2.52/5
548 reviews
Photo by Darren Miller via Unsplash

Panama City

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fast

weather

cars

traffic

amenities

solid

internet

interesting

international

good

safe

american

expensive

staying

selina

bar

club

life

eating

Panama City is a well-developed urban center with solid infrastructure, fast and reliable internet, and consistent warm weather. It’s generally clean and provides amenities comparable to cities like Bangkok or Singapore, which makes it a practical option for digital nomads or long-term visitors with a daily routine. Public transport includes a solid metro system, though road traffic is chaotic and buses are slow. Ubers are affordable and widely used.

Safety is a strong point, with low crime compared to other Latin American hotspots. However, some neighborhoods are rough and less developed. The expat scene is lively, with a touristy crowd and plenty of social opportunities. Nightlife thrives on weekends, particularly in well-known areas like Casco Viejo. Food options are diverse, from good local seafood to various international cuisines.

That said, Panama City can feel limited in terms of activities beyond shopping, dining, nightlife, and light outdoor excursions. Those looking for extensive cultural or nature-based experiences might find it lacking or repetitive over time. The humid climate and brief rainy season showers may also be a drawback depending on the time of year. It's a solid base for work and daily life, but less ideal for adventure seekers or long-term tourists wanting varied activities.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Pros:
-Developed
-Lots of amenities
-Solid metro
-Nearby national parks
-Affordable Ubers
-Fast internet

Cons:
-Traffic
-Rainy season closes many of the outdoor attractions early
-High humidity
-Slow buses (the metro was great)
-Some rough neighborhoods

5 months ago

Panama City very interesting and slept on. Probably the most developed major city in Latin America with the strongest technology infrastructure which makes it very appealing for digital nomads. Also a lot of international business coming through here so there can definitely be good networking opportunities.

It’s also super safe compared to other South American hotspots like Medellin however it is significantly more expensive. I would say prices here are slightly less expensive than southern small-towns in the rural United States

The crowd does feel a bit more touristy than I would personally like but there are interesting people that you will meet here who are primarily from Europe.

The local seafood is good and there are a lot of great international options all over town.

Nightlife is strong on the weekends and if you’re specifically looking for that, I would recommend staying at the Selina in Casco Viejo since they have a rooftop sky bar and an underground club which are the most popular spots in town and are tough to enter if you’re not a Selina guest.

I do agree with the last comment that this city does seem like it can get boring fast if you’re staying for an extended vacation but if you’re spending most of your days living a normal daily life of work, self-care, exercise, basic social life, this is not a bad place to do it.

1 year ago

Panama City is a B+ place to live: solid weather, amenities, safety, and cleanliness... but, it feels much like an American city due to the skyscrapers, urban sprawl, and the limited activities. If you're not shopping, eating at a restaurant, bar hopping, or going to a reggaeton club until 3am, there's not a whole lot else to do.

The weather is remarkably consistent: everyday it will be 85F, it will be cloudy for a few hours including a 15-30 minute shower, and then it will be mostly sunny for the rest of the day. Wifi and cellular service is reliable (4G via GoogleFi or a local SIM card in most areas... buy from a convenience store for

3 years ago

Panama reminds me of the booming southeast asian capitals of bangkok, singapore, manila or kuala lumpur, filled with condos and malls. It is clean, the weather is warm but not humid. Internet speed is fast and reliable, all the conveniences of the city is available here. But aside from that, theres not much else to do here unless you enjoy the malls, eating out and going to the pubs. The only thing that you need to get used to is the roads do not have pedestrian lanes, although cars always prioritize pedestrians to cross first. But the cars here communicate in an orderly chaos. Frequently seeing cars beeping and almost crashing on each other on the crossroads. There are no traffic rules here unless there are traffic lights.

3 years ago

Use Uber transportation. I do not recommend to use bike because it is not safe. Traffic is a big problem, so be prepare ahead for your appointments and don’t get stock in the rush hours.

6 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm all year

✅ Very clean

✅ Well-developed infrastructure

✅ Good nightlife

✅ Warm now

✅ Good air quality today

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Easy to make friends

✅ High quality of education

✅ Good hospitals

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ LGBTQ+ friendly

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

❌ Traffic

❌ Limited activities

❌ High humidity

❌ Some rough neighborhoods

❌ Not very safe

❌ Not much to do

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ Difficult to do business

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

32°C / 90°F hot

31°C / 88°F hot

32°C / 90°F hot

33°C / 91°F hot

30°C / 86°F warm

33°C / 91°F hot

32°C / 90°F hot

Real (median)

28°C / 82°F
very warm

27°C / 80°F
warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

Humidity

sweaty
80%

sweaty
75%

sweaty
72%

sweaty
80%

sweaty
86%

sweaty
87%

sweaty
86%

sweaty
87%

sweaty
88%

sweaty
83%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

dry
25mm

dry
14mm

dry
18mm

rainy
91mm

rainy
233mm

rainy
283mm

rainy
323mm

rainy
277mm

rainy
267mm

rainy
261mm

rainy
250mm

rainy
113mm

Cloud

pockets
33%

pockets
30%

pockets
32%

pockets
38%

pockets
44%

pockets
41%

pockets
40%

pockets
37%

pockets
36%

pockets
37%

pockets
29%

Air quality

okay
57 US AQI

okay
91 US AQI

okay
91* US AQI

clean
33 US AQI

clean
47 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

Remote workers

1,029 people

1,477 people

1,500 people

892 people

1,244 people

1,185 people

783 people

618 people

855 people

1,262 people

1,029 people

1,255 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

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Help pick the best photos for Panama City and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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$1,076 / mo

9 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 36° 97° 30° 85° 🥵

✈️25h

$4,308 / mo

🌇 Also went here163 people

1,200 remote workers in Panama City now, of which 4+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.52/5 (Rank #408) 548 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍7 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Good
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $2,487 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 10Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 27°C81°F (feels 32°C90°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 86%
💨 Air quality (annual)	😐 Moderate: 91 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Bad
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Low: $1,140 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Okay
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Good
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Panama
🗓️ Average trip length	9 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	10 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌧 27°C 81°F + 🥵 Sweaty (86%) = feels 32°C 90°F
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 91 US AQI = 🚬 / day
🔌 Power	115V 115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 0 PAB in USD	USD 0.00
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	PAB 100 = USD 100
💻 Best coworking space	CascoStation
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Coworking PTY
☕️ Best coffee place	Juan Valdez
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍12% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	37,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$13,680 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 50% 👱‍♀️ 50%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 77% 👱‍♀️ 23%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
🏠 Apartment listings	Compreoalquile
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Panama
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Copa Airlines
🏥 Best hospital	Punta Pacifica

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$2,487 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,047 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$5,751 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,643 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$598 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,319 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,500 / month
🏠 Median home price	$238,000
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$28 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$43 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$341 / month
🍛 Dinner	$10
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$3
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$9,344 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$14 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$6 / trip