Panama City in 5 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)

Panama City in 5 days: add the Caribbean side

Five days is where a budget trip can afford to cross the isthmus and see the Atlantic coast too, on top of everything the shorter plans cover. This builds on the 4-day itinerary ; if you’d rather add a slow rest day instead of a fifth travel day, see the 6-day version . Expect $15-100 per person a day depending on which day it is.

Book these before you go:

Baseline numbers. US dollar is the currency; the balboa is a pegged coin only, no exchange rate involved. Tap water is safe. Skip the $30-40 taxi desk at Tocumen for the $15-25 Uber from the rideshare zone (it’s a signposted walk across from the terminal, rideshare can’t pick up at the arrivals curb itself). Metro rides run $0.35-0.50, card is $2, and it covers Metrobus too. Casco Viejo rooms: hostels $15-25, boutique $80+, and it’s the base that keeps you walking distance from Day 1 and Day 2. Marbella/El Cangrejo runs a few dollars cheaper and puts you closer to where locals eat, at the cost of a short Uber into the old town each morning.

With a rental car or a hired driver for the two long-distance days (Gamboa and Portobelo), you’ll spend more than the bus alternative but save enough time to actually enjoy the destination instead of half of it being transit. Buses to both exist and run under $10 each way, but they add an hour or more each direction.

Day 1: Casco Viejo and the Canal

  • Morning: Casco Viejo’s colonial core, free, Plaza de Francia, the Metropolitan Cathedral.
  • Lunch: Mercado de Mariscos ceviche, $3-6.
  • Afternoon: Miraflores Locks , $17-20, the near-city canal visit worth paying for.
  • Evening: dinner in Casco Viejo, $10-20 casual, $30+ rooftop.

Spend: ~$50-70.

Day 2: Panama Viejo, Ancon Hill, Amador

  • Morning: Ancon Hill, free, 30-45 minutes, the best view in the city.
  • Late morning: Panama Viejo, ~$15, the actual 1519 ruins burned in 1671. A separate site from Casco Viejo several kilometers away, not an alternate name for it.
  • Afternoon: Amador Causeway, Biomuseo grounds free, inside ~$20.
  • Evening: Cinta Costera sunset, free.

Spend: $15-40.

Day 3: Gamboa and Soberania National Park

  • Full day: rainforest 45-60 minutes out, Aerial Tram $25-30, Monkey Island boat $30-40, lunch near Gamboa $8-15.

Spend: $60-90.

Day 4: Isla Taboga

  • Morning: ferry from Amador, ~30 minutes, $20-30 round trip, limited schedule so confirm the day of.
  • Midday: colonial village, beaches.
  • Lunch: beachfront, $10-15.
  • Afternoon: back by mid-afternoon.

Spend: $35-55.

Day 5: Portobelo (and Agua Clara, if you’re headed that way anyway)

  • Full day: 1.5-2 hours to Portobelo for the colonial fort ruins on the Caribbean coast, a genuinely different landscape from the Pacific side. Since Agua Clara, the Atlantic-side canal locks, is on the same route and only really earns its ~$10 admission when paired with a Colon-area trip, this is the day to add it: a quick stop on the way out or back, not a special trip of its own.
  • Lunch: simple seafood near Portobelo, $8-15.
  • Evening: it’s a long day on the road both ways, so keep dinner easy back in the city, $10-20.

Spend: $70-100 including transport, more if you hire a driver for the day rather than a rental.

Is Agua Clara worth adding to the Portobelo day?

Only if you’re already making the drive. On its own it’s a smaller, further-out version of Miraflores with no fort ruins next door; paired with Portobelo, the detour costs little extra time and rounds out the Caribbean-side picture. Skipping it entirely and spending the saved time in Portobelo itself is a fair trade.

A few things to keep straight. El Chorrillo, next to Casco Viejo, isn’t a place to wander into after dark; take the short Uber instead of walking between neighborhoods at night. Dry season (mid-December to April) is the easier weather window; wet season (May-November) means short, heavy afternoon rain rather than lost days, and it comes with fewer crowds and softer hotel rates.

My honest opinion on day 5: Agua Clara alone isn’t worth the drive. It’s the same idea as Miraflores with a smaller visitor center, further away, and no fort ruins next door. Pair it with Portobelo or skip it and use the day for a second pass through Casco Viejo instead.