What can I do in Panama? Your Panama travel guide.
Read on for some suggested activities you can do while staying at centrally-located Panama Vacation Quarters.
| Tip: Taxis in Panama are abundant and affordable. Our central location is a huge advantage because most everything is 5-15 minutes away, which translates to you as savings. Most taxis charge $3 to $8 for a 5 to 10 minute ride. |
Walking distance from our property, allow at least an hour for your enjoyment: Cerro Ancon (Ancon Hill), Panama Canal Administration Building, Panama Canal Museum, Old Gorgas Hospital, Panama’s Supreme Court, Old Balboa High School, Goethals Monument.
10 minutes or less by car to most of these locations, allow a half day for your enjoyment: Miraflores Locks Visitor Center, Amador Causeway, Balboa Yacht Club, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute at Naos Island, YMCA Market in Balboa, Kuna Cooperative, Mi Pueblito, Mercado Nacional de Artesanías, Albrook Mall, Multi-Plaza Mall, Multi-Centro Mall, visit one or several museums or parks. Nightlife: Hundreds of great restaurants, clubs and casinos.
Full day excursions: Full or partial Panama Canal transit; Kayaking the Chagres; visiting the Embera Tribe; Pacific beaches are 60 to 90 minutes by car: Coronado, Gorgona, San Carlos, Rio Mar, Playa Blanca, DeCameron, Santa Clara, Buena Ventura, Nikki Beach, Palmar, and more; El Valle (de Anton), Cerro Azul, Gamboa Lake, Barro Colorado Island, Monkey Island, Gamboa Pipeline, Gatun Lake, Gatun Locks, Atlantic Side, Portobello, Isla Grande, Fort San Lorenzo, canopy tour, ride the Panama Canal Railway to the Atlantic side.
Staying in Panama longer than a week? Marcos A. Gelabert (Albrook) airport. The local airport is 5 minutes away. Hop a plane and experience the interior of Panama and go to the Perlas Islands, San Blas, Contadora, Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, Darien, Boquete, El Volcan, Cerro Punta, David, or Pedasí.
8:00 a.m. CST - 10:00 p.m. CST • US toll free 800-633-4643, 915-581-9388 |
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Walking distance from our property, allow at least an hour for your enjoyment
Cerro Ancon (Ancon Hill): Panama Vacation Quarters is located in the protected area of Cerro Ancon. Step out your front door and take a brisk walk (or a taxi ride) to the top of Ancon Hill to experience magnificent views of Panama City on one side, and the Panama Canal on the other, all the while enjoying diverse wildlife, flora and fauna. 
Canal Administration Building: Main offices for the Panama Canal, with murals and history in lobby.
Panama Canal Museum and history center in what was Formerly Balboa High School: visit the first and second floors of the main building. This is run by the Authority of the Panama Canal (ACP). About a 15 minute walk down the hill from PVQ.
Old Gorgas Hospital and now Panama’s Supreme Court: Only a few minutes outside the neighborhood gate, lots of history.
10 minutes or less by car to most of these locations, allow a half day for your enjoyment
Miraflores Locks Visitor Center: See how the canal operates, watch ships transit the locks and canal, visit a museum and movie about the Panama Canal.
Visit the Amador Causeway. Talk a walk, rent bicycles, carts, incumbent bikes, and more to cruise the causeway. Take a breather or go fishing on the covered fishing dock on the Canal side of the causeway. Plenty of restaurants and shops to visit. Great places for lunch or dinner. Buy a paleta (frozen popsicle) of lime, pineapple, strawberry, Eskimo pie, or many other flavors.
Visit the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Marine branch at Naos Island, the first island you come to at the end of the causeway.
Museums: Bridge of Life Biodiversity Museum (on the Causeway) , Museum of Colonial Religious Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Afro-Antillean Museum, the Panamanian History Museum, the Museum of Natural Sciences, the Postal Museum, the Old Panama Museum, the National Bank House Museum, the Anthropological Museum Reina Torres de Araúz, and the Interoceanic Museum of the Panama Canal.
Parks: Las Cruces Park, Soberania Park, Summit Gardens (also called Parque Nacional Summit). Natural Metropolitan Park , Pipeline road in Gamboa (not a park, but an exceptional bird watching area).
Casco Viejo: Frommer’s Historic Casco Viejo Walking Tour and/or Panama Viejo (Old Panama): 15 - 20 minutes by taxi. Mercado Nacional de Artesanías is located here.
Panama Canal Railway Company offers two-way transportation to the Atlantic side.
Shopping:
- Ethnic / tourist: 3 - 15 minutes by car. Visit these markets and expect to find the best Panama can offer in hand crafts of Molas, cocoa-bola wood and tagua carvings, linens, hammocks, jewelry and more: YMCA Market in Balboa; Kuna Cooperative; Mi Pueblito. About 20 minutes downtown is the Mercado Nacional de Artesanías in old Panama.
- Malls: 3 - 15 minutes by car. Albrook Mall: (bargain mall with a delicious food court); Multiplaza Pacific (quality) and Multicentro (shopping + casino) as well as MANY other stores and shops.
- Grocery: 3 minutes by car: El Rey
in the front of Albrook, Super 99 in the Albrook Mall, about 5-10 minutes downtown are several Riba Smith (high quality food stores). Panama City has three Pricesmarts (sister to Costco in the US) with locations about 10 minutes away.
- Seafood and produce Markets: 5 minutes by car. Bring your ice chest and buy fresh fish, shrimp, lobster, octopus. Mercado de Mariscos is an open fish market and distribution center located on Avenida Balboa and Calle 15 Este. Across the street are fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, meats and grains at the Mercado Público.