My first Solo trip to Panama!
I’m in my Solo Trip Era and decided to debut this achievement by visiting 2 countries on my first rodeo, Panama and Colombia! I travelled to 2 countries, visited 4 cities, took 8 flights and travelled for 14 days! I had the time of my life!
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Why Panama?
As a black female traveller, safety was the first thing on my mind. I did a lot of research on how safe Panama was before deciding to go. As a Canadian Permanent resident, I prioritized countries where I didn’t need a visa even though I still went to Colombia. Finally, a country with a ton of culture that I could learn about and get immersed in was primary to me, which Panama provided.
Now let’s get into the tea of what went down in Panama!!!
Things you need to know about Panama...
Panama has 2 seasons, dry and rainy season. The dry season lasts from January to May and the Rainy season from May to January, don’t let this discourage you from travelling during the rainy season. My trip was in October and the rain didn’t disturb a lot of my activities. Regardless of the season you go it’s hot and humid so bring lightweight outfits, lots of sunscreen and a mini hand fan. I got a lot of compliments on my hand fan, everyone thought it was smart! Panama uses the standard North American sockets. For currency, Panama uses Balboa and USD and they convert 1 USD to 1 Balboa, so you can comfortably use USD for your entire trip. On transportation, Ubers run but they don’t have a lot of them so be prepared to take taxis or other public transport in case you can’t find an Uber. A lot of the activities require your ID so try to take your passport along with you everywhere.
Where I stayed in Panama (Budget Stays)
I visited 2 cities while in Panama, Panama City and Boquete.
In Panama City, I stayed at Selina Hostel during my first few days and then at this beautiful loft-style Airbnb with the best view. I liked the hostel because I got to connect with many solo travellers and we did some exciting exploring together iykyk. I took the option of a private room and bathroom to feel more comfortable and I felt very safe there.
In Boquete, I stayed at Selina Hostel again for the first few days but this was a unique stay, I slept in a cylinder!!! Overall 10/10 experience. Then I stayed at Downtown Suites which was not bad but I would have preferred staying at Selina for the entire duration but your girl was trying to save money LOL.
Steal my Travel Itinerary
I spent 7 full days in Panama, 4 days in Panama City and 3 days in Boquete. You can download my free itinerary here!
Day 1:
I woke up bright and early in Panama City as I arrived the previous day around 5 pm so all I did was eat dinner, and meet with the solo travellers at Selina where we planned to go see a football match, the joys of solo travelling!
Let’s get started with our day, I booked a photoshoot at Casco Viejo with Rafaela and she took the most stunning pictures and knew how to photograph black people, which is very important.
After the photoshoot, I went on a solo exploration of Casco Viejo which had many stunning architecture and old buildings which has been preserved for a long time. While in Casco Viejo, I also grabbed brunch at Mahalo, the food was so good I rate it 9/10!
In the afternoon, I went to see the Panama Canal which is a must-see if you’re a little bit nerdy. The engineering of the canal is so sick, that it has cut down travel time for ships by connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. It’s also part of the 7 wonders of the modern world! By this time I had to take my make-up off because I was literally melting, it’s very humid!
Around 6 pm, I joined my fellow solo travellers at Selina to go watch the football match between Panama and Guatemala. Panama is a football country so being able to experience this was so fun, the energy, the passion and everything was exhilarating! Everyone was on the way to watch the game, so we couldn’t find an Uber and had to take a Taxi. The taxi took all 6 of us in a space that was to take 4 people and this was not fun coupled with the traffic, I wanted to cry! Outside of the minor discomfort, it was a very worthwhile experience.
Day 2-3:
Play Island girl… your girl was an island girl without internet and light for 48 hrs. I went to THE San Blas Islands! This is an archipelago (Group of Islands) comprising approximately 365 islands. This day started pretty early and chaotic for me, I had to be ready for 5 am and I also needed to check out and store my luggage for when I came back. Guess when I woke up, 4:20 am, so a lot of rushing occurred but we made it! It was a roughly 3 hr trip to where we boarded the boat to take us to the islands and we had one stop to get snacks or any supplies. I enjoyed my time and I recommend it (It’s a once in a once-in-a-lifetime experience) even though there were bouts of fear because I was mostly solo on the island, see my TikTok video with the details. My highlights were the food and the excursion, the food was so fresh and it was their local cuisine.
I got back to Panama City around 8 pm the second day and I got to enjoy a little bit of the nightlife at Selina Rooftop, Taco la Neta had the best tacos I had in Panama. The live music was also very good!
Day 4:
I woke up early for a free walking tour and this is something I try to do in every place I have travelled to because it gives you an insight into the culture and history of the country. After the mini exercise, I got some food at a local food spot which was quite cheap and the portion size was so big I couldn’t finish eating it.
She’s a ‘walker’, she’s a track star that’s the song that fits me because tell me why after the walking tour, I decided to walk again to the gold statue and see some other parts of Casco Viejo.
For dinner, I was out and about! I went to Casa Catedral first for dinner which was pretty good but the portion size was too small for the price. Outside of that, the ambience was lovely, it had a cave-like feel with some fancy cars, and it was a vibe! I wasn’t satisfied with the meal I got and I ended up going to another rooftop restaurant where I didn’t like the food but the vibe was good!
Day 5:
We’re off to Boquete, a small mountain town in Panama and an adventure spot for all my adrenaline junkies like me. This is a top spot for expats to move to and a lot of Canadians tend to retire there! Read about it HERE!
Where to Eat
I’m just going to fess up here and say I don’t think I did justice to the food scene in Panama because for some reason I wasn’t too hungry. Here are the top places I liked in Panama City;
Mahalo -9/10: This is a great place for breakfast or brunch. The food and drinks were really good and it’s also a beautiful spot.
Casa Catedral - 8/10: This is a great place for dinner, the food was good but the ambience and look of the restaurant was a winner.
Taco la Neta - 9.5/10: I had the best tacos I’ve had in a while here, they were spicy plus really good. Also, the live music and vibe as so good. It’s a nice spot to have a date, I was definitely in delulu land!
Final Thoughts!
I had a lovely time in Panama and I would recommend it for a solo trip, a group trip or a family trip. You can get the best of both worlds with relaxing beaches and adventure. I would be going back there for sure with my family. I also felt very safe and even though I don’t speak Spanish, I found I was able to communicate with people there or use the Google Translate app. Next up is Boquete and Colombia! If you are interested in how much I spent on my trip, read this post about it. TDRL; it wasn’t that cheap!
