Apparently, Panama is one of the top five best-rated countries in the world to retire. We suspect this rating assumes you enjoy humidity, high-speed tropical insects, and the constant, lingering threat of a salsa dance-off.
Still, the lure of a tropical climate and the chaotic buzz of a Latin American hub is a siren song we couldn’t ignore.
We also found some suspiciously cheap flights with Lufthansa from Europe—the kind of price that makes you wonder if you’ll be pedalling the plane yourself—and we were sold. We booked the flights and mapped out the chaos a solid four months before we actually had to face it.
The Damage: Budget for a 26-day Panama Trip
We managed to snag return flights from Amsterdam to Panama City for a grand total of €310 per person. Before you start thinking we have secret connections in the aviation industry, we should mention the catch: we weren’t flying direct.
Our itinerary was a three-legged endurance test: Amsterdam to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Bogota, and Bogota to Panama City. We spent 18 hours in transit each way.
By the time we landed, we looked less like excited tourists and more like extra-large bags of laundry that had been through a particularly violent spin cycle.
The Financial Breakdown
✔️ Flights: €310 per person.
✔️ Daily Budget: We allocated €50 per person, per day. This covered our accommodation (on a two-sharing basis), food, and the occasional “why-is-it-so-hot” beer.
✔️ Total Budget: €1,610 per person for the 26 days.
“Hidden” Extras: Getting to Amsterdam from our base in Malta, plus two nights near Schiphol airport, added another €422 to the bill.
Was it worth the 18-hour trek through Bogota? We’ll let our bank accounts answer that one.💳
The Grand Plan: Roundtrip Panama City to Bocas Del Toro
We decided on the “Classic Westward Slog.” We planned to hit the highlights, push as far west as the Caribbean islands of Bocas Del Toro, and then limp back to the capital via the Pacific coast.
We even drew a map, mostly so we could point at it and feel organized.
Panama City 📍 The Urban Jungle
We kicked things off with four days in Panama City on arrival, with a two-day “buffer” at the end to ensure we actually made our flight home.
We chose the Occidental Hotel for our first stint and the Centroamericano Hotel for the finale.
What we actually did (besides sweat):
✔️ The Panama Canal: We watched giant ships move through very narrow gaps. It’s remarkably therapeutic.
✔️ Taboga Island: We escaped the skyscrapers for a bit of “Island of Flowers” charm. 🌸
✔️ Casco Viejo: We wandered the old town, dodging heritage-listed cobbles and pretending we knew about architecture.
📍 Santa Catalina – A Salty Introduction
To avoid a 470 km bus ride that would likely result in permanent spine damage, we broke the journey at Santa Catalina.
We spent three days on the Pacific coast, staying at Hotel Iguanito.
We enjoyed the black sand beaches and watched surfers do things with their bodies that we haven’t been able to do since 1998.
📍 David – The Pitstop
People told us there is “little to see” in David.
We took that as a challenge, stayed one night at the Hotel Residencial Cervantes, and can confirm: they were right.
It’s mostly a hub for the Chiriqui foothills, but we used it as a necessary breather before heading into the mountains.
📍 Boquete – The Big Valley (& Better Coffee)
Next, we headed to the highlands.
Boquete is basically the Switzerland of Panama, but with more sloths and better beans.
We spent four days exploring the valley, splitting our time between The Jungla Experience Guesthouse and the Hotel Central Boquete.
Things we survived in Boquete:
✔️ The Lost Waterfalls Trail: We hiked through the cloud forest, got muddy, and questioned our fitness levels.
✔️ Coffee Tours: We drank enough caffeine to power a small village. ☕
✔️ Volcán Barú: We stared at the volcano from a safe, non-strenuous distance.
📍 Bocas Del Toro – The Caribbean Dream
This was the main event. We allocated eight days to the Bocas archipelago, which coincided with Carnival.
This meant we traded “peace and quiet” for neon paint and speakers the size of refrigerators.
✔️ Days 1–2: We stayed in Bocas Town at Residencial La Terraza to soak up the party vibes.
✔️ Days 3–5: We moved north to Isla Colon and stayed at the Tesoro Escondido Lodge, which was considerably more “jungle-chic.”
✔️ Days 6–8: We finished on Isla Bastimentos at the Ushuaia Guesthouse, where we finally found the “laid-back” vibe everyone kept talking about.
📍 Boca Chica – The Pacific Finale
On our way back to the capital, we detoured to Boca Chica for three days. We spent one night at Residencia de la Marina and two nights at Hotel Boca Brava.
If you like monkeys howling at you while you eat breakfast, this is the place.
We highly recommend the boat trips to the uninhabited islands of the Gulf of Chiriquí—it’s the closest we’ll ever get to being on Survivor, minus the starvation.
The Verdict: Did We Blow the Budget?
So, did we stick to our €1,610 per person? And more importantly, is Panama actually the second-best place on Earth to retire?
We found that while the beer is cheap, the “unexpected” costs—like water taxis and that one artisanal hat we definitely didn’t need—have a way of creeping up on you.
We also learned that “retirement” in Panama probably involves a lot more humidity-induced frizz than the brochures suggest.
Our Panama Travel Tips at a Glance:
✔️ Transport: We used a mix of local buses and internal flights. The buses are an experience; the flights are a relief.
✔️ Carnival: If you go to Bocas during Carnival, don’t expect to sleep. Do expect to be whipped and covered in foam. 🧼
✔️ The Pacific vs. The Caribbean: We loved the wildness of the Pacific, but the Caribbean has that “postcard” blue that makes your photos pop.
We’ve written about each of these stops in far more excruciating detail in our related posts. Why not have a read and decide for yourself if you’re ready to trade your current life for a hammock and a permanent tan?
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