One of the first cities in the Americas, in the 1500s, Panama City was launching point for the exploration and conquest of Peru and a transit point for gold and silver headed back to Spain. In 1671 Henry Morgan with a band of 1400 men attacked and looted the city, and the ruins of the old city still remain at Panama la Vieja. Its prosperity returned when the discovery of gold in California in 1848 led to an upsurge in travellers crossing the isthmus en route to the west coast of North America. Not surprisingly, construction of the Panama Canal was a spur to major growth of the city and has led to it being today one of the most modern and multi-cultural cities in Latin America, yet retaining remnants of its fascinating history.
Destination
Small group tours and tailor-made holidays in Panama City
- Small group tours
- Tailor-made
- Small group tours
Standard
Offer available
Group Tour
Solos
Panama & Costa Rica Experience: Solo Travellers Tour
14 days 12 nights
From £3,685
Small in size yet possessing a superb biodiversity, Costa Rica and Panama offer a wide variety of eco-systems including volcanoes, rainforest and cloud forest, lakes, lagoons and beaches
Standard
Group Tour
General Interest
Splendours of Central America
19 days 17 nights
From £3,995
Take in the natural and cultural wonders of Central America, from tropical landscapes and volcanoes to colonial heritage and superb Mayan cities
- Tailor-made
Latest from Compass
The fascinating history of Panama's Guna Yala
Lying adjacent to the notoriously dangerous swampland of the Darien Gap are the idyllic Guna Yala islands.
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