
- We quote the whole day. Vehicle, driver and a certified local guide where the site requires one. Park entry fees and community fees are paid separately on the day, and we tell you the amounts in advance.
- Timing is coordinated with you. As with our shuttles, we confirm the exact pickup time by WhatsApp the day before.
- Groups and families welcome. Private vehicle for your group only, so the pace is yours. Note that we do not carry child seats.
Where we can pick you up
Panama City, Santa Catalina, Boquete, David, Boca Chica, Las Lajas, El Valle and Bocas del Toro — the same towns our shuttle routes already serve — or straight from Tocumen airport. If you are somewhere else in the country, ask anyway; we will tell you honestly whether it works.
Plan a day out
Send us your dates, group size and what you are interested in — hiking, water, wildlife, culture or a bit of everything — and we will come back with a plan and a price.