I’ve been lucky to visit Panama twice, and wow, did it ever change between 2013 and 2018!

The country is very diverse: Panama City has more skyscrapers than most cities in the world, you can hike in the cool mountains, and swim, scuba and snorkel on the countries both coasts — the Caribbean (e.g. Bocas del Toro) and the Pacific (e.g.  Rio Hato, south of Panama City, and on Las Perlas, the Pearl Islands). Stories so far:

• For Forbes, Panama reopens: Here’s how to do it right.
• Travel to Panama City, Panama, for USA Today — an overview of what to see and do in the capital.
• Famous monuments in Panama, for USA Today, about Panama’s history and how it values independence.
• For Bon Voyage Travel, Educational adventures disguised as fun: including Panama, plus Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, Cambodia and two US cities. 
• Including Panama’s City’s The Bristol: Five not to be missed hotels for food lovers, for Boutique Travel (plus Cape Town’s Table Bay Hotel and — yes really — even a Mexican all-inclusive resort, Hotel Xcaret Mexico).

• To help make sure your experience arriving in and (especially) departing from Tocumen airport is as smooth as it can be, here’s my Panama’s Tocumen Airport: Need to Know.

• Taking the bus in Panama City is not as simple as it seems, particularly if, like me, your Spanish is very basic.  How to take the bus in Panama City if you don’t speak Spanish (the amount of traffic I get on this post shows me that many travellers still find the “system” difficult!).

• What it’s like to travel solo in Panama, a “week in the life” interview I did for The Professional Hobo, which includes tips on packing, the nomadic life, solo travel and, of course, Panama.
• Hiking in Boquete, a guest post from Jason Godfrey.
• A post from half-way through my five weeks in Panama: Belly health on the road (for World Travel Buzz).
• Warm places for a vacation in March and April, featuring Panama, as well as Mexico’s coasts including the Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta and La Paz; Belize; and the Caribbean islands of Grenada, Turks and Caicos, and a cruise, perhaps with Princess Cruises.
• The best places to go for vacation in October, including golfing in Panama at the Santa Maria in Panama City or at the Buenaventura south of the city; the fall harvest in Madison and Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin; college and culinary city Ann Arbor, Michigan;  under and on the water in La Paz, Mexico, and the South Pacific paradise of Tahiti.

Hotel features:

• Review of The Santa Maria, A Luxury Collection Hotel & Golf Resort (Panama City).
• Review of The Buenaventura Hotel & Golf Resort (Rio Hato).
• The Bristol Panama (Panama City).

My second trip to Panama was a hosted press trip but, as always, the opinions I write are my own and no one from the PR firm or businesses that hosted me ever review or approve anything I write.

Casco Viejo