About Panama
Playa Bonita is a strip of Pacific beach resorts tucked just outside Panama City, close enough that the skyline is visible across the bay and the Panama Canal's locks are a short ride away. It's a beach stay with a capital city and one of the world's great engineering landmarks both within easy reach, which is unusual for a resort address.
A Luxury Escape Offers package here means a resort room at Playa Bonita, arranged before you fly down, with the beach, pool and grounds handled and food and extras on you unless the property you land at happens to be all-inclusive. Panama City's museums, old town and the Canal locks are then a taxi ride away rather than a flight.
Panama runs on the US dollar alongside its own balboa, English is widely spoken in tourist areas and at the resorts, and the country sits south of the Caribbean hurricane belt, so the storm-season worry that shapes a lot of Caribbean trip planning mostly doesn't apply to a Panama vacation.
Photography shows the destination, not your specific accommodations. Your resort or condo is confirmed at booking.
What to do
Highlights of Panama
Miraflores Locks
The Miraflores Locks let visitors watch container ships and cruise liners rise and fall through the Panama Canal from an observation deck, with a museum explaining how the century-old system still works, about 40 minutes from Playa Bonita.
Casco Viejo
Casco Viejo, Panama City's colonial old quarter, is a grid of restored plazas, balconied buildings and rooftop bars on a peninsula jutting into the bay, with the modern skyline visible across the water as a backdrop.
Amador Causeway
The Amador Causeway links four small islands to the mainland with a paved waterfront path for walking or biking, restaurants on the water, and one of the better vantage points for photographing the Panama City skyline.
Soberanía National Park
Soberanía National Park protects rainforest along the Canal's edge and is one of the most accessible birding sites in the Americas, with toucans, sloths and howler monkeys regularly seen from the old Pipeline Road trail.
Ancón Hill
Ancón Hill, a forested rise inside Panama City itself, has a short paved trail to a summit lookout over the Canal, the skyline and the Bridge of the Americas, popular at sunrise before the heat sets in.
Your base
Where you'll stay
Playa Bonita
Playa Bonita is the only base on this coast: Pacific-facing resorts about 20 minutes from downtown Panama City, built for travelers who want a beach stay with the capital, the Canal and an airport all a short ride away.
Good to know
Questions
Panama FAQs
How far is Playa Bonita from Panama City?
Playa Bonita sits about 20 minutes by taxi or rideshare from downtown Panama City and Casco Viejo, and roughly 30 to 40 minutes from the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal, close enough for an easy half-day trip without changing hotels.
Can I visit the Panama Canal from Playa Bonita?
Yes. The Miraflores Locks visitor center, with its observation deck and museum, is a short ride from Playa Bonita and one of the most popular day trips for travelers staying on that coast. Check ship transit schedules in advance if watching a passage is the goal.
What does the Luxury Escape Offers package include?
The package covers your resort accommodations at Playa Bonita, plus applicable taxes and resort fees; airfare is included only on fly-away packages. Food and drinks are generally on you unless your specific property is all-inclusive, so confirm exactly what's covered with a specialist on the phone before booking.
Do I need to bring Panamanian currency?
Not really. Panama uses the US dollar as its everyday currency alongside its own balboa, which is pegged to the dollar one to one, so US cash and cards work throughout Panama City and at Playa Bonita's resorts without any exchange needed.
Is Panama safe, and what's the rainy season like?
Panama City and the Playa Bonita resort area are well-traveled and generally safe with normal city precautions. The rainy season runs roughly May through November with heavy afternoon downpours rather than all-day rain, and Panama sits south of the hurricane belt, so storm risk stays low.
Keep looking
More all-inclusive international escapes
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