There are many exotic vacation spots in the Caribbean that almost everyone knows, such as Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Aruba, etc., just to name a few. Not many think of Panama as a warm beach place to visit. But, it is a very exciting and memorable place for a great vacation.
Although the beach resort we visited is not actually in the Caribbean (it is on the Pacific Ocean side), the Royal Decameron Beach Resort offers a beautiful golden sand beach, the warm tropical climate one is looking for, and many interesting places to see. -see, being the main one, of course, the Panama Canal. There are the typical fantastic sunsets, the warm waves of the sea lapping the coast, numerous swimming pools, majestic palm trees and well-kept tropical vegetation within the complex. The all-inclusive Royal Decameron offers excellent dining with six themed a la carte restaurants, as well as two buffet restaurants and numerous bars and cafes. They have a nightclub, a casino, tennis courts, a spa and a nearby golf course, pretty much everything a tourist could ask for.
But enough of the traditional comforts of beach resorts. What is special about Panama in particular?
First of all, the history of Panama and the Panama Canal is fascinating, and I’m not even a history buff. I won’t go into a huge history lesson here, but the Panama Canal is an engineering marvel and one of the most important waterways in the world. The canal stretches from Panama City on the Pacific coast to Colón on the Atlantic side, and is 80 km (or 50 miles) long. More than 12,000 ocean-going vessels use the canal each year, pushing their way through the narrow canal and up and down at the various locks to compensate for the difference in elevation between the two oceans. There are vast expanses of virgin forest on both sides of the canal. It is truly an unforgettable sight to see the huge ships going through the locks. It is a must see when visiting Panama. Since the resort we were staying at was located on the Pacific coast, we visited the Mira Flores locks, on the northeast fringe of Panama City.
A platform gives visitors a good view of the locks in operation and is attached to a very interesting museum. We took the City & Canal Tour (at a cost of approximately $65 US) where we were able to get a wonderful tour of Panama City and see the Mira Flores locks in action. There are, however, Partial Transit Tours (approx. $96 US) lasting about four hours that start in Gamboa, located at the northern end of the Gaillard Cut, where the Chagres River empties into the Canal. Your vessel would pass through the Pedro Miguel locks and the Mara Flores locks, where the vessel is lowered 18 meters in two steps, and your journey would end at the beautiful Flamenco Marina. Of course, there is also a full canal tour aboard the Pacific Queen, where you can experience the working canal up close. This would be an adventure of a lifetime where you could feel the sensation of going up or down the locks to go from one ocean to another. There is also a rail adventure available where you cruise the Channel while sitting comfortably on a train.
Panama City is also worth visiting. The city is divided between the modern and prosperous commercial center that stretches 10 km (6 miles) along the Pacific coast and the old district of San Felipe, an area of decadent colonial grandeur. San Felipe juts out into the sea on the southwestern side of the city and represents replicas of houses from the country’s three most important cultures: Spanish, Indian, and Afro-Caribbean. The old world architecture is beautiful and in many places is being restored to its original grandeur. The tour of the old town is not to be missed.
Located in the modern part of Panama City is the Multicentro, the largest shopping center in Central America with more than 250 stores. Panama City is famous for its shopping and offers a wide variety of merchandise including shoes, handbags, sporting goods, souvenirs, clothing, porcelain, etc. We were lucky enough to be able to spend a night at the Radisson Decapolis Hotel in Panama City (a 5* hotel) which was connected by a walkway to the Muticentro. That experience at the hotel was truly unforgettable! The Radisson Decapolis offered an upscale modern bedroom and dining room an upscale gourmet kitchen (no beachwear here!) an upstairs rooftop pool. As mentioned, it was only a short hop to the mall, which also housed a large casino.
Panama boasts some of the best ‘eco’ attractions in the world with the Panamanian Rain Forest. Over 300 species of birds have been seen in one day, and Panama offers excellent bird watching with species such as the Iris-billed Toucan, Tanager, and White-tailed Hawk, to name a few. According to studies by the National University of Panama and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, high-altitude basaltic rock mountains contribute to the rich diversity of species. An “Introduction to Bird Watching in Cerro Campana National Park” tour costs approx. $78 US On our trip it was wonderful to see colorful little hummingbirds fluttering in and out of the hibiscus flowers, or to see various kinds of birds in the trees outside our hotel room patio. We weren’t able to identify many of them, and I’d recommend taking a bird book on your trip for more interesting birding.
One thing that would be a nice feature when planning a Panama vacation would be the two-resort vacation option: For a one-week vacation, you’d stay five nights at the Royal Decameron Beach Resort and two nights at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort. That would give you both a beach vacation and the ‘eco’ experience. We thought it would be a great vacation option, but unfortunately it’s only offered at certain times of the year (and not when we wanted to go).
Other tours that may be of interest are the Jungle Boat Tour (approx. $85 US), the Canopy Adventure Tour (where you can climb to the treetops on an eco-adventure), or the Anton Valley Adventure ($40 US) where you visit a extinct volcano species, a zoo and botanical garden, and a craft market offering handicrafts made by local villagers. Elsewhere in Panama, you can go deep-sea fishing, take a sunset sailboat cruise, take the Panama Express train to Colon, or go scuba diving. In short, there are endless possibilities for adventure and fun, and at quite reasonable prices too.
We found the people of Panama very nice and sociable. Although Spanish is the official language, English is widely spoken and many times we found that the locals spoke English so well that we couldn’t decide if they were local or not.
Panama has two seasons, the dry season (January to mid-April) and the rainy season (mid-April to December). It is best to keep these seasons in mind when planning your trip. I would also advise bringing a small travel umbrella just in case. They don’t call it a rainforest for nothing! Temperatures hover around 80-90 F (25-30 C) and are fairly constant throughout the year, although nights are often cooler. The equatorial sun is intense in Panama and care must be taken with the use of sunscreen. I even got sunburned sitting under the canopy on the beach.
Overall we thought Panama was a great vacation spot. We invite you to travel there and learn for yourself!