Panama City, Bocas del Toro, and the San Blas Islands are three places that attract backpackers to Panama.
Panama City is the capital, with an old town and the Panama Canal. Bocas del Toro is a chain of islands on the country's Caribbean side. The San Blas Islands are small islands off the same coast, governed by the Guna, the Indigenous people who live there.
Getting between them requires more planning than visiting the places. Flights to Bocas leave from a different airport than your arrival airport, and the road to San Blas opens and closes according to hours set by the Guna.
Panama City: What To Sort Before You Land
Tocumen International Airport, Copa Airlines' hub, has flights to and from North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Before you board, check what Panama requires upon arrival.
U.S. citizens need three things to enter, according to the U.S. Department of State's travel page for Panama:
- An onward ticket. You need a return or onward ticket to enter, and the State Department says this rule is strictly enforced. This matters if you fly in one way and plan to leave by land.
- Proof of funds. You need at least $500 in cash or as proof of equivalent funds.
- A valid passport. It must be valid for three months beyond your arrival date. No visa is needed for stays under 180 days.
Rules differ by passport, so check the official page for yours before you fly.
Money is simpler. Panama uses the U.S. dollar alongside its own currency, the balboa. Cards work at most places in the city, but rural areas and some resorts accept cash only, which matters once you head to the islands.
The State Department also notes ATMs are often out of order and can charge high fees, so withdraw what you need while in the capital.
If you want to stay somewhere walkable, consider Casco Viejo, the old town. The city moved here in 1673 after a pirate attack on the first settlement about 5 miles (7.5 km) away. UNESCO added the district to its World Heritage List in 1997.
Bocas del Toro: Your Flight Leaves From a Second Airport
Flights to Bocas del Toro don't leave from Tocumen. Domestic flights use Marcos A. Gelabert Airport, usually called Albrook Airport, a separate airport within Panama City.
Because they are two different airports, you can't treat the Bocas flight as a connection. If you land at Tocumen and want to fly the same day, you'll need a taxi between them and enough time to check in again at Albrook.
Check flights from Panama City to Bocas Town for your dates before deciding how many nights to spend in the capital. The day you leave the city determines the dates for everything after.
The flight lands at the airport on Isla Colón, the chain's main island and the one Bocas Town sits on, so there's no boat between the runway and the town. Water taxis take you from there to the other islands and beaches.
If you'd rather go by road, the Go Backpacking two-week Panama itinerary covers the overland trip by bus and boat, including travel times so you can compare them with flying.
San Blas: The Guna Decide How You Get In
The San Blas Islands are part of Gunayala, also written Guna Yala, a self-governing Indigenous region on Panama's Caribbean coast. It's run by the Guna General Congress and the 49 communities that make it up, and the land is owned by the people who live there.
That shapes the visit. In a 2018 study, Mònica Martínez Mauri, who has done fieldwork in the region for over 15 years, describes the Congress charging visitors to enter at different rates for Panamanians, Guna, and foreign tourists. The study also found many islands charge a small beach fee. Bring cash for both.
Most trips go by road from Panama City, then by boat to the islands. That road comes with rules of its own:
- There's a checkpoint. The road passes a Guna control post at Nusagandi, at kilometer 19, about 12 miles from El Llano, where the road starts.
- It runs on set hours. Since December 1, 2025, the post has opened to incoming traffic at 6 a.m. under a schedule the Guna General Congress announced as temporary, and departures from the ports back to Panama City still leave at 5 p.m.
- It can close. The Congress closes the road after landslides and before storms. Fallen trees have closed it more than once in November and December 2025.
Drivers who carry passengers into the region need a permit from the Congress, and trips from Panama City are usually sold with the drive and the boat included. Ask whoever sells you one whether the entry fee is included too.
Go Backpacking's account of three days on Kuanidup Island in San Blas shows what a typical package covers and what you still have to pay on the islands.
How To Put the Three Stops Together
Book the flights first, since the rest of the route depends on their dates. Before booking your flight into Panama, make sure you have a return ticket. Then pick the day you'll leave the capital for Bocas and book that flight from Albrook.
Leave San Blas for the end. Go there from Panama City and return from there. If Panama City is also your flight home, the road's fixed hours are easier to plan around when nothing else depends on them.
Take out cash before leaving for Bocas and again before leaving for San Blas. Both trips take you outside the city where you can't count on paying by card.
This article was published in partnership with RatePunk.
