Panama City in 2 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
Panama City in 2 days: the tight, budget version
Two days is enough to cover the city core properly if you don’t waste the first afternoon deciding where to eat: Casco Viejo and Miraflores Locks on day one, Panama Viejo, Ancon Hill and Amador on day two. There’s no room for a day trip out, and that’s fine; Gamboa and Isla Taboga belong on the 4-day or 5-day versions instead. Expect $65-110 per person a day outside your room.
Book these before you go:
- Miraflores Visitor Center ticket : buying ahead skips the ticket-counter line on the Pacific side’s busiest viewing afternoons.
- Your Casco Viejo or Marbella room : dry-season weekends fill fast; the resort-style boutique rooms go first.
| Day | Focus | Rough spend (per person) |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Casco Viejo walk, Mercado de Mariscos lunch, Miraflores Locks | $50-70 |
| Day 2 | Ancon Hill, Panama Viejo, Amador Causeway, Cinta Costera | $15-40 |
Money basics first. Panama runs on the US dollar. The balboa is pegged 1:1 and only exists as coins, so there’s no exchange rate to work out and nothing to change at a currency desk. Tap water is safe to drink, so don’t budget for bottled water. From Tocumen airport, skip the taxi desk ($30-40) and walk to the rideshare pickup zone for an Uber instead ($15-25); it’s a five-minute walk from Arrivals and it’s the better deal every time.
Where to sleep. Casco Viejo puts you inside everything below but costs the most: budget hostels around $15-25 a night, boutique rooms from $80-100 and up. Staying in El Cangrejo or Marbella instead saves a few dollars a night and a short Uber ride.
Getting around. Metro Line 1 costs $0.35 a ride, Line 2 is $0.50, a transfer between them is $0.85, and the rechargeable card is $2. Casco Viejo itself is walkable end to end. Everywhere else, it’s Uber.
Day 1: Casco Viejo and the Canal
- Morning: Walk Casco Viejo, the restored colonial old town (free), taking in Plaza de Francia and the Metropolitan Cathedral.
- Lunch: Mercado de Mariscos for ceviche made to order, $3-6, a fraction of what the sit-down places charge for the same fish.
- Afternoon: Miraflores Locks , the Pacific-side visitor center, $17-20 for a non-resident adult. It’s the canal visit worth paying for; skip Agua Clara on the Atlantic side unless you’re already headed to Colon.
- Evening: Dinner in Casco Viejo, $10-20 for a solid casual meal or $30 and up for a rooftop table with a view of the bay.
Day 1 running total: roughly $50-70 per person outside your room, less if you keep dinner casual.
Day 2: Ruins, hills and the waterfront
- Morning: Ancon Hill, a free 30-45 minute hike with the best panoramic view in the city and a real chance of spotting toucans or sloths. It’s overlooked compared to the paid sights, which is exactly the point.
- Late morning: Panama Viejo, a separate site from Casco Viejo, roughly $15. These are the ruins of the original 1519 city, burned by Henry Morgan’s raid in 1671, which is why the Spanish rebuilt on the Casco Viejo peninsula afterward. Don’t confuse the two; they’re several kilometers apart and tell different halves of the same story.
- Afternoon: Amador Causeway and the Biomuseo . The Gehry-designed building itself costs around $20 to enter, but the grounds and Level One are free, so you can walk the causeway and get the outside view without paying if funds are tight.
- Evening: Cinta Costera for a free sunset walk along the water, then dinner back in Casco Viejo.
Day 2 running total: roughly $15-40 per person depending on whether you go inside Biomuseo.
Is two days enough to see Panama City?
For the core, yes: Casco Viejo, one canal lock and Panama Viejo fit comfortably without rushing. What you skip is any day trip out, Gamboa’s rainforest, Isla Taboga’s beaches or Portobelo’s fort ruins, all of which need a dedicated day of their own on a longer plan.
A few things worth knowing. El Chorrillo borders Casco Viejo and is not somewhere to wander into after dark by accident; take a $3-6 Uber rather than walking between neighborhoods at night. Petty theft in crowded areas is the usual risk, nothing more dramatic than that. Dry season (mid-December to April) is the easier weather; wet season (May-November) means short, heavy afternoon rain rather than washed-out days.
If you only remember one number from this whole plan, make it this: the Uber from the airport saves you $15-20 over the taxi desk, and that’s most of a day’s food budget you just kept.