Panamá Viejo
Walk the ruins of the original city, founded in 1519 and destroyed in 1671, beneath the stone tower of its old cathedral.
Ask about this tour →Guided Tours Across Panama
52 day trips with a local guide — the Panama Canal and Casco Viejo, the islands of San Blas, Caribbean forts, a town inside a volcano, cloud forests full of orchids and waterfalls you can swim under. Tell us what you want to see: we bring the transport and the guide.
✓ Local tour guide✓ Pickup where you stay✓ Private for your group✓ Quoted per group
5 guided tours
Panama City: old towns & museums
Five centuries of history within half an hour of your hotel: the ruins of the first city, the UNESCO old town and the museums that tell the story.
Casco Viejo walking tour
The UNESCO-listed old town rebuilt in 1673: Plaza de la Independencia, the cathedral, Plaza Bolívar, the sea wall and its views.
Ask about this tour →Seven Churches route
A guided walk through the old town’s historic churches — including San José and its famous golden altar — following the Holy Week tradition of visiting seven churches.
Ask about this tour →Interoceanic Canal Museum
On Plaza de la Independencia: the French attempt, the American construction and the handover — the best introduction before you see the locks.
Ask about this tour →Mola Museum
Casco Viejo’s museum of the mola, the layered textile art of the Guna women — a perfect warm-up for a trip to San Blas.
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9 guided tours
The Canal, Amador & the Gamboa rainforest
Watch the ships, sail the locks yourself, then follow the Canal into the rainforest where the Chagres River meets it.
Miraflores Locks
Watch ships rise and fall in the lock chambers from the visitor centre terraces. Mornings are best, when traffic is heaviest.
Ask about this tour →Canal boat tour under the Bridge of the Americas
A partial transit by boat between Amador and Gamboa: through the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks, along the Culebra Cut and under the Bridge of the Americas. The Canal confirms start times the day before.
Ask about this tour →Ship-watching at Pedro Miguel
Viewpoints along the Canal near the Pedro Miguel locks to watch container ships and cruise liners pass, timed with the day’s traffic.
Ask about this tour →Amador Causeway
The causeway built with rock dug out of the Canal, joining three islands: bike rides, the Biomuseo and sunset over the ships waiting to enter the Canal.
Ask about this tour →Summit Park
Botanical garden and wildlife park on the road to Gamboa, with an exhibit of the harpy eagle — Panama’s national bird.
Ask about this tour →Gamboa lookout
Lookout points above the rainforest where the Chagres River joins the Canal — ships gliding through the jungle below.
Ask about this tour →Gatún Lake & Monkey Island
By boat from Gamboa past transiting ships, into quiet bays to look for capuchins, howler monkeys, tamarins, sloths and caimans.
Ask about this tour →Soberanía National Park
Pipeline Road and easy forest trails in one of the most accessible rainforests anywhere — a classic for birdwatchers.
Ask about this tour →Chagres River & Emberá community
Upriver by dugout canoe to a jungle waterfall and an Emberá village, where the community shares its history, music and craft.
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7 guided tours
Colón & the Caribbean coast
Spanish forts, Afro-Caribbean villages and turquoise water — the other ocean, about two hours from Panama City.
Portobelo
The forts that guarded Spain’s silver fleets, part of the Colonial Transisthmian Route inscribed by UNESCO in 2025 — plus the Black Christ of the San Felipe church.
Ask about this tour →Venas Azules & Playa Blanca
Crystal-clear channels through the mangroves of Portobelo National Park, reached by boat, with a shallow natural pool for snorkelling — usually paired with Playa Blanca.
Ask about this tour →Isla Grande
A short boat ride from La Guaira to a small Caribbean island with Afro-Caribbean culture, beaches and snorkelling.
Ask about this tour →Fort San Lorenzo
The cliff-top Spanish fort guarding the mouth of the Chagres River, deep in the protected forest of San Lorenzo.
Ask about this tour →Fort Sherman
The former US Army base on the road to San Lorenzo, once home to its jungle-warfare school, now surrounded by protected rainforest.
Ask about this tour →Agua Clara Locks
The visitor centre above the giant Neopanamax locks on the Atlantic side, where the biggest ships in the world rise to Gatún Lake.
Ask about this tour →Colón 2000 duty-free shopping
Duty-free shopping at Colón 2000, the cruise terminal on Panama’s Caribbean side.
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2 guided tours
San Blas & the Pearl Islands
Two archipelagos, two oceans: the Guna islands of the Caribbean and the Pearl Islands of the Pacific.
San Blas (Guna Yala)
Palm-covered islands in the autonomous Guna territory. Bring your physical passport for the checkpoint and cash — there are no ATMs in the comarca.
Ask about this tour →Contadora & the Pearl Islands
A ferry ride into the Gulf of Panama to white-sand beaches and calm water on Contadora — an easy first island day.
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9 guided tours
El Valle de Antón & the western mountains
Cool air, waterfalls, canyons and mountain trails west of the capital — Panama’s favourite escape from the heat.
La India Dormida
El Valle’s signature hike along the ridge of the Sleeping Indian, with views over the whole volcanic crater.
Ask about this tour →Cerro La Silla
A guided hike up Cerro La Silla for wide views over the El Valle area.
Ask about this tour →Chorro El Macho & the natural pool
The Chorro El Macho waterfall and the natural pool nearby, in a small patch of rainforest.
Ask about this tour →El Valle butterfly house
Walk among native butterflies and learn how they live, from caterpillar to wing.
Ask about this tour →El Valle serpentarium
A close, safe look at Panama’s snakes — venomous and harmless — with a guide explaining which is which.
Ask about this tour →Hot springs & Sunday market
Thermal pools, mud baths and the handicraft market that fills El Valle’s main street on Sunday mornings.
Ask about this tour →Picachos de Olá
A short but intense climb along the knife-edge ridge of a volcanic rock formation in Coclé — a head for heights required — with 360° views. Often paired with a swim at Cascada Las Mesitas.
Ask about this tour →Altos del María & the Sorá waterfalls
The cool mountain community of Altos del María and the waterfall circuit of Las Filipinas in Sorá. Altos del María is private, so visits are arranged in advance.
Ask about this tour →Los Cajones de Chame
Rock canyons carved by the Chame River, about an hour and a half from the city: swim the narrow channels, or try tubing and rappel with local guides.
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5 guided tours
Coiba, Veraguas & Azuero
A UNESCO marine park, pine forests around a crater lake and the surf beaches of the Azuero Peninsula.
Coiba National Park
A full day by boat from Santa Catalina into the UNESCO marine park — reef sharks, turtles and some of the best snorkelling in the Pacific.
Ask about this tour →La Yeguada Forest Reserve
A crater lagoon ringed by more than 2,000 hectares of pines in the cool hills of Calobre — the first protected area in Veraguas, created in 1960.
Ask about this tour →Chorro La Silampa
A turquoise natural pool and waterfall near La Yeguada, reached on a hike of about 45 minutes with a local guide.
Ask about this tour →Playa Venao
Azuero’s surf bay: consistent waves for every level and a long beach for slow afternoons.
Ask about this tour →Isla Iguana
A wildlife-refuge island off Pedasí with coral reefs for snorkelling and colonies of frigatebirds.
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12 guided tours
Chiriquí: mountains, coffee & islands
Panama’s highest peak, coffee country, orchids in the cloud forest — and the islands of the Gulf of Chiriquí.
Volcán Barú summit
Panama’s highest point at 3,474 m. The overnight climb reaches the top for sunrise and, on a clear morning, views of both oceans.
Ask about this tour →Sendero Los Quetzales
The cloud-forest trail around the volcano between Boquete and Cerro Punta, reopened in 2025 — the best chance in Panama to see a resplendent quetzal.
Ask about this tour →Boquete coffee farm tour
Walk the plantations, see how beans are processed and roasted, and taste Boquete’s coffees — including the prized Geisha.
Ask about this tour →Boquete canopy zipline
Zipline through the cloud-forest canopy above Boquete.
Ask about this tour →Lost Waterfalls & Pipeline Trail
Two Boquete walks: three waterfalls with pools you can swim in, and an easy forest trail that is excellent for birds.
Ask about this tour →Caldera hot springs
Volcanic thermal pools, mostly between 38 and 45 °C, around 45 minutes from Boquete.
Ask about this tour →Los Cangilones de Gualaca
A natural slot canyon of smooth rock and deep blue-green water, about an hour from Boquete — a favourite for swimming.
Ask about this tour →Finca Drácula orchids
An orchid garden in Guadalupe, Cerro Punta, with more than 2,000 species — including the Dracula orchids it is named for — in cloud forest above 1,800 m.
Ask about this tour →Cerro Punta highlands
A cool farming valley at the foot of the volcano, next to La Amistad International Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ask about this tour →Isla Gámez
A short boat ride from Boca Chica to a small white-sand island — the classic easy island day in the Gulf of Chiriquí.
Ask about this tour →Islas Paridas
The Paridas islands further out in the gulf: quiet beaches, snorkelling and, in season, dolphins and whales on the way.
Ask about this tour →Islas Secas
A remote group of islands in the Gulf of Chiriquí, known for clear water and snorkelling.
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3 guided tours
Bocas del Toro
The Caribbean archipelago, one island at a time.
Bocas island hopping
Dolphin Bay, snorkelling at Cayo Coral and beach time on Isla Bastimentos — the classic Bocas day on the water.
Ask about this tour →Starfish Beach
The calm, shallow beach near Boca del Drago, ideal for families — look at the starfish and leave them in the water.
Ask about this tour →Red Frog Beach
A jungle-backed beach on Isla Bastimentos with sloths, monkeys and the tiny red frogs. Swim with care: there are riptides.
Ask about this tour →Popular combinations
Some places sit close enough together to share a day. These are the combinations travellers ask us for most.
The Canal & the old town in one day
Miraflores Locks in the morning, Casco Viejo and the Canal Museum after lunch, sunset on the Amador Causeway.
Ask about this combination →Portobelo & Venas Azules
Caribbean forts in the morning, then a boat through the mangrove channels of Venas Azules and a swim at Playa Blanca.
Ask about this combination →El Valle weekend
La India Dormida at sunrise, Chorro El Macho and the butterfly house, the Sunday market — and Los Cajones de Chame on the way.
Ask about this combination →Chiriquí highlands loop
A Boquete coffee farm, the orchids of Finca Drácula and the valley of Cerro Punta in one mountain day.
Ask about this combination →How it works
- Tell us what you want to see. One place from this page, several, or simply “something outdoors near Boquete” — we suggest what fits your dates and your pace.
- We quote the whole day. Transport, driver and your local tour guide, for your group only.
- A $10 deposit per person confirms your tour. We send you the deposit details by WhatsApp — PayPal (booking@panamashuttles.com), Wise or a secure card link — and the rest is paid on the day.
- Entrance fees are separate. Parks, museums and community fees are paid on the day; 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.
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 serve — or straight from Tocumen airport. Somewhere else? Ask anyway; we will tell you honestly whether it works.
Frequently asked questions
How do I book and pay?
Send us your dates, group size and the places you want to see. We reply with a plan and a price, and a $10 deposit per person confirms your tour — by PayPal (booking@panamashuttles.com), Wise or a secure card payment link (card payments include the processing fee). The rest is paid on the day of the tour.
Is the guide included?
Yes. Every tour on this page is guided by a local tour guide, and the guide is part of your quote together with the transport.
Are entrance fees included?
Park, museum and community entrance fees are paid separately on the day. We tell you the amounts before you book, so there are no surprises.
Can we combine several places in one day?
Yes, when the distances allow it. Look at the popular combinations above, or send us your list and we will build a realistic day around it.
Are families with children welcome?
Yes, families are very welcome. When you book, tell us how many children are travelling and their ages, and we will plan the trip around your family.
Plan your day out
Send us your dates, how many of you are travelling and the places you would like to see. We reply with a plan and a price for your group.