We’ve lived in Costa Rica for nearly five years, but had never visited our neighbor to the south, Panama. Grant went to Panama as a kid but didn’t have many memories other than the canal and seeing a dead guy on the side of the road! At first, I wasn’t super pumped on Panama. After being pregnant for most of the year I was ready to get out and explore! I had places like Thailand on the brain, but we also had a new baby who was only three months old! It’s like I have the opposite of nesting, I crave postpartum adventure.
Grant talked me into nearby Panama. It seemed easy enough and we had to be out of our condo anyways as it was being remodeled. After I started doing a little research and discovered revitalized and trendy Casco Viejo and saw photos of the San Blas Islands, I was excited!
So our new family of four (myself, Grant, Marin at 2 years, and Hobie at 3 months) drove to San Jose and took a quick COPA flight to Panama!
Exploring Panama City with Babies
Panama City is rad. We especially loved Casco Viejo, but we enjoyed many parts of the city. The Panama Canal is there, hello! Since we live in the country in Guanacaste and San Jose isn’t known for being a metropolis, we always love the hustle and bustle of a city. Even going to the mall is a fun adventure we only get to do a few times a year! There were some great play spaces for kids too. Check out all of our recs for Panama City here.
Falling in love with Casco Viejo
The cobblestone, the culture, the coffee. My God, we loved Casco Viejo. Why this gem of a neighborhood doesn’t get more hype is beyond me. We absolutely loved it and are already planning our next visit. Check out our guide to Casco Viejo here.
Chartering a Sailboat in the San Blas Islands
We love sailing. From our beloved Gypsy Sol sailboat we owned for years in San Diego to chartering boats in the BVI, we love to get on the water. We had an amazing time in San Blas, even though it got off to a super sketchy start! Read all about our sailing adventures here.
Having a travel fail in Santa Catalina
I pride myself on being a good travel planner but this was the ultimate fail. I read one post about Santa Catalina and decided we needed to go surfing and possibly scuba diving in this cool little town. Did I forget I had a three month old?! As a nursing mother it is nearly impossible to get a few hours away from your baby so I’m not sure why I thought this was a good plan. I think I was being idealistic.
I booked the Hotel Santa Catalina and we drove 6 hours to get there. Upon arrival it was grim. The weather was super rainy with no signs of stopping and the “town” was way smaller than anticipated. We were also coming from a very spacious Airbnb in Casco Viejo to one tiny hotel room. We tried to make it work (we even took a little boat ride to a restaurant) but after one night we bailed and drove back! The hotel was beyond accommodating and actually didn’t charge us for the remaining nights.
We felt horrible about making the boys (especially toddler Marin) do a long drive back to back so our “minimal screen time / no tablet” family broke out the laptop and we even stopped at McDonalds on the way back (gasp!). The only good thing I got out of Santa Catalina was a good memoir book from a local author I bought at the restaurant we ate dinner at. Perhaps Santa Catalina is great when it’s sunny and you don’t have a newborn in tow, but I still wasn’t sold on its potential. Apparently Playa Venao was more of the vibe we were going for (according to our Airbnb host in Casco Viejo). I didn’t find out this recommendation until it was too late. Next time!
Why we didn’t go to Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro looks amazing and is super close to Costa Rica, but it’s far from Panama City and we didn’t want to do any more flights. We definitely plan on going here, but will likely do so next time we are in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica.
Panama doesn’t get as much love as its Central American neighbors, but it’s definitely worth a visit!
Pleased with Panama,
-Ray