I love long layovers and used them to get a taste of Lisbon, Iceland, and now Panama (and unsuccessfully Guangzhou, China). Copa Airlines offers a stopover program, so I decided to check it out.
I flew from Medellín to Montevideo with an intentional 12-hour stopover in Panama City to get out and see the country, so you don't have to.
Is this enough time to properly see Panama? No. But it can be fun to pop in and see a new place.
Without doing much research, I jumped out into Panama City with two goals: see the Panama Canal and visit Casco Viejo, the old part of the city.
Though Panama City has a decent transit system, I opted to take Ubers around in order to save on time and potential hiccups in making my way to and from the airport.
This video is dedicated to the incredibly friendly driver I met, Juan Carlos, who I wholeheartedly recommend if you find yourself in Panama. His contact information is:
WhatsApp: +507 6204-0656
Email: diazjuan.c22@gmail.com
Instagram: @RoadTrip_Panama
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:39 Arrival to Panama
3:18 Panama Canal
7:00 Casco Viejo (Old City)
12:24 Condensed History of Panama
14:20 Dinner
15:44 Return to Airport