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There is a lot to do when you come to visit Panama. Panama tourism is attracting well over a million people a year to thriving Panama City, tours of the Panama Canal, hotels in the rain forest, as well as world class sport fishing, eco tourism in Panama’s comarcas and much more.

Panama

If you did not know Panama is the last country going south before you get to Colombia in South America. As the narrowest part of the Americas Panama is the site of the Panama Canal. With large areas of untouched natural beauty, beaches on Pacific and Caribbean coasts, central highlands famous for eco tourism opportunities Panama attracts well over a million tourists a year. Most of Panama tourism passes through Tocumen airport, which is fast becoming the major hub airport for Latin America. About half as many Panama tourists come by boat as by air. Much of Panama tourism passes through or stops to visit the Panama Canal.

Panama Tourism; a Short List

Historic Panama Tourism

Panama was a Spanish colony within a generation of Columbus’ “discovery” of the Americas. Old Panama is a set of ruins left from when Morgan the pirate burned the city to the ground in 1671. This area, Panama Viejo, is preserved and an interesting visit. The town was rebuilt on a peninsula a few miles away. San Felipe, or Casco Antiguo, was a typical Spanish colonial city and retains its old building as architecture as Panama City as spread far beyond it confines. San Felipe is in the midst of a renaissance retaining the Spanish Colonial flavor while developers update everything from electricity and plumbing to cable and internet.

Panama Canal Tourism

A more recent part of Panama’s history is the Panama Canal. Built by the USA the construction of the Panama Canal still is considered one of the world’s engineering wonders. The Miraflores Locks are an easy trip by tour or by taxi from Panama City. Here one call watch giant container ships and cruise ships. A Panama Canal museum covers the construction and subsequent history of the Panama Canal.

There are numerous tours into the canal proper.  Brief excursions through the locks at Miraflores to day trips to the Caribbean and return by train let you see the canal and adjoining rain forest. Excellent hotels along the canal provide a place to lie in the sun or a base of operations for kayaking in the rivers that feed the canal’s central lake. An old US radar tower, Canopy Tower, has been converted into a hotel for word class bird watching.

Eco and Cultural Tourism in Panama

Panama has a number of semi autonomous indigenous areas called comarcas. These areas provide the opportunity for eco and cultural tourism in rain forest areas. There are day trips for cultural tourism and there are hotels in Comarca Kuna Yala on Panama’s Caribbean coast for spectacular eco tourism.

Other eco tourism opportunities include visits to the areas around Boquete and Volcan in the Chiriqui highlands or to El Valle closer to Panama City.

Panama tourism also offers great sport fishing, scuba diving, and surfing. Besides all of these active tourist activities you are allowed to just walk on the white sandy beaches and get your feet wet in the gentle waves at places like Isla Taboga just 40 minutes by boat from Panama City.

For those interested in investing in Panama tourism come to see us at ABPanama. We have over 23 years experience managing real estate portfolios. We can help you find a home in this beautiful country and help you invest in its future.