Skip to main content
Travelfab Ltd
Aerial view of Isla Gámez, a palm-covered islet with white sand in the Gulf of Chiriquí, Panama

CANAL · ISLANDS · CLOUD FOREST

Tailor-Made Panama

A private, tailor-made journey through a country where two oceans nearly touch, the Canal and old-world Casco Viejo, the Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro and San Blas, and the cool cloud forests of Boquete. Built entirely around your dates, your pace and you.

Your trip

Your trip to Panama

Panama is one of the most underrated trips in the Americas, and one of the easiest. A small, friendly country where the US Dollar is the currency and one-stop flights link London to Panama City via Madrid, Amsterdam or Paris, it folds the Canal, two coastlines, world-class islands and highland cloud forest into distances you can cross in a morning. Our Panama holidays are private and tailor-made: no fixed coach-tour itinerary and no off-the-shelf package, we build the route, pace and hotels around your dates, with a Latin America specialist who has actually been there.

Most trips weave together three very different faces of the country: the Canal and the restored colonial quarter of Casco Viejo in Panama City, a few unhurried nights out on the Caribbean islands, and the coffee farms and quetzal-filled cloud forests of the Boquete highlands. How long you give each is entirely up to you.

At a glance

  • 9–14 days
  • Private tripJust your own party
  • Easy to ModerateActivity level
  • Flights includedATOL protected
  • Flexible datesYou choose when you go
  • PanamaOur destination guide

WHAT YOUR TRIP CAN INCLUDE

A country of three distinct faces

A container ship inside a chamber of the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal

Where two oceans meet

Watching a container ship squeeze through the locks of the Panama Canal is oddly mesmerising, around 14,000 transit each year, and the Miraflores visitor centre, twenty minutes from downtown, puts you right above them. Back in the city, Casco Viejo is the historic heart: a restored grid of colonial streets, rooftop bars and some of Central America’s best seafood, with the Amador Causeway and Frank Gehry’s Biomuseo close by. Stand above the Canal in the morning and be ankle-deep in island sand by the afternoon, that is the defining quality of Panama.

Hikers watching cloud pour over the green ridges of Cerro Artillería above Boquete, Chiriquí, Panama

Coffee country and cloud forest

Boquete sits at around 1,200 metres in the Chiriquí Highlands, ringed by cloud forest, coffee estates and the slopes of Volcán Barú, Panama’s highest peak. The air is cooler and smells of damp earth and flowers; it is a place for hiking, birdwatching and slow mornings on a veranda. The Los Quetzales Trail offers a real chance of the resplendent quetzal, and the estates here grow Geisha, a coffee that fetches hundreds of dollars a kilo at auction. Cool, green and quiet, the highlands are the natural counterweight to the city and the islands.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL

Panama highlights

  • The Miraflores locks

    The Panama Canal and the Miraflores locks, one of the modern world’s great engineering feats

  • Panama City's old town

    Casco Viejo, Panama City’s restored colonial old town, with rooftop bars and seafood

  • A Caribbean archipelago

    Bocas del Toro, a Caribbean archipelago of stilt-house towns, coral reefs and Starfish Beach

  • Islands of the Guna

    San Blas (Guna Yala), palm-dot islands run by the indigenous Guna, barely touched by development

  • Geisha coffee

    Boquete’s cloud forests, the resplendent quetzal and world-famous Geisha coffee

  • Easy to get around

    Compact distances, the US Dollar and one-stop flights from the UK, simple, hassle-free logistics

  • Your own guides

    Private guides, private transfers and characterful hotels chosen for their settings

  • Flights from the UK

    ATOL protected (10898), with UK flights arranged for you

TAILOR-MADE, YOUR WAY

How your tailor-made trip comes together

There is no off-the-shelf brochure to book here. You tell us your dates, your party and what you most want from Panama, the Canal and city, island time, the highlands, or all three, and we design the route, choose the hotels and arrange the private guides and transfers around you. Panama is compact enough to combine comfortably in a single trip, and many travellers pair it with neighbouring Costa Rica for a two-country Central America journey. If you plan to bring a camera drone, read our practical guide to the drone rules in Panama first.

Trips typically run nine to fourteen days, though we’ll shape the length to suit you. Because every Panama trip is built from scratch, we quote each one individually, share your dates and party size and we’ll prepare a precise, ATOL-protected quote with flights.

Your price covers

What's included

  • Flights

    International flights from the UK, booked and ATOL protected together with the trip. There are no nonstop UK–Panama flights, so we route you via Madrid, Amsterdam or Paris.

    We can also book other airlines, including flights with one stop, to suit your dates and preferences.

  • Guides and tours

    Private guides and drivers for your touring, with English-speaking specialists

  • Accommodation

    Hand-picked, characterful hotels and lodges chosen for their settings

  • Transport

    • All internal transfers, domestic flights and boat transfers between regions
    • Airport meet-and-greet and 24/7 in-destination support

  • Experiences

    Canal, city, island and highland experiences as agreed in your itinerary

  • Meals

    Daily breakfast, with other meals included where it makes sense

  • ATOL protection

    Full ATOL financial protection (10898)

Not included: Travel insurance (a condition of travel) · Tips, drinks and any experiences not listed in your itinerary

Your next step

Dates and price

Tailor-Made Holiday
Price on enquirytailored to your trip
Flights Included
Private holiday
Flexible dates
Tailor-made · 9–14 days (suggested)
Fully customisable

No commitment, we respond within 24 hours

Call us

Before you book

Frequently Asked Questions

Because every trip is built from scratch, your dates, regions, pace and hotels, we quote each one individually rather than advertise a fixed price. As a guide, mid-market private tailor-made trips usually work out competitive with comparable Costa Rica itineraries. Tell us your party size and dates and we’ll prepare a precise, ATOL-protected quote with flights.

Start planning your Panama journey

Tell us your dates and party size and our Latin America specialists will tailor a Panama trip to you, Canal, islands, highlands or all three, and prepare a precise, ATOL-protected quote with flights.

Make an Enquiry
We typically respond within 24 hours

Photography courtesy of PROMTUR Panama / visitpanama.com

Real reviews

What our customers say

From travellers who visited Panama with us

“
We'd never considered Panama before Travelfab suggested it and we're so glad they did. Bocas del Toro was paradise, we kayaked through mangroves, snorkelled over coral reefs, and ate the freshest fish. The Biomuseo in Panama City was a lovely surprise. Everything ran smoothly from start to finish.

Linda & Keith R.

“
Spent a week in Panama and it packed in more variety than I expected. The cloud forests around Boquete were stunning, we did a coffee plantation tour and hiked part of the Quetzal Trail. The food scene in Panama City surprised us too, especially the ceviche at Mercado de Mariscos. Great value compared to Costa Rica.

David M.

“
Panama was a revelation. We spent three days in the San Blas Islands staying with the Guna people, absolutely pristine islands with crystal-clear water and not a soul around. Then the contrast of Panama City's skyscrapers and the old Casco Viejo quarter was brilliant. The canal locks at Miraflores were genuinely jaw-dropping; you just can't appreciate the scale until you're standing there watching a container ship slide past. Fabian sorted every detail including our domestic flights.

Sarah & James W.

More holidays in Panama

Aerial night view over the rooftops and lit streets of Casco Viejo, Panama City
Panama

Panama — The Old City, the Cut and the Coffee

10 nights
From£3,499
ATOL protected
View Details
Red-tiled rooftops and the cathedral bell tower of Casco Antiguo under a blue sky, Panama City
Panama

Panama — The Old City and the Canal

4 nights
Price on enquiry
View Details
The snow-capped cone of Cotopaxi volcano above a band of cloud and the golden páramo, Ecuador
Ecuador

Ecuador Small Group Tour — Volcanoes, Ingapirca and Cuenca

8 days / 7 nightsEasy to ModerateSmall group, maximum 15
From£2,199
ATOL protected
View Details

Travel Guides & Tips

Casco Viejo old town glowing at night with the modern Panama City skyline across the bay

Do You Need an ESTA to Transit the USA? How to Fly to Latin America Without One

Yes, even for a two-hour connection. What a US transit involves, who cannot get an ESTA, and how to reach Latin America from the UK without the USA.

Rainforest meeting the Caribbean Sea at Punta Uva in Costa Rica beside the colonial balconies of Casco Viejo in Panama City

Costa Rica and Panama Itinerary: Two Weeks from the UK

How to combine Costa Rica and Panama in one two-week trip from the UK: a night-by-night route, how to cross between the two, and when to fly instead.

Large container ship passing through the Panama Canal locks

Panama Canal Cruise: What to Do on Land

Booked a canal cruise? How to see the locks from land, what is worth your time in Panama City, and how many days to add before or after you sail.

More guides

Tailor-made · ATOL 10898

Want to customise this trip?

Every Travelfab holiday is tailor-made, extend a leg, swap a hotel, combine with another country. Tell us the shape you want and a specialist will redesign it around you.

Customise this trip with a specialist
Price on enquiry