Frequently asked questions

The following tours will give you the best experiences in Panama:

• Panama City Sightseeing & Canal Tour
• Monkey Island Eco Tour
• Embera Village & Waterfall Eco Tour
• Caribbean Adventure Tour
• El Valle Enchantment Tour
• San Blas Multi-Day Tour
• Panama Canal Partial Transit

When it comes to soaking in the spirit of Panama, give yourself a solid week. That’s just enough time to really get under the skin of the place. If you seeking to explore areas far from Panama City, give yourslef at least ten days but we suggest two weeks. Trust us, Panama isn’t just a place you visit; it’s a place you feel.

The best time to visit Panama is during the dry season, which typically runs from mid-December to April. This period offers sunny days, low humidity, and almost no rainfall, making it ideal for outdoor activities, sightseeing, and exploring Panama’s natural beauty. The dry season is also a popular time for festivals and events, adding to the vibrant cultural experience.

However, the wet season, from May to November, can also be a good time to visit, especially for those interested in lush landscapes and fewer crowds. The rain usually comes in short bursts, often in the afternoon or evenings, allowing for plenty of exploration during the day. Additionally, this period can offer lower prices for accommodations.

Here are a few places where monkeys are commonly spotted:

• Monkey Island – part of the Panama Canal, this area is home to several species of monkeys, including howler monkeys, capuchins, and tamarins.
• Soberanía National Park – this park is a fantastic spot for bird watching and monkey sightings.
• Bocas del Toro – The archipelago not only offers beautiful beaches and coral reefs but also dense jungles where monkeys are often seen, especially on Bastimentos Island.

The number one tourist attraction in Panama is undoubtedly the Panama Canal.

Yes all our drivers and guides speak fluently English. We also have French and Spanish speaking staff.

It is not mandatory, but it is common courtesy to do so and very appreciated by our drivers and guides as they strive to provide you with the best service and would go the extra mile to make your day a very pleasant one.

We use new/recent, clean and well maintained vehicles. Our fleet includes sedans, SUVs and minivans. We can also provide 7 to 28 passengers minibuses or coach bus based on the size of your groups.

Absolutely! All our vehicles have functional air-conditioner.

We don’t mind that you drink water, but we’d rather keep our vehicles clean for the next client as some of our drivers/guides have more than one assignment a day and won’t have time to clean their cars in depth in between. Clean cars is an important aspect in our dedication to provide our clients with an excellent service. We appreciate your understanding.

Yes, please contact us by email at info@panamayourway.com with the details of your request and we’ll send you a quote.

Yes, we have infant and toddler car seats (0 to 4 years-old). In Panama it is mandatory for all children under 5 years-old to be seated in a car seat. Please let us know if you need a baby car seat and for what age when making the booking. You can also bring your own.

We accept all major credit cards at the time of booking through our website.

We do not offer day tours to San Blas. We believe in providing high-quality, personalized experiences, and unfortunately, most day tours to San Blas do not meet our standards. Day tours to San Blas can only be operated by companies owned by the Kuna indigenous tribes, as the region of San Blas belongs to them. The real name of this region is Guna Yala comarca, a semi-autonomous region of Panama. Day tours provided by Kunas often prioritize quantity over quality. Day trips can be a hit or miss, often not well organized, and you have to endure a 2.5-hour drive in an overcrowded and packed 4×4, where 2/3 of the road is through mountains on unpaved, rough terrain.

It’s also important to note that while the San Blas archipelago is made up of over 300 stunning islands, the Kuna day tour operators typically only visit a handful of them—the ones closest to the mainland. These islands are often the most crowded, and the experience may not reflect the secluded, pristine images you may have seen online. Operators maximizing the number of visitors per island, sometimes accommodating over 100 people on a very small island, especially on weekends. This can significantly impact the overall experience, making it less enjoyable and more crowded than one might hope for such a beautiful destination. We encourage you not to be fooled by the pictures and publicity showcasing beautiful, deserted, and uninhabited islands, as these often do not represent the reality of a typical day tour.

Don’t get us wrong, the region is still a beautiful place to visit, but instead, we offer multi-day tours on a sailboat to San Blas, which makes the experience completely different, unique and much more worth it. This option allows you to explore the more remote and less crowded islands, enjoy the serenity of the archipelago, and fully immerse yourself in the natural beauty of San Blas.

Yes absolutely! As long as the request is feasible, our team will gladly customize any tour to your liking. Some extra fees may apply if the requested attraction has a higher cost or will extend your time with the driver/guide. All changes must be made before the reservation is confirmed.

Yes, we can change the start time of your tour, but generally do not recommend because there’s a reason why each tour has its specific start time. When building a tour, many things are taken into consideration to provide you the optimal itinerary based on traffic, sites’ opening hours, ships’ schedule, wildlife, the heat, the rain (during rainy season) among other things.

Entrance fees to different activities/sites are not included in the base tour price. During the booking process, you will have the option to prepay the entrance tickets to the various activites. Alternatively, you can also pay the entrance fees directly on-site. However, please take into consideration that certain popular attractions like the canal can have long lineups to the ticket booth, other activites only accept cash. Prepaying your tickets / entrance fees will not only save you time but it’s one thing less you have to worry about during your vacation.

If an attraction is inaccessible or closed for any reasons out of our control (heavy rain, accident, heavy traffic, site maintenance, change of schedule etc…), your guide will offer you some alternatives. Should you not want any of the alternatives offered, we can only discount/reimburse you the equivalent of the entrance fees, if any, of that activity.

You can find our terms and conditions by visiting our Terms and Conditions page.

Panama is a tropical country with typically 7-8 months of rainy season a year. Normal rain doesn’t affect our tours and can be carried out without any issues. Rain usually comes in the afternoon and in the morning you will still have nice sky. Bring a little rain poncho or umbrella and you’re good to go! Unless there is a major storm that would disrupt the normal flow of our tours, then we will cancel your tour and offer an alternative date or refund.
If you really don’t like rain, we suggest you visit our beautiful country during the dry season, between January and April.

Yes. We accept solo travelers, but for our private tours the price will be the same as for 2 people. Contact us and we will give you some options.

Generally yes. But because holidays here can greatly disrupt the normal flow of our tours on different levels, certain holidays make it very difficult to provide a quality tour. If a tour is not available online for the date you selected, please contact us and we will determine if it’s feasible.

Yes, we most definitely do. Here are the 3 tours that can be booked as shore excursions from your cruise ship arriving to Port Amador, Panama City.

1. Panama City Sightseeing & Canal Tour
2. Monkey Island Eco Tour
3. Panama History Tour

For tours from the Colon Port please contact us with your request and we will provide a custom tour itinerary.

In general no, however some tours have a lunch included. Please refer to the tour description to see if a lunch is included in your tour.

If you are visiting the Miraflores Visitors Center, the best time is either early in the morning between 8am and 9am when the visitor’s center opens or after 2pm.

As for the Agua Clara Visitors Center: Anytime during the day is good.

The Miraflores Visitor Center offers a variety of attractions for visitors to enjoy and learn more about the Panama Canal. Among these attractions are four exhibition halls that showcase the Canal’s history, biodiversity, and international significance in an engaging and visually appealing way. Additionally, the center also features a new viewing deck at Miraflores, designed to offer exceptional views of the Canal’s operation with a modern and strategic layout. This facility allows visitors to closely observe the transit of ships through the iconic locks. Included in the visitor experience is the opportunity to watch a 3D movie about the history and operations of the Panama Canal at the IMAX Theater, narrated by Morgan Freeman. Furthermore, there is a photo gallery available for visitors to explore and enjoy, adding to the overall educational and fascinating experience at the Miraflores Visitor Center.

Tickets can be purchased via our website during the tours booking process at the following rates: Adults for $17.22 and Children between 6 and 12 years old for $7.22. Additionally, children under 6 years old can enter for free.

Note: Please note that currently the Miraflores visitors center is undergoing a major renovation. Because of that, the museum and exhibition halls are currently closed.

Unfortunately, since the Covid closure, the tourist train service has ceased daily operations indefinitely hoever it does run 2-3 times per month on specific day (tickets sell out fast). If you are interested please contact us.

Absolutely! We can custom build a tour just for you, our staff will be more than happy to assist you with that. Simply send your request by email to info@panamayourway.com and we’ll get back to you within 24h.

For airport pickups, our drivers will meet you at the arrival hall after you collect your luggage, clear customs and exit the secured area. Your driver will be holding a sign with the name that appears on your booking confirmation.

For hotel and condo/AirBnB pickups, our drivers will wait for you in front of the building’s main entrance with a sign to the name that appears on your booking confirmation. Please be outside a few minutes ahead as those areas are not made to park our vehicle. It only allows 30 seconds to pick-up passengers.

For beach resort pickups, please send us an email with your room number after you checked-in as the garita will ask for it in order to let our drivers through. Once our drivers enter the resort, they will wait for you in front of the main entrance with a sign to the name that appears on your booking confirmation.

For cruise ship pickups, whether you get tendered to shore or dock at the cruise terminal and get shuttled out, our drivers will know the location and will wait for you there with a sign to the name that appears on your booking confirmation.

If there is any peculiarity with your pickup location, we will communicate the details via email before your date.

Yes! He will not leave without you. As best as we can, we try to monitor all flights and make sure that your driver is there when you arrive.

Please notify us ASAP. We will do our best to schedule a new driver for the time your rescheduled flight arrives (subject to availability) and based on our normal cancellation policy.

Tracking flights arriving earlier is much more difficult as fight trackers usually update the arrival time after the flight has landed. On rare occasions that your flight would arrive more than 30 minutes ahead of it’s scheduled time and you can’t find your driver, please wait as he is most certainly on his way. You can also contact us via WhatsApp for immediate assistance.

The road conditions are good in general, unless you go out of the beaten tracks. Traffic however, is generally very heavy, especially during the morning and afternoon rush hours. It can often take over 2h to drive just a few kilometers. We will do our best to organise your tour in such a way to avoid as much as traffic as possible, but you must understand that sometimes it is simply impossible and this is out of our control.

Credit cards are widely accepted in Panama City. However, the further you get out of an urban area, the less likely that credit cards will be accepted.

The majority of stores and restaurants do accept credit cards, however, smaller stores and restaurants might only accept cash. In more secluded areas, even if a merchant has a credit card POS, sometimes the network is not stable and the payment won’t go through.

Before you leave, we suggest contacting your bank to let them know that you will be traveling to Panama. This will avoid unnecessary freezes of your credit cards. Also check with your credit card company to see if there are additional charges for international transactions and ATM fees.

It’s also a good idea to have some cash (in small denominations) with you as backup.

In general, Panama is very safe. Like in any big cities of the world, there are some areas to avoid for tourists and our staff will never take you to an unsafe place.

Yes, Panama is no different from any other North American country; therefore tipping is a common courtesy.

We have many microclimates in Panama, but generally speaking, the rainy season is from May to December while the dry season is from January to April.