Panama City in 7 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)

Panama City in 7 days: the whole circuit, plus San Blas

Seven days on a budget covers the city core, both real day trips out of the capital, and still leaves two full days for San Blas, the one place on this list that actually needs them. This extends the 6-day plan by trading the slow day for an overnight island trip; want the rest day instead, use that version. Expect $15-100 per person a day in the city, more for the San Blas overnight.

Book these before you go:

Baseline numbers. The dollar is the currency; the balboa is a pegged coin only, no exchange rate to think about and no banknotes to look for. Tap water is safe. At Tocumen, skip the $30-40 taxi desk and walk to the rideshare zone for a $15-25 Uber instead. Metro rides run $0.35-0.50, card $2. Casco Viejo: hostels $15-25, boutique $80+. Marbella/El Cangrejo a few dollars cheaper.

Day 1: Casco Viejo and the Canal

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

Spend: ~$50-70.

Day 2: Panama Viejo, Ancon Hill, Amador

  • Morning: Ancon Hill, free, 30-45 minutes, best view in the city.
  • Late morning: Panama Viejo, ~$15, the real 1519 ruins burned in 1671, a separate site from Casco Viejo several kilometers away, not another 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 $8-15.

Spend: $60-90.

Day 4: Isla Taboga

  • Morning: ferry from Amador, ~30 min, $20-30 round trip, confirm the schedule that morning since sailings are limited.
  • Midday/lunch: village and beaches, $10-15.
  • Afternoon: back by mid-afternoon.

Spend: $35-55.

Day 5: Portobelo and Agua Clara

  • Full day: 1.5-2 hours to Portobelo’s colonial fort ruins on the Caribbean coast, with Agua Clara’s Neopanamax locks folded in on the same route since its ~$10 admission only earns its keep paired with a trip out this way.
  • Lunch: seafood near Portobelo, $8-15.
  • Evening: easy dinner back in the city.

Spend: $70-100.

Day 6: San Blas, the outbound day

This is the extension that needs the room a seven-day trip provides, and it’s not something to compress into a single day. Expect a 2 to 2.5 hour drive plus a boat transfer, with a predawn departure.

  • Leave the city before sunrise, transfer by boat to the islands, spend the day on genuinely empty beaches and overnight on one of the islands, typically $100-180 per person including basic lodging and meals through a local operator.

Spend: $100-180, the one splurge on this whole itinerary.

Day 7: San Blas, the return

  • A slower morning on the islands, then boat and drive back to the city by afternoon or early evening.

This is also the one place on the whole trip where you’re paying for the experience rather than hunting a bargain: San Blas tours are run by the Guna community and prices are largely fixed, so there isn’t much room to haggle the way you can at a market stall in Casco Viejo.

Is San Blas worth cutting something else for?

Yes, if two overnight islands days fit your schedule and budget at all. Nothing else on this itinerary looks like it: empty beaches, a fixed-price Guna-run economy, and a full disconnect from the city. If you’re tight on time and have to cut something, cut Agua Clara before you cut San Blas; the locks are a smaller version of something you already saw at Miraflores, and the islands are nothing like anywhere else on this trip.

Worth keeping straight throughout. El Chorrillo borders Casco Viejo and isn’t somewhere to end up after dark by accident; Uber between neighborhoods at night rather than walk. Dry season (mid-December to April) is easiest weather-wise; wet season (May-November) brings short, heavy afternoon rain rather than lost days.

Book the San Blas overnight before you land in Panama City, not once you’re already there. Guna-run capacity is limited and dry-season weekends sell out days ahead, which is a bad time to discover your whole last two days have no plan.