Panama Activities

Most children like going to the beach and exploring tropical jungles full of colourful birds and exotic animals. Panama is a natural wonderland, offering dozens of amazing destinations where your kids can get up close and personal with the natural world.

Beaches
One of the best ways to keep the kids busy is to take them to the beach. Panama has dozens of excellent sandy choices on both sides of the isthmus, as well as a number of islands just off the coasts. Bocas del Toro, Taboga, Santa Catalina and the Azuero Peninsula are just a few of the popular beach town destinations where the waters are clear and sand white and soft.

Crater Valley
Just two hours from Panama City, you will find a beautiful village nestled up against the second largest volcano crater in the world. What child wouldn’t find trekking around a massive volcano a fascinating and memorable experience? The village is also a great place to explore, with its colourful handicraft market run by Panama’s Indians. The area is home to a tropical zoo, a Canopy Adventure for climbing around the trees, and hiking in the gorgeous Gaital Monument Nature Preserve.

El Nispero Botanical Gardens
If your children are the adventurous type, they will no doubt get a kick out the world’s greatest tree house. El Nispero home to the tree canopy adventures, where participants are fastened into a harness and pulled up to the treetops, which tower hundreds of feet over the jungle floor. You can swing from platform to platform, marvelling at the views, the butterflies and other unique wildlife that lives only at the tops of the rainforest.

Being an isthmus, Panama is blessed with plenty of coastline. The beaches which are strung along both the Caribbean and Pacific sides are just what you’d expect from a tropical wonderland: white, soft and uncrowded. Even just outside the busy capital, Panama City, there is a long stretch of beautiful beaches. Due to its proximity to the metropolis, this coastal area has plenty of resorts which often offer the best variety of water sports equipment such as jet skis and parasailing.

However, most of the country’s nicest beaches are found on the dozens of tiny islands that sit just offshore. They are easy to access by boat and range from completely deserted natural preserves to developed tourist spots. Taboga, the Pearl Islands, Bocas del Toro, and Laguna de Chiriqui are just a few of the more popular destinations. But really, wherever you end up, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how beautiful these untapped beaches are.

Panama is a bird watching mecca, with some 950 registered species of birds. Two of the planet’s finest birding locations are here, attracting hundreds of visitors each year to experience this relatively undiscovered tropical paradise. Pipeline Road near Panama City and Achiote Road near Colon are the two premier destinations, but there are dozens of other sites around the country. The Soberania National Park, just 40kms from Panama City and the Baru National Park in the Chiriqui Province, which is famous for its many Quetzal birds, are also excellent destinations.

Panama is renowned as one of the finest fishing spots in the Caribbean. There are dozens of options for anglers, ranging from deep-sea excursions to fresh water outings. The Pearl Islands are one of the country’s hottest destinations for deep-sea fishing, thanks to their proximity to Panama City. Pinas Bay is the location of more fishing world-records than anywhere else on the planet, with an entire lodge dedicated to serious anglers. In general, the waters off western Panama are the best for such exotic fish as marlin, tuna, roosterfish, sailfish, dorado, amberjack and dozens of others. The sport is well-developed in this part of Panama, so you will find plenty of boat charters, guides and places to stay. For fresh water fishing, Lake Gatun is one of the best spots. Despite being just 45 minutes from Panama City, the lake is so stocked that even kids can easily land 20 fish or more in an afternoon.

Some of the best kayaking in Central America is found in Panama’s rivers. The main locations are in Western Panama’s Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui regions and in Eastern Panama’s Colon and Darien regions. For serious white-water boaters, there are Class III, IV and V sections of river which run as long as 20kms. In addition to the white-water action, Panama also has miles upon miles of open sea coastal areas and rivers that are well-suited for sea kayaking. Rivers flow from the highland interiors all the way out to both coasts offering a wide range of exploration opportunities. The industry has grown to the point that there are plenty of outfitters and guides to give you all the help you need.

Besides kayaking, rafting is another popular way to experience the rivers of Panama. Rafting excursions range from relaxing trips to adrenalin-pumping white-water action. Although most people don’t think of Panama when they think of rafting, it’s quickly developing a reputation as a premier boating destination thanks to the sheer variety and beauty of its rivers. In Western Panama, the Chiriqui River and Chiriqui Viejo River are the two main sites for rafting. Both rivers offer stunning scenery as they pass through forests, by sheer rock cliffs and next to waterfalls. Rafting trips can be designed for people of all ages and ability.

Eating out is a real pleasure in Panama. Even outside the main cities of Colon and Panama City, visitors can find a wide range of quality cuisine. As a land bridge between two massive continents, Panama’s native cuisine has been influenced by a diverse blend of Spanish, European, African and native Indian styles. The country itself is blessed with an abundant array of fresh produce from the interior and seafood from the waters off its coasts. As a result, native Panamanian cuisine combines the best from all these elements to create a fresh and vibrant menu slightly reminiscent of the hot and spicy Creole style of cooking. American, French and Chinese food is also readily available in most of the larger cities.

Breakfast often consists of Panamanian-style tortillas, which are rather thick rounds of corn meal, deep fried and served with eggs and melted cheese on top. Hojaldras, which are little fried donuts with sugar sprinkled on top, are another ubiquitous morning treat. And make sure you get plenty of the superb, but relatively undiscovered, local Panama coffee from the Boquete region. Native snacks which are eaten during the day include patacones, fried green plantain; carimanola, a tasty roll made from yucca root and stuffed with meat and boiled egg; fried yuca, the starchy root which is a staple in the countryside; and cerviche, small pieces of sea bass served in lemon juice and spices.

Popular main dishes include sancocho, the hearty chicken soup served all over the countryside; corvina, known internationally as sea bass; tamales, ground corn meal stuffed with a meat filling and boiled in banana leaves; and arroz con guandu, Panama’s most popular side dish consisting of rice cooked with the guandu bean from Africa in coconut water. Panama literally means ‘abundance of fish’, so you will find plenty of excellent shrimp, lobster and fish of all kinds.

Panama is a duty-free shopping mecca, and is stocked with all kinds of goods thanks to its position as a major global crossing point for trade between the Atlantic and Pacific. Often, prices on big ticket items such as electronics and luxury goods are one-third less than in other places. Local handicrafts include leatherwear, colourful beaded necklaces made by the Guaymi Indians, precious stones, macramé and mahogany bowls.

Panama City’s Central Avenue and Via Espana are a shopper’s paradise, boasting the longest single shopping street in the world lined with shops that sell everything from the latest fashions to the newest computers. Panama City also has a number of massive shopping malls packed with stores of all kinds. Colon’s Front Street and Tocumen’s duty-free stores are also excellent sites to find a good deal. The Colon Free Zone in particular is a wholesale distribution centre where all kinds of goods are imported, stored and sold without any customs duties.

Shopping hours: 09:00 to 18:00, Monday through Saturday, with some open on Sundays as well.