Panama

Panama is a narrow land bridge linking Central and South America, between the Pacific and the Caribbean. Panama City’s skyline rises above the bay, with a seafront promenade along the water. Casco Viejo (Casco Antiguo), a 17th-century quarter of colonial churches and balconied houses, shares UNESCO World Heritage status with the ruins of Panamá Viejo. At the Miraflores Locks, ships pass through the Panama Canal; Soberanía National Park’s rainforest, rich in birds, starts right by the city.

On Coclé’s Pacific coast, around Río Hato and the Buenaventura resort, wide beaches meet golf courses. Inland, El Valle de Antón sits in an old volcanic crater, with cooler air, gardens and waterfall trails. The Gulf of Chiriquí holds islands and coral reefs, including Coiba National Park, and from roughly July to October humpback whales are often seen from boats. On the Caribbean side, the Bocas del Toro archipelago offers mangroves, reefs and calm turquoise water around Bastimentos National Marine Park.

At the table: ceviche and seafood, sancocho (a hearty chicken soup) and patacones (fried green plantain); Geisha coffee grows in the highlands around Boquete, and sugar cane becomes rum. The climate is tropical: the Pacific dry season runs roughly December–April, the Caribbean coast stays wetter year-round, and every season works. Panama suits a city-and-islands trip, nature lovers, couples and families.