Panama is known to very discerning travelers as “The Path Less Traveled”,
and it is also known for adventure and eco travel.

Photos by kind permission of Ilisa-Panama, Spanish Language School in Panama.

The Republic of Panama is a land of unrivalled beauty with unique natural, cultural and historical features. While Panama, as a tourism destination, is still in the early phase of development, existing resources and recent efforts justify a strong confidence in a sustainable qualitative and quantitative progress for the future of tourism.  In the last few years, tourism has begun to develop into an important factor in the national economy and recent activities in this sector have led to an increasing awareness as a holiday, retirement and business destination.  In fact, similar in natural beauty to its more well known northern neighbor – Costa Rica, Panama is 50% larger and has more than double the miles of coastline, and a quarter FEWER inhabitants.

Almost half of the country’s 3 million residents live in Panama City, leaving most of it’s beautiful beaches, tropical rain forests, pristine rivers and islands relatively untouched and waiting for you to explore.

The country’s most important man-made attraction is without a doubt the world-famous Panama Canal, which is considered one of the architectural marvels of the 20th century. The Canal’s spectacular construction goes through the interior of the rainforest, joining the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean through the artificial Gatún Lake. The fascinating crossing of huge container vessels and cruise liners, and their elevation and descent in the locks, transform the Canal into a highly interesting attraction for nationals and visitors alike.

While it has not yet achieved great recognition as a tourist destination, Panama has a unique opportunity to excel in the international tourism world and establish itself as an outstanding and unrivalled tourist destination.  Panama was recently selected as the number one retirement community in the world by Senior Living.  The country has a highly varied and attractive landscape with pristine rainforests and access to the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.   The colorful history at the crossroad of the Americas adds to the well-preserved socio-cultural heritage with seven indigenous tribes living in ancient traditions. The capital, Panama City, is a cosmopolitan melting pot of economy and culture, providing some of the safest and most stable economic and political environments in all of Latin America .

Why Panama

1. Panama has a great variety of attractions all in close proximity

Panama has a diverse geography with exotic tropical islands, rainforests and jungles, cool gorgeous mountain refuges, Caribbean-style beaches, seven living Indian cultures, a pretty Miami-style capital city, historic venues (Columbus and Balboa both came to Panama) adventure tours, diving, rafting, kayaking - not to mention one of the world’s engineering marvels- The Panama Canal.

2. Panama is safe

Panama has the highest rating for tourist safety from the prestigious Pinkerton Intelligence Agency. In addition, as noted in the newsletter of the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) Panama has a first-world infrastructure of roads, business services, medical care and telecommunications. General Manuel Noriega, along with his corrupt government has been out of power for more than a decade.

3. Panama is close

As part of Central America, Panama is just a short plane ride away from the U.S. Seven major US cities offer direct daily flights to Panama City: Los Angeles, Newark, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Orlando. Flight time from Florida is 2½ hours and Los Angeles is a 4½ hour flight.

 4. Panama is tourist friendly

English is spoken as a second language and the Panamanian people are among the friendliest in the world. The infrastructure is first-world, including excellent roads, a sophisticated business sector, the second largest Free Trade Zone in the world and a banking sector with 100 banks. You can even drink the tap water.

 5. Panama has the US dollar as its currency

Panama’s currency is the US dollar. That’s right - in Panama one of the traveler’s major hassles is eliminated. There is no need for currency exchange because the US dollar is the currency...no need to be a mathematical genius to figure out what that meal just cost you.

 6. Panama is the best place for ecotourism today

Panama’s position as a narrow land bridge connecting two continents has endowed it with some of the worlds’ most pristine and bio-diverse rainforests in national parks covering 5 million acres. A key indicator of its bio-diversity: Panama has 944 recorded bird species, more than the U.S. and Canada combined. Furthermore, all that great nature is very accessible, with some of the best locations less than an hour from Panama City . There is a local saying that while in other countries you have 20 tourists looking at one bird, in Panama you have one tourist looking at 20 birds

 7.  Panama is the affordable exotic destination

Normally this kind of pristine natural beauty comes at a fancy price. Panama has just begun to promote itself as a tourism destination and so prices are some of the best in the market. " Panama is the most beautiful treat in the world and almost undiscovered," claimed a recent article in Harper's Bazaar. "Known mostly for its canal, Panama is, in fact, an undiscovered tourist paradise," stated a recent travel article in the Boston Globe.   The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Modern Maturity, National Geographic and the March, 2004 edition of  the Smithsonian have featured long travel articles this year praising the undiscovered delights the country has to offer.

 8. Panama has a wide selection of beaches and island venues and activities

With two coasts, countless islands and Caribbean-style beaches, there is much to choose from for beach vacations from the full service resorts to exotic island getaways and the islands of the San Blas Indian reservation.

 9. Panama is world-class for adventure

International experts rave about river running in Panama which includes rafting, kayaking and motorized river boats. There are rivers in Panama where you can ride 20 sets of rapids in one afternoon. Canyoning, trekking, rappelling and surfing offer similar world-class experiences for the hard and soft adventure seeker.

 10. Panama has world class fishing, diving, snorkeling and sailing

One place in Panama, Pinas Bay, holds 170 world fishing records. There are five world class diving areas: Coiba National Marine Park, the Pearl Islands, Bocas Del Toro archipelago, Portobello and for historical diving, the Panama Canal .

 11. Panama has a first-world infrastructure

Panama has a first world infrastructure including a US style capital city with high speed Internet, first rate hotels and restaurants and shopping almost on a par with the United States. The highway infrastructure, medical care, telecommunications and business services are excellent-comparable to the States.

 12. Panama is Survivor Country

The CBS Survivor series for Fall 2003 and Winter 2004 take place in Panama’s Pearl Islands. In fact the exotic, nature-rich islands of Panama have been home to the Survivor reality TV shows.

 13. Panama is hurricane Free

Panama is situated south of the hurricane track.

 14. Panama is economically and politically sound

Panama's economic performance is, almost every year, better than just about every other country in Latin America . In fact, over the past 40 years, the country's inflation rate has averaged less than 2% per year...that's simply unheard of south of the United States. The Tripartite Committee has ranked Panama #1 in the region for low cost of living.

 15. Panama has the most modern and successful international offshore bank haven in Latin America

(and the second largest in the world, after Switzerland). With more than 120 banks from 35 countries, including Citibank, HSBC, Dresdner, Bank of Tokyo, Bank of Boston, and International Commercial Bank of China.