Panama is the great divide between the American north and the Latin south, and while most will probably instantly think of the great canal that is its namesake, this country has a whole lot more to offer, from sparkling Caribbean seas to thick rainforest jungles, not to mention some of the most forward-thinking metropolitan centres in all of the Americas.
Adventure tourism has taken root here full throttle in recent years, and today adrenaline-seekers and nature-lovers alike come in search of the unchartered hiking routes of the central Gamboa, lonely surf swells of the Pacific Azuero Peninsula and the formidable ruins of pirate-fighting ports on the cliffs of the western seaboard. That is, among the wealth of other outdoorsy gems that any Panama tourist guide will have hidden up their sleeve.
What’s more, hailed as the ‘Miami of the south’ for its chic modernism and high numbers of English-speaking expats and professionals, Panama’s capital is a thriving hodgepodge of cosmopolitanism that offers both high-class city travel and rough-around-the-edges Latin charm (check out the post-colonial cantinas at Casco Viejo for this!).