Panama has coasts on two oceans: the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea. These coasts, although different, are both suited for all sorts of activities with the different beaches and islands found in them. World famous beautiful beaches and islands will make your visit unforgettable!

Caribbean Sea: On the Caribbean coast, the beaches on the provinces of Colon, San Blas and Bocas del Toro and their neighboring islands, are small to mid-sized and all of them have coral reefs nearby, they are often near other waterways and most have been formed by coral buildup. These are the best beaches to do some scuba diving in.

Pacific Ocean: On this coast you'll find a series of beaches which are easily accessible from the Panamerican Road. Many water sports including windsurfing, surfing and swimming are practiced here.

Panama City, the first spanish city on the american Pacific, was founded in 1519 by Pedradiras Davila, in an area that was part of an ethnic coastal village dedicated to fishing. Throughout Panama there are traces of its colonial past, pirates hunting for treasures in the Caribbean and different architectural tendencies that influenced the region. To learn more about Panama's World Heritage Sites, please click here.

Considered one of the Eight Wonders of the World, the Panama Canal is one of the most fascinating places in the world, where human genius and skill join to link two oceans and bring the world closer together.

The Panama Canal has a length of approximately 80 kilometers between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the Canal yearly, thanks to the work of approximately 9,000 workers, working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, offering transit service to ships of all nations.

The Canal uses a locks system that act as water elevators raising the ships from sea-level (Atlantic or Pacific) to 26 meters above sea-level (Gatún Lake). Each set of locks carries the name of the town where it was built: Gatún (on the Atlantic side), Pedro Miguel and Miraflores (on the Pacific). The narrowest part of the Canal is Gaillard Cut and it stretches from the Pedro Miguel Locks to the southern tip of Gatún Lake in Gamboa. This stretch is approximately 13.7 kilometers long.

Take a mini cruise through the Canal and then check out the Visitor Center in Miraflores, the ideal place to see the Canal operating. This installation, recently open to the public, has large balconies from which visitors can see the locks open and close as the ships begin or end their transit. Four exhibition rooms, organized by themes, are the main feature of the Visitor Center.

Exhibitions are dedicated to Canal history, the importance of water as a source of life, the Canal operation and its place in worldwide trading.