A visit to the Panama Canal is probably the most important item in the traveler´s list. There are several ways you can experience the canal, it will depend on your level of interest. For the curious visitor, there are two museums devoted to it: the Canal Museum at Casco Antiguo, featuring Panama´s history as a crossroads of cultures, oceans and a bridge between continents and a second museum is located at the Miraflores Locks. This museum shows the technical aspects of the Canal. You can observe the transits at the balcony of the restaurant on the top.

Panama City is a very multicultural place, with large populations from many different parts of the world. Spanish is spoken by most, and many speak some form of English. Customer service is slowly improving, and surprisingly dismal in hotels. However, on the streets Panamanians are for the most part extremely friendly and helpful and would love to give you some advice. There‘s great shopping, from high-end stores in the malls around Paitilla and in the banking district around Via Espana, to veritable bargains around La Central (Central Avenue, now turned into a pedestrian walkway) and the Los Pueblos outdoor mall.

Chagres National Park is located on the eastern side of the Panama Canal, between the provinces of Panama and Colon. With a surface of 129,000 hectares (300,000 acres), this park was created to protect the tropical rainforest around the rivers that run through it and which are the main source of water for the Panama Canal. This park was created with the objective of preserving the natural forest of which it consists, in order to produce water in sufficient quantities and of adequate quality to guarantee normal operations of the Panama Canal, as well as supplying drinking water to the cities of Panama, Colon and La Chorrera and at the same time generating electricity for Panama and Colon. The Chagres River and Lake Alajuela are the first places that you have to visit when you get to the park. The Chagres River is perfect for rafting. The Alajuela lake is great for fishing and watersports activities like water-skiing, jet ski, sailing and swimming.

Farallon, also known as Playa Blanca, was just another quiet fishing village with a beautiful stretch of beach prior to 2001. Situated on Panama‘s Pacific coast, the area is now home to huge resorts owned by the Decameron and Barcelo hotel chains. Several residential-resort communities have also sprung up in the area, including Coronado, which offers a world-class golf course.