Overview
In April 2025, I made a quick stop in Panama on my way back to the U.S. after a long trip through Patagonia (read about my time in Patagonia here).
I was excited to relax after long, multi-day hikes and some brutal layovers, and Panama turned out to be a great reset.
I based myself in Casco Viejo in Panama City, spent three days wandering Casco Viejo, taking a short day trip to hike Picachos de Ola, and checked out the Panama Canal (more on that disappointment in this article).
Casco Viejo, Panama City
Casco Viejo is Panama City’s “old town.” It’s small, walkable, and full of character, with colorful colonial architecture, rooftop restaurants, cute cafés, and a couple good museums.
Things to do in Casco Viejo
- Mola Museum: A museum dedicated to mola, handmade textiles created by the indigenous people of Panama. The museum is a quick but worthwhile stop (~30 min), with interesting history and beautiful pieces.
- Wander around Casco Viejo: The historic center is compact and easy to explore on foot. There’s plenty of cool architecture and lots of places to visit – the Cathedral, Plaza Frances, locally owned shops, etc.
- Ancon Hill: Short uphill walk on a paved path through a rainforest, with a really nice city view at the top. It got brutally hot really early in the morning. Great for wildlife spotting – I saw a few poison dart frogs, and it’s known for sloth-spotting!
- Panama Canal Museum: Really excellent museum explaining the Panama Canal’s history – It was way more detailed and honest than the exhibits and movies at the Panama Canal. Tons of unflinching history, great exhibits, and lots of see and learn.
- Nome Chocolate: Took a chocolate making class and had a short chocolate tasting experience. Fun and interesting, and I got to make my own chocolate bar.
Where to eat and drink in Casco Viejo
- Sisu Café: Really pretty coffee shop with great pastries and bad cooked food, fantastic vibe.
- Chocolate chip cookie: Great – warm and gooey, but a bit too sweet.
- Nutella kouign amann: Great texture, a bit too sweet.
- Earl Grey waffle: Dry, flavorless, pretty bad.
- Cold brew: Good.
- Iced hibiscus tea: Slightly weird mouthfeel, not great.
- Chicken shawarma: Weird sour taste, very bad.
- Grilled cheese: Flavorless and expensive.
- Cinnamon toast square: Fantastic, not too sweet.
- Coffee roll: Dry and lacked coffee flavor.
- Mahalo: Great Asian fusion brunch and dinner spot.
- Thai shrimp curry: Decent, but got flavor fatigue quickly.
- Chicken korma flatbread: Pretty good flavors, bread texture could be slightly better.
- Kanibal: Fancy rooftop restaurant, fantastic food, phenomenal views, staff are a bit disorganized.
- Spicy salmon roll: Solid.
- Beef dumplings: Delicious and flavorful.
- Kanibal roll: My personal favorite dish, fresh fish, great crunch.
- Grilled vegetables: Good, but a bit oily.
- White chocolate mango coulant: Surprisingly great, as someone who doesn’t usually like white chocolate.
- Yomisun: Ice cream spot with claw machines. You get free tokens for the claw machines when you buy ice cream.
- Taro ice cream: Not bad, but a bit too sweet.
- Aya La Vida: Everything was technically well-cooked but kind of forgettable.
- Cod croquetas: A little salty, otherwise good.
- Lobster mac: There was a surprising amount of lobster in the mac, but the lobster wasn’t that good.
- Chicken rice: The rice was too sweet for my taste, but the chicken was well-prepared (very tender).
- Cafe Unido: I didn’t like their D.C. location, but this one was really good.
- Banana bread: Fantastic texture, slightly too sweet.
- Cold brew: Very good!
- Waffle with strawberry & Nutella: Amazingly fluffy, warm, and delicious.
- Chicken puff pastry: Really good puff pastry, great chicken.
Day trip to Picachos de Ola and Las Mesitas Waterfall
Picachos de Ola and Las Mesitas were the surprise highlight of my time in Panama.
We left Panama City at 2AM for a 3-hour drive to the trailhead.
- The Picachos de Ola hike is short but steep, and parts of the downhill are very slippery. It’s located on private property, so going with a tour makes logistics easier.
- The view at the summit is beautiful – Sharp mountains rising out of a flat valley. We had clouds at sunrise and still loved it – on a clear day, the views must be insane. The hike and the summit weren’t busy at all – We basically had it to ourselves.
- Afterwards, we visited Las Mesitas Waterfall, a private waterfall you can swim in. The rocks were a bit slippery and small fish tried to bite me. We were the only ones at the waterfall as well, so another very peaceful and fun stop.
We arrived back in Panama City by 11AM, so it worked well as a half-day trip.
The Panama Canal
We visited the Miraflores Visitor Center area of the Panama Canal. Going in, I was already skeptical, but the canal was a huge letdown.
- Tickets were $34, a price that felt absolutely insane, especially given the nothingness of the experience.
- There’s an IMAX movie (narrated by Morgan Freeman), which is basically just American propaganda. It completely glosses over the real, exploitative history of the Canal. I fell asleep and I didn’t miss much.
- Watching ships pass through the canal was also really boring. It takes over 30 minutes for a ship to pass, and you can’t even see the locks work from the vantage point.
All in all, a total waste of an afternoon and $50 (once you include the price of the Uber to get to and from). I wouldn’t recommend going even if I had a month in Panama.
Where I stayed
I stayed in a big apartment in Casco Viejo for about $65 per night (post-tax). The location is great, and it was beautifully decorated and spacious. However, the building is really old – The lights went out at one point, and the bathroom leaked.
Final Thoughts
Panama really surprised me, in a good way.
- Casco Viejo is charming, interesting, and walkable, with great food and pretty architecture. It reminded me a bit of Old San Juan, but smaller.
- Picachos de Ola and Las Mesitas Waterfall are hidden gems that I’d absolutely recommend for short hikes and epic views.
- I’d 1000% skip the Panama Canal and visit the Canal Museum instead – Way more informative, less expensive, and not pandering to American nationalism.
While I probably won’t visit Panama again in the near future, I’d strongly recommend a short trip here!
ADJENTURING 