WE ASKED 5 TRAVEL PROS FOR THE BEST UNDERRATED COUNTRY—AND THEY ALL PICKED THE SAME PLACE

Travelers can enjoy unique experiences like visiting remote islands, meeting Indigenous communities, and exploring coffee farms at this destination.

Central America is home to plenty of destinations worthy of a vacation. We're looking at you, Belize, with your reefs and ruins, and Costa Rica with your endless surf. But, according to the travel experts we spoke to, there's a country sitting right between those two juggernauts that deserves its time in the limelight: Panama. And their reasons had almost nothing to do with the canal. 

Again, almost nothing.

"The Panama Canal transit alone is one of those bucket list experiences that genuinely lives up to the hype," Patrick Hill, a cruise specialist with more than a decade of experience booking international travel, shared. "Going through the locks and seeing how it all works up close is something you don't really get anywhere else."

But Hill is quick to point out that the canal is really just the starting point. "What makes Panama interesting overall is the contrast. You've got the modern skyline, then historic areas like Casco Viejo, and then within a short distance, you can be in the rainforest or on quiet beaches. It's a lot more diverse than people expect."

That contrast, the travel pros said, is key. Panama City alone contains two completely different cities within it, and Aubrey Jackson, a senior luxury travel advisor at Bespoke Bookings Co., has spent years building itineraries around how to best experience both. 

"Panama City has two completely different personalities that I love pairing together," she said. "The W Hotel in Panama City is where I book clients who want a more sleek, modern skyline stay. Then just a short drive away, Casco Viejo—the UNESCO-listed old town—is where I send my clients who want to feel the soul of Panama City." 

In the old town, Jackson books clients at Hotel La Compania, a 17th-century former Jesuit monastery restored into a luxury boutique hotel. For American travelers specifically, Jackson pointed out that the logistics while traveling around Panama are unusually easy to navigate. Panama runs on the U.S. dollar, English is widely spoken in tourist areas, and flights from most major U.S. cities are both short and direct.

Chris Atkins, CEO of Central America Fishing and a 20-year veteran of booking trips throughout the region, noted that, while the cities are fantastic here, so too is getting out in nature to see the spectacular wildlife, including the animals living off the coast. 

"The marine life is second to none, which is why Panama has been a leading sport fishing destination since the 1960s," Atkins said. And on the Caribbean coast, the San Blas Islands (all 365 of them), travelers can meet with the Indigenous Guna people living there to add just the right touch of cultural learning to their getaway. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the islands also offer postcard-perfect seclusion that really does feel off the grid. 

But, for those who want luxury alongside their remoteness, Bocas del Toro delivers. Jackson said she regularly puts clients at Nayara Bocas del Toro, a Balinese-inspired overwater resort on a private island. "My clients arrive expecting something nice, and they leave comparing it to the Maldives," she said.

Dominique Callimanopulos, founder of Elevate Destinations, sums up the appeal rather succinctly: "In just a few days, you can go from its vibrant, cosmopolitan capital to remote islands with wildlife-rich rainforests. In my opinion, it's one of the most rewarding, compact itineraries in the Americas."

And, as a travel pro myself, I'll add my own reason to visit: The coffee. I visited Panama for Travel + Leisure specifically to try out its coffee trail, which brings travelers to some of the country's most revered coffee farms to sip and savor their creations. And every last drop is worth planning an entire trip around.

"All types of travelers, from families to nature lovers and adventurers, are welcomed to explore the coffee farms that are located in three main regions of the Chiriquí Highlands," Promtur Panama, the official destination marketing organization for Panama, shared in a statement at the time of my visit. For Panamanian coffee farmer Michael Janson, the only important part is that you try it and love it. As he shared, "Every time I take someone here, and they sip the coffee and say 'wow,' it's like putting a million dollars in my pocket." 

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2026-05-18T16:33:01Z