Panama | Panama City, Embera Village & Taboga Island

Travel outside of New York City, near or far, at least once a month this year. That’s the pact Anjani and I made while sitting across from each other at Lil’ Frankies eating our favorite spaghetti limone. We were only a few weeks away from our January Oregon trip at the time, and decided that February was the month to go international. After a lot of thought, perusing on Google flights, and PTO considerations, we landed on Panama City, Panama from February 25th to March 2nd.

Panama City had never really been on my radar, but the flights were affordable and it offered an escape from the cold New York winter. With three weeks to prepare, we booked an Airbnb in Casco Viejo, Panama’s ‘Old Town’, and drafted a rough itinerary before hopping on the plane and heading off. 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH

Our flight to Panama City ended up getting delayed for about 4 hours, but we were able to make it before sunset on Friday evening. We headed straight to the Airbnb, quickly changed, and walked over to Capital Bistro Panama for dinner. It was a beautiful restaurant right on the water with a great view of the Downtown Panama City skyline…but, the best part was hands-down the ceviche. The ceviche at this restaurant quickly sent us into a spiral of ordering ceviche from almost every establishment we dined with, every single day. 

After dinner we walked around and explored Casco Viejo, only to stumble into a lively little outdoor bar. The DJ was playing an eclectic mix of Spanish and American music and the ‘dance floor’ was full of both locals and tourists — ranging from us two girls from New York, to an organized tour group, to a bachelor party from Mexico City. One Corona and a few tequila shots later, we headed back to the Airbnb to get some rest before our most jam-packed day. 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH 

We woke up around 7 AM on Saturday morning to get ready to meet Sorhay, a tour guide that was recommended to us by my college roommate’s mom (who is from Panama!). We had booked a private tour to visit the Embera Village, and were instructed to come prepared with swimsuits on, a towel, change of clothes, sunscreen, and a smile. 

Sorhay picked us up from our Airbnb around 830 AM and we headed towards the village. She talked us through some of Panama City’s history along the way, gave suggestions for the rest of our trip, and stopped at a street-stand to pick up a classic Panamanian breakfast for us to try — deep fried corn tortillas with cooked pig ear. After about an hour, we arrived at the edge of the Chagres River. We met some locals from the Embera Village who helped us unload our car (we had a cooler with fruit, water, etc.) and board the canoe.

We took the canoe across and down the river for about 15 minutes to reach the Embera Village. Upon arrival, we walked up a set of stairs and were greeted by the Embera playing drums and dancing to welcome us. Sorhay took us on a tour of the village, walking us through the homes of each hierarchal class and showing us the school that the Embera children attend. Some of the children ended up joining us for the tour and were so excited to show us their local fruit and flowers — we even saw one climb up a tree to pick a passion fruit for us. We ended the tour at the main village hut, where we watched the Embera perform a few traditional dances (we even joined in for one!) and also received the Panamanian version of henna tattoos. We snacked on some fruit while waiting for the tattoos to dry, then re-boarded the canoe to head over to our hiking spot. 

About 10 of the Embera children decided that they wanted to join us for the hike, which only made it that much more fun. Sorhay explained to us how the last week of February is the end of their summer, so all the children were looking forward to hiking one last time before going back to school. The children were so sweet, holding our hands and guiding us through the rocky terrain of the hike. I’m incredibly impressed with how strong the soles of their feet are, because mine were hurting a bit even through my water shoes! The hike ended at a beautiful waterfall where we were able to cool off, swim, and watch the children cliff dive. We spent about an hour at the waterfall and then headed back to the village where the Embera women were preparing our lunch — fresh fried tilapia and plantains…so delicious! We made our way back to Panama City after lunch, making one last stop to try Panamanian chocolate before being dropped off at our Airbnb. 

We wasted no time after getting back to our Airbnb, quickly changing and heading to a local store to grab some crackers, cheese and a bottle of wine to enjoy on the rooftop of our Airbnb for sunset. After relaxing for a few hours, we headed to Fonda Lo Que Hay for dinner — a highly recommended Panamanian restaurant. We tried Tortillas de Maíz Ahumado rellenas de queso y Salsa de Tomate Ahumado, Yuca Tostada con Carpaccio de Atún y Ceviche de Cebollas, Guachito de Filete de Res Entomatado, and finished off with El Raspao for dessert. Everything was SO tasty (we especially loved the tuna dish!). Stuffed, sunburnt, and tired, we headed straight back to the Airbnb to get some rest after dinner. 

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH 

We scheduled Sunday as a ‘chill day’ in our itinerary with the intention of staying in Panama City and exploring. We started our day a bit later in the morning with breakfast at a coffee shop before heading to a bike rental shop to pick up our bikes for the day. The bikes were only $15 for the entire day — we rode them across Cinta Costera (a lovely bridge built over the water) and through the streets of Casco Viejo. We then spent the rest of the afternoon taking a dip in the Airbnb’s pool and tanning on the rooftop while reading books and enjoying smoothies from the cafe nextdoor. 

As the sun set, we rode our bikes back to the shop to return them and then walked through the ‘Chinatown’ area to get to our dinner at La Pulperia. We ordered Fried Ceviche, Peruvian Ceviche and Octopus along with cocktails — Passionfruit Sangria for me and Lychee Martini for Anjani. Following dinner, we walked over to the Plaza Herrera area to sit outside and enjoy some chilled red wine and chocolate cake before heading back to the Airbnb to get some rest before our 10 AM ferry ride to Taboga Island the next day. 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH 

We woke up bright and early on Monday morning to get ready for our beach day at Taboga Island. We took a (very cheap!) Uber ride from our Airbnb along Amador Causeway to get to the ferry’s departure spot. We were able to secure a seat at the front, outdoor area of the boat — the ride was only about 25 minutes. So smooth and easy!

Upon arriving at the island, we walked over to the beach area to grab some chairs where we tanned and enjoyed the ocean for a few hours. We collected seashells and ordered piña coladas in pineapples, sipping away before it started to rain. The rain soon came on quite strong and we found ourselves running towards a restaurant for some dry safety. We ended up at an outdoor covered spot called Mundi’s, where we ordered Almejitas al Ajillo, Filete de Corvina Apanado and Cazuela de Mariscos. 

By the time we were finished with lunch, the rain had slowed down so we were able to walk around the island and explore. We walked to the opposite side of the island from the beach we were previously at, weaving in and out of the neighborhoods and eventually ending up at a beautiful boutique hotel overlooking the water. We ordered some coffee here to enjoy before heading back to the ferry to return to the mainland. 

Upon returning, we took a cab to our dinner reservation at Tacos La Neta. The restaurant was actually on the rooftop of a hostel, which made for a very young and lively environment. There was a DJ on the rooftop playing music and plenty of tables and bar seating around. We ordered Queso Fundido and Cochinita Pibil, Birria de Res and Panza Agridulce Tacos. We were so full and exhausted after dinner, so we returned to the Airbnb to relax before our final full day. 

TUESDAY, MARCH 1ST 

We decided to make our last day in Panama another ‘chill day’ dedicated to visiting the Panama Canal and the downtown city center. We really enjoyed learning more facts about the Panama Canal and luckily we were able to catch a few boats going through. Our visit to the Panama Canal, however, ended up filling most of our day — so, we headed straight to the city center in the late afternoon. 

We stopped by a restaurant called Blame Kiki as soon as we arrived in the city to grab some drinks and snacks to hold us over until our later dinner reservation. After getting some fuel in our body, we unlocked Bird scooters and explored the city that way. Luckily we’re both pretty good with directions, so we were able to adventure deep into the downtown area and easily find our way back to Azahar Panama for dinner. 

Although we had a reservation at Azahar Panama, we were taken by surprise when actually showing up to the restaurant. The address was easy to locate, but the restaurant itself was hidden…which we later learned was because it was designed to be speak-easy style. We ended up having to go through a ‘hotel spa’ and ‘flower shop’ to get to the restaurant. It was by far the most ‘fancy’ meal during our stay, since we figured we should end the trip with a bang. We ordered quite a few dishes — Ceviche de Corvina, Pork Belly, Crispy Avocado con Langosta, Papas con Parfume de Trufas and two different types of Sushi Rolls. A meal like this would have cost upwards of $150-200 in New York City (and that’s being generous), so it’s safe to say we were shocked when the total bill came out to $65 USD + tip. We ended the evening finishing off our wine bottle from earlier in the week while packing our bags for the airport the next day.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Anjani and I have been friends for about 15 years now, and I’ll always remember this as the first time we traveled together internationally. I’m so excited to see what adventures come next for us — Seoul is on our list…but we’ll see when we get there. Living in the same city with one of my longest friends (only 7 blocks away nonetheless) is such a treat. Here’s to many more years of friendship, travel, and growing together!