Panama · PTY
Flights to Panama City
The airport half the Americas connects through, attached to a city worth stopping in
Most people who pass through Panama City never leave the airport. Tocumen is the most connected hub in Latin America, built around transfers between North and South America, and the majority of its passengers are on their way somewhere else.
That is a missed opportunity, because the hub carrier allows a stopover of up to fifteen days at no extra airfare. The city has a glass-tower skyline next to a restored colonial quarter, a canal you can watch ships transit, and rainforest with howler monkeys half an hour from downtown.
Getting to Panama City
Airports
Tocumen International (PTY) is around 24 km from the centre. Terminals 1 and 2 are joined airside by a pedestrian connector, which is why connections here can be tighter than at most international airports.
Flight time
Roughly 3h 15m non-stop from Miami, about 5h 30m from New York, near 4h from Houston and around 6h 30m from Los Angeles.
Into the city
Twenty-five to forty minutes by taxi. A metro station on a Line 2 spur serves the airport; reaching downtown means changing to Line 1 and takes about an hour, for a fare of well under a dollar.
When to go
Demand rather than price is described here on purpose. Any fare we show you comes from a live search on your own dates, so a fixed figure on this page would be out of date before you read it.
Dry season
Mid-December to April
The reliable window on the Pacific side, which includes Panama City. Sunny and hot, with lower humidity than the rest of the year, and the busiest period.
Green season
May to November
Heavy afternoon downpours rather than continuous rain, with clear mornings most days. The rainforest is at its best and prices are lower. October and November are the wettest.
Different on the Caribbean side
All year
Bocas del Toro and the Caribbean coast do not follow the Pacific pattern and can be wet when Panama City is dry. Check each coast separately if both are on the itinerary.
Good to know
- Currency
- US dollar (with local balboa coins)
- Airport to city
- 25–40 minutes by taxi, about an hour by metro
- Stopover allowance
- Up to 15 days on the hub carrier, no extra airfare
- Language
- Spanish; English common in business and tourism
- Time zone
- Eastern Time, no daylight saving
- Power
- Type A and B plugs, 120V — same as the United States
Entry requirements change and we are not an immigration authority. Always confirm the current rules for your nationality with the relevant government before you book or travel.
Worth sorting before you fly
Use the stopover if you are connecting anyway
The hub airline lets you break the journey in Panama for up to fifteen days without additional airfare, booked through the multi-city or stopover option rather than as two tickets. It is effectively a free extra destination.
A short layover is not enough to leave the airport
The round trip into the city is about ninety minutes of travel plus re-screening on return. Below roughly six hours, stay airside.
The rainforest is genuinely close
Soberanía National Park and the Panama Canal watershed are half an hour from downtown. Seeing toucans and howler monkeys before lunch and being back in the city for the afternoon is a realistic plan rather than a marketing line.
The dollar is used everywhere
Panama uses the US dollar in practice, with local coins circulating alongside it. There is no exchange step for travellers from the United States.
Other destinations
FAQ
Panama City — common questions
Airports, timing, and when it is worth talking to an agent.
What is the Panama stopover programme?
The airline based at Tocumen allows a stop in Panama of up to fifteen days on an itinerary that would otherwise just connect there, at no additional airfare. It must be booked as a stopover through the multi-city option rather than as separate tickets.
Can I leave the airport during a Panama layover?
If you have the right to enter Panama and enough time. The city is twenty-five to forty minutes by taxi or about an hour by metro. Below roughly six hours the round trip plus re-screening leaves no time for anything.
When is the best time to visit Panama City?
Mid-December to April is the dry season on the Pacific side and the most reliable window. May to November brings heavy afternoon rain with clear mornings, lower prices and a greener landscape.
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