What would Panama be without the canal? As a little-known tourist destination, Panama offers lots of natural beauty and few crowds, it’s also gifted it’s name to clothing brands and sun hats to cement it’s reputation.

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Panama has hundreds of tiny islands to explore, many with beautiful beaches that you’ll have all to yourself. The diving and snorkeling sites are almost endless, with all the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Caribbean Sea to enjoy. The forests and mountains offer some great hiking and horseback riding as well as some of the best bird-watching around. Many tourists take a boat through the narrow waters of the Panama Canal, taking in crocodiles and virgin jungle alongside huge shipping freights; but the more adventurous may white water raft long the Chiriquí and Chiriquí Viejo rivers.

Although Panama has a generally sunny, tropical climate year-round, the dry season from mid-December to mid-April is the best time to go, particularly if you want to do any hiking.

Bird-watching: believe it or not, there are 950 registered species of bird in Panama. The Gamboa Tropical Rainforest Reserve and the Soberania National Park are considered some of the best places in the world to watch birds.

Boat trips: whether you have an eye for the large vessels on the Panama Canal or the crocodiles and rare birds in the jungle on the shore, boat trips are one of the main tourist attractions in Panama. Go on, you can’t go home without saying you’ve ‘done the canal trip’.

Diving and snorkeling: there are plenty of reefs to explore among the hundreds of islands off the coast of Panama.

White water rafting: the Chiriquí and Chiriquí Viejo rivers are the most popular sites for this dry-season only activity.

Surfing: yikes! Waves on some of Panama’s beaches can reach nearly five meters, this certainly isn’t mentioned in any of the surfing magazines.

Horseback riding: is an excellent way to explore the wild landscape of Panama, particularly in Chiriquí Province and around the Baru volcano.

Although there are flights into Panama City’s international airport from all over Central and North America, Miami tends to be the main hub for most airlines. Cars can be rented in Panama City and in David, and there are a large number of internal flights. The roads are generally good and there are buses, albeit mostly slow ones, between most cities. A lot of travel in Panama is done by boat. It is recommended that you hire your own boat to avoid overcrowded and uncomfortable long rides.

Panama is chlorinated and safe to drink; however, outside the main cities, it’s advisable to stick to bottled water. Dengue fever and to a lesser extent, malaria, are a risk in Panama. Take preventative measure so that you don’t become the mosquitoes dinner. If you do require medical attention, modern and reliable private healthcare is available, although you may have some trouble finding it in the more rural and remote areas.

Although Panama as a whole is fairly safe, there are some areas to be avoided. The El Chorrillo and Curundu suburbs of Panama City are dangerous. The city of Colon has a bad reputation and Darien Province near the border with Colombia frequently reports of incidents involving smugglers, bandits and Colombian paramilitary groups.