December 22, 2015 | Leave a comment With it’s strong Latino culture, temperate nature, and throng of backpackers, Panama will always be special to me for the wild yet safe stay I had as a solo female traveler. It’s a great destination for beginners to learn and for the more seasoned to wander beyond the beaten path. BUDGET BREAKDOWN*: Duration- 10 days Airfare- 230 Taxi- 30 Lodging- 88 Food- 40 Bus-72.85 Boat- 19 Toilet- 1.35 Yoga- 6 Surf-45 Tip- 5 Chocolate for Mom- 3.5 Attractions- 9.5 Total- 549.9USD TRANSPORTATION: See post here. WHAT TO DO: Panama City It’s startling to see how developed and modern the capital is, like a chunk of skyline was carved out of Hong Kong or Dubai and planted in the middle of Latin America. The impressive city offers both nature parks and history. Casco Viejo is the old town with refurbished buildings and cute shops to lure in the tourists. At night, plenty of police watch over the neighborhood. Panama Viejo refers to the ruins leftover from Captain Morgan’s 1671 raid on the other side of the city. If you have a low tolerance for ruins and entry fees like me, I’d stick with exploring the Casco. My friends enjoyed taking photos and climbing things. The Panama Canal can be viewed from the Amador Causeway, a route great for strolls, runs, and biking connecting some small islands. To actually visit the canal, tourists like the 15USD Miraflores Locks, much further from the city center. The best times for viewing cargo ships are in the mornings and late afternoons. Above all, my favorite activity was dining at the Mercado de Mariscos. My ceviche was fresh and cheap with no unhealthy additives. The whole market had a great vibe as fishermen carved up big catches, and threw enormous blocks of ice to shred for the high demand of quality seafood. Bocas Del Toro Isla Colón Practical. Parties. Tourists swarm the developed center of the archipelagos, Bocas town. Away from the cheesy cafes and hotels, surfers like Playa Bluff, and starfish are found by Boca del Drago (a cave, La Gruta, sits at the halfway point on the road). The very popular Bocas Yoga sits on this island. Renting a bike is a great way to explore. I was sober my entire stay and yet I found Colón to be an ideal base for plenty of sleep and adventures. Isla Caranero Good for surfing. As someone who had never stepped on a board before, I was taught by Escuela del Mar on reef breaks. Home to Aqua Lounge, an aquatic playground and bar disguised as a hostel. Bring bug spray to ward off sand flies! Isla Bastimentos This relatively large island wins the title for best vibes; the night life is very local. I left a lot unexplored, including Red Frog Beach and Wizard Beach. Chiriquí Province Boquete An eye-pleasing mountain town to soak in cooler temperatures and explore waterfalls. The town is a little wealthier, as shown by the fountains and biblioteca, but is still full of street food and strawberries. Definitely stop by the free gardens of Mi JardÍn Es Su Jardín, a 15-minute stroll from town center. Hikers can join groups looking to tackle Volcán Baru, the peak of Panama, or Sendero Los Quetzales, a day hike that ends in Cerro Punta. Hostels like Mamallena have sign-ups and guided tours for these. I was lucky enough to watch a national holiday celebration take place in the lovely central square. Boquete is one of my favorites. Other Villages A low-cost collectivo that runs every 20 minutes connects, in order, Volcán, Bambito, Cerro Punta, and Guadalupe. Volcán is beautiful with Panama’s highest lake system a taxi ride away, and is larger in size with a Romero supermarket and hostels. Bambito has a trout farm; I’d wander through it if I had time. Cerro Punta is the stop for either taxiing to Las Nubes, the Panama entrance to La Amistad International Park, or to the trailhead for Sendero Los Quetzales, which ends downhill in Boquete. Aim for doing these hikes in the dry season, although I had fun in the rain. Guadalupe is where most of the strawberries are sold and is absolutely tantalizing, asking to be explored. Other Notable Destinations: El Valle, a village in a volcanic crater Santa Fe for nature without tourists Santa Catalina for surfing Malena, a remote fishing village no one knows about that apparently has baby turtles WHERE TO STAY: Hostel Heike, Bocas del Toro Luna’s Castle, Panama City, sister hostel to Heike Llano Lindo, Volcán Mamallena, Boquete (or Nomba for families) WHAT TO EAT: Ceviche Patacones Pescado Frito Strawberries (with cream, milkshakes, raw) from Chiriquí Granadia, a type of passionfruit Grill with coconut rice and beans in the Caribbean SAFETY: Panama is grouped with Nicaragua and Costa Rica as one of the safest destinations in the third world. I agree. I could trust most of the people I met. With that said, I never let down my guard. As always, the capital is sketchier than the rest. My biggest point would be to do hikes with a friend or a group, perhaps other hostel guests, not because of crime prevalence but because you could get lost on your own. *A note on my spending: This was pretty standard for my Latin America visits with more expensive bus rides. Budget travel isn’t better, more authentic, or even more fun than more expensive options. I’m simply suggesting if you prioritize having an international experience, it’s quite doable to take at least a single trip every year. I don’t use make-up, got a cheap haircut once in the last year, and cook my own meals. The airfare is the biggest thing to save for, and setting aside ten dollars a week will add up! I had frequent flier miles that made my flight to Panama free, and chose to pay to fly from my small local airport to the international airport. Had I driven or bussed five hours to the airport instead, my airfare would’ve only been the return flight, 106USD with Spirit Airlines. Minus airfare, my spending averaged to 32USD per day, cheaper than life in America. A Starbucks drink costs more than a day’s worth of my food when I wasn’t even eating the free breakfast pancakes at my hostels. A Chipotle meal costs a night’s stay. Staying longer in less places cuts costs too. Find something you like on workaway.info and airfare would be your only expenditure. Say you didn’t surf, buy chocolate, or take a yoga class, and instead dined out a couple nights. Your daily average would be 28 dollars per day!