🇵🇦Panama City for Digital Nomads
Panama · Skyline & dollars
Photo: Jacqueline Brandwayn / Unsplash
Costs
—
community-reported
Wifi
62Mbps
Mild months
0of 12
Safety
1.6
Overall
4.8
Panama City at a glance
Panama City is the Americas logistics answer: a banking-and-flights hub that shares its working day with the US East Coast, prices in dollars, and connects the hemisphere from one airport. The measured internet backs the skyline — a median download of 62.4 Mbps5 (source: M-Lab — median download speed) is deep enough for any job — and there is a dedicated remote-worker visa rather than a workaround12 (source: Government sources — Short Stay Remote Worker visa, checked 2026-07-29).
The trade is climate and texture. No month of the year lands in the comfortable felt-temperature band2 (source: Nomadbase comfort index — months in the mild comfort band, from 2025 data) and it rains on 280 days1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — 2025), so life runs air-conditioned, and the city itself is more useful than lovable — towers, malls and traffic, with the charm concentrated in Casco Viejo. The national homicide rate of 12.78 per 100k7 (source: UNODC — national rate per 100,000) is a country figure that daily life in the better districts does not resemble, but it is the honest context for keeping city habits.
It suits you if your clients are American, you want a hub you can leave from in any direction, and air conditioning does not depress you. It suits you less if you came for walkable charm or an outdoor life — this is a base you operate from, not a postcard you live in.
What works
- Median download of 62.4 Mbps5 (source: M-Lab — median download speed) and dollar pricing
- US passports get 180 visa-free days, EU passports 9012 (source: Government sources — checked 2026-07-29), plus a dedicated remote-worker visa
- The hemisphere's hub airport and full US Eastern overlap
- Casco Viejo gives the city one genuinely walkable, beautiful quarter
Worth knowing
- No month lands in the mild comfort band2 (source: Nomadbase comfort index — from 2025 data) — hot and humid year-round
- Rain on 280 days a year1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — 2025) — the wet season is most of the year
- National homicide rate of 12.78 per 100k7 (source: UNODC — national rate per 100,000) — district judgement is part of daily life
- Outside Casco, the city is car-scaled towers and malls
Living in Panama City
Neighbourhoods, finding a place and getting around — the practical layer the data tiles below cannot carry. Working, money, people and time off live in their own sections.
Where to stay
The short version: charm or convenience, pick one. Casco Viejo is the restored colonial quarter — beautiful, walkable, touristy, and the only district that feels like a place rather than a plan. El Cangrejo is the practical middle: dense, central, full of restaurants and mid-rise flats, long the default for foreigners on a budget. San Francisco and Coco del Mar are the modern residential towers near the coastal parks, and Punta Pacifica is the glass end of the market. The metro spine matters more than the map suggests — pick a building near a station and the traffic stops being your problem.
Finding a place
Furnished tower apartments are the standard product, found through local brokers, Encuentra24 and the building-by-building Facebook groups. Supply is deep and landlords are used to foreigners, so the process is quick by regional standards; negotiate on longer commitments, because listed prices assume short stays. Check the air conditioning and the water pressure on the actual floor before signing — buildings age faster than their lobbies.
Getting around
The metro is the pride of the city and the only one in Central America — clean, cheap, air-conditioned and immune to the traffic that eats every road at rush hour. Ride apps cover everything the metro does not; nobody who can avoid it drives at peak times. Walking is realistic only within districts: the city was built for cars, and the heat votes with the drivers.
Cost of living
#61of 101 destinations
What a month actually costs, as a range — housing you can verify, everyday spending modelled from national price levels, and every line labelled with which it is.
Money
The currency is the US dollar, which removes a whole layer of friction — no exchange maths, no conversion fees on dollar income. Cards work in the malls and towers; small fondas and taxis want cash. ATMs are everywhere and standard bank fees apply.
- Coworking deskadd-on, not in the range
- €111/mo8 (source: Published prices — MyOffice Panama, hot desk monthly (128.39 USD incl. ITBMS tax) — the only operator publishing a monthly rate, checked 2026-08-05)
Spot prices: eSIM, 30 days €31.508 (source: Published prices — Airalo, 10 GB / 30 days, checked 2026-08-05)
We cannot put a month together for Panama City yet: we have no housing price for it — neither a coliving room nor a place of your own. Everyday spending we can model from national price levels, but housing is the part that actually varies by city, and a month without it would say more about our data than about Panama City. The prices we do hold are above.
Live in Panama City? Members report what they pay — and the medians appear right here.
Join the waitlistWork
#44of 103 destinations
62Mbps
median download, measured in the city
Connection, desks and whether a day here meets yours — the three things that decide whether you can do your job from this city.
Working from here
The coworking scene is thinner than the skyline implies, concentrated around the banking district, but home internet is the real workhorse here — fibre is standard in the towers and fast enough that most people simply work from the flat or the building's business lounge. Cafés work for meetings more than for full days.
Internet
Coliving & coworking
CoworkingClick the map to open it — 15 places mapped in Panama City altogether.
- Coworking spaces mapped
- 54 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Cafés mapped
- 1704 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
Time zones
Workday overlap with Europe
2 of 8 h1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — Nomadbase overlap of a 09:00-17:00 day against Open-Meteo time zone (America/Panama), standard time; Europe reference UTC+1)
Workday overlap with US East
8 of 8 h1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — Nomadbase overlap of a 09:00-17:00 day against Open-Meteo time zone (America/Panama), standard time; US East reference UTC-5)
Overlap is the hours a 09:00–17:00 day here meets a 09:00–17:00 day there, at standard time.
Climate & air
#77of 103 destinations
0of 12
mild months — felt temperature between 18 and 27 °C
Month by month, not as one annual average. 18–27 °C is the range where being outside feels good — we count how much of the year sits inside it.
Seasons
There are two seasons and both are hot. The dry season, roughly January to April, is the city at its best — breezy, brighter, the months to schedule visitors and beach weekends. The rest of the year is the green season: humid, with an afternoon downpour you could nearly set a watch by. The rain rarely costs a full day, but it decides the shape of every one — outdoor plans happen in the morning, and everything else happens under air conditioning.
Tap a month for details.
feels-like monthly mean · ticks = rain days1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — 2025 monthly means (felt temperature, rain-day share, cloud share))
comfortable & clearcomfortable, wetter/greyeroutside the 18–27 °C band
- Dry days a year
- 85 days/year1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — 2025 full-year count)
- Cloud cover, annual mean
- 79%1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — 2025 annual average)
Air quality — PM2.5, recent median
10.5 µg/m³ · poor3 (source: Copernicus CAMS — modelled 30-day mean)
The climate score is built from that band plus rain and cloud cover, month by month — so a hot summer costs a destination points rather than earning them.
Safety & everyday life
#75of 103 destinations
7.6/ 10
women's safety — Georgetown WPS index, country level
Country-level indicators — a practical baseline for the whole country, not the vibe of one neighbourhood. Community reports refine this picture over time.
Staying safe
The rules here are district rules. The neighbourhoods you would live in are calm and heavily trafficked at all hours, Casco Viejo is policed for tourism, and the areas flanking it — El Chorrillo, Curundú — are not for wandering, which every local will tell you unprompted. Ride rather than walk after dark outside the core, keep the phone out of sight at kerbs, and the city is undramatic in practice.
The other hazards are environmental: tropical sun, sudden downpours that flood underpasses, and pavements that end without warning.
- Homicide rate, national
- 13 per 100k7 (source: UNODC — intentional homicide rate for Panama, 2024)
- Hospitals & clinics
- ≈ 9.7 / 100k4 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Pharmacies
- ≈ 10 / 100k4 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
Safety for women
7.6 / 10
Georgetown WPS index — inclusion, justice and security, country level
150 mapped within 15 km
158 mapped within 15 km
Getting by in English
3.7 / 10
low English proficiency
LGBTQ+ legal position · Panama10 (source: Nomadbase country research — checked 2026-07-29)
5.0 / 10- Same-sex relationshipsLegal
- Partnership recognitionNone
- Employment protectionsNo
- Legal gender changePossible
The Supreme Court closed the marriage route in March 2023 and the National Assembly blocked adding sexual orientation to the anti-discrimination law in 2024; gender marker change exists but only after surgery. Tolerated but legally thin.
Tap water · Panama10 (source: Nomadbase country research — checked 2026-07-29)
7.0 / 10Unsafe
Bottled advised
Mostly fine
Drink the tap
Generally safe, local caveats
Tap water is safe in virtually all cities and towns including Panama City — the notable exceptions are Bocas del Toro and remote comarcas, where bottled is required.
Getting there & staying
#39of 103 destinations
90 days
visa-free on an EU passport · set in Your setup
How you get in, how long you may stay, and what it takes to run a business from here.
Visa & entry requirements
Digital nomad visa
Short Stay Visa for Remote Workers12 (source: Government sources — Dedicated remote-work visa: Short Stay Visa for Remote Workers (checked 2026-07-29))
EU passports get 90 days visa-free, US and Canadian passports 180 — the split dates from September 2021 and still stands. The Short Stay Remote Worker visa (Executive Decree 198 of 2021) buys 9+9 months at $36,000/year foreign income, filed in-country through a Panamanian lawyer.12 (source: Government sources — checked against the official source on July 29, 2026)
How long you can stay
EU, UK and Australian passports get 90 days visa-free; US and Canadian passports get 180 — set by the September 2021 immigration resolutions and unchanged since. On entry you can be asked for an onward ticket and proof of solvency of $1,000 (or a credit card). There is no routine tourist extension for visa-free entries: when the days run out, you leave. Overstays are fined, and rapid-turnaround border runs draw increasing questions.
Staying longer as a remote worker
The Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto (Executive Decree 198, May 2021) requires foreign-source income of at least $36,000/year — a fixed figure in the decree, roughly $3,000/month, not index-linked. For family groups a higher combined amount applies; $48,000/year is the widely reported figure, but the official PROPANAMA page lists only the individual threshold, so confirm before filing. You must show a foreign employment contract or self-employment with effects entirely outside Panama, plus international health insurance.
The visa runs 9 months and renews once for another 9 — 18 months maximum, and it deliberately does not convert into residency. Fee: $250 to the National Migration Service. You apply at the SNM’s Special Procedures window after entering Panama, through a legal representative — factor in $1,000+ in lawyer fees and apostilled, translated documents. If Panama is a long-term candidate, look at the Friendly Nations or Qualified Investor permits instead; the remote worker visa is a bridge, not a path.
Visa rules change frequently. This information was last checked on July 29, 2026. It is not legal advice — confirm before booking with the official source.
Flights
The nearest major airport — Tocumen International Airport — is 17 km6 (source: OurAirports — nearest major airport is Tocumen International Airport) out, with 3 airports6 (source: OurAirports — major and regional airports with scheduled service) within 100 km overall.
Company & banking
Setting up a company
8.0 / 10
partly remote · 100% foreign ownership · no real minimum capital · ~7 days to register
Opening an account
3.8 / 10
personal account difficult · business account difficult · branch visit needed · limited EMI cover
Setting up, in practice
A Panamanian S.A. is formed through a lawyer and filed at the Registro Público in about a week, with unrestricted foreign ownership and territorial taxation — the reason Panama is on every list.Banking, in practice
The reason to be careful. Post-FATF compliance made Panamanian banks slow and selective even for locally registered companies; references, source-of-funds files and months of waiting are normal. Do not assume the account follows the company.Not legal or tax advice. Company law, fees and bank policy change without notice — confirm with the registry linked on each figure and with a local adviser before you act on any of it.
Going out
#78of 103 destinations
14.9/ 100
bars, pubs and clubs per 100 restaurants & cafés
Evenings, eating and what there is to do once the laptop closes.
Time off
The canal's Miraflores locks are the compulsory visit and better than they sound. Beyond the city, the Pacific beaches at Coronado and San Carlos are the standard weekend, Taboga and the Pearl Islands are a ferry away, and the mountain town of El Valle de Antón sits in a volcanic crater two hours out — the local answer to the heat. With the hub airport, Colombia, Costa Rica and the Caribbean are all weekend range.
CafésBars & pubsClick the map to open it — 15 places mapped in Panama City altogether.
- Bars, pubs and clubs
- 1574 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Restaurants
- 8864 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Vegan-friendly places
- 54 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Vegetarian-friendly places
- 64 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
mapped within 15 km
mapped within 15 km — the base the shares below are measured against
0.5 per 100 restaurants & cafés
0.6 per 100 restaurants & cafés
Being active
#47of 103 destinations
23spots
gyms and yoga studios mapped in town
Gyms, studios and board sports in town, and the nature within reach — counted where counting is honest, shown as a badge where the map is too sparse to rank.
Staying active
Early morning is the sports season of every day: the Cinta Costera and the Amador Causeway fill with runners and cyclists before the heat arrives, and both routes run along the water with the skyline as a backdrop. Tower gyms and the fitness chains carry the midday hours, and the Metropolitan Natural Park — rainforest inside the city limits — gives trail walkers monkeys before breakfast.
In town
GymsYogaClick the map to open it — 15 places mapped in Panama City altogether.
- Gyms
- 204 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Yoga studios
- 34 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
mapped within 15 km — ≈ 1.3 / 100k
mapped within 15 km — ≈ 0.2 / 100k
Nature within reach
Community
Who is here, who is coming, and who has been. Counts only — never names.
Meeting people
The expat and remote-work scene concentrates in Casco's cafés and the banking district's gyms and bars, and it skews corporate — bankers, canal-economy consultants, regional managers — more than backpacker-nomad. English goes far, Spanish goes further, and the standing tip is to say yes to the first weekend beach invitation, because that is where the social circles actually form.
here now
arriving soon
have been
Nobody from the community has checked into Panama City yet. If you are here, you would be the first.
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Places like Panama City
The closest matches in the catalogue, measured across cost, climate, connection and safety — with the reason each one is here. Compare any of them against this page in one click.
How the scores work
Every score runs 0–10 and is comparative — where Panama City lands across the catalogue, not a grade in isolation.
Cost
4.4#61 of 101 · 1 of 1 measured
What a month costs, from the cheapest way of living here to the dearest we can price.
No housing price is verified here yet, so the score rests on the country price level (50, US = 100). Across the catalogue that ranks 61st of 101.
Public data 4.4
Work
5.4#44 of 103 · 2 of 2 measured
Connection, desks and whether the working day here meets yours.
Typical downloads run around 62 Mbps and 5 coworking spaces are mapped in town. Across the catalogue that ranks 44th of 103.
Public data 7.9
Public data 2.9
Climate
5.2#77 of 103 · 1 of 1 measured
How the year feels outside, air quality included.
0 of the 12 months sit in the comfortable 18–27 °C range and air pollution is moderate (10.5 µg/m³ PM2.5, modelled — no station reports here). Across the catalogue that ranks 77th of 103.
Public data 5.2
Safety
4.2#75 of 103 · 6 of 6 measured
The country-level baseline: violence, healthcare, water, and who the law protects.
The national homicide rate is elevated (12.78 per 100k), women's safety scores 7.6/10 on the Georgetown index, 150 clinics and hospitals are mapped within reach and tap water is drinkable in most places. Across the catalogue that ranks 75th of 103.
Public data 1.6
Public data 3.1
Public data 7.6
Public data 7.0
Public data 5.0
Public data 3.7
Getting there
6.4#39 of 103 · 3 of 3 measured
Getting in, staying legally, and flying out again.
An EU passport gets 90 visa-free days, there is a dedicated nomad visa and the nearest major airport is 17 km from town. Across the catalogue that ranks 39th of 103.
Public data 8.0
Public data 4.4
Public data 5.9
Going out
3.6#78 of 103 · 4 of 4 measured
Evenings, eating and what there is to do when the laptop closes.
For every 100 restaurants and cafés there are 15 bars, pubs or clubs and 1 vegan-friendly places per 100 restaurants and cafés. Across the catalogue that ranks 78th of 103.
Public data 4.4
Public data 5.6
Public data 1.1
Public data 0.3
Being active
5.4#47 of 103 · 2 of 2 measured
Gyms and studios, board sports, and the nature within reach.
20 gyms and 3 yoga studios are mapped in town, 11 nature reserves and 12 hiking routes lie within 30 km and it sits on the coast. Across the catalogue that ranks 47th of 103.
Public data 3.3
Public data 7.4
Community
Nothing measured here yet
Members on the ground, chapters and events — our own data, not a proxy.
Not measured here yet: community.
Read the sectionSources
Every figure on this page carries the source it came from and the date it was measured. Where no source exists, the field is left empty rather than estimated.
- 1
Copernicus ERA5Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information
ECMWF’s ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Temperatures, rainfall, cloud cover and wind are daily values for the last complete calendar year.
- 2
Our own reading of ERA5 data, not a measurement: a month-by-month score for how comfortable the felt temperature is, damped for rain and cloud. The formula is published.
- 3
Copernicus CAMS© ECMWF/Copernicus
Modelled air quality, used only where no ground station exists. A 40km model cell, not a measurement on the corner — the page says which of the two you are looking at.
- 4
OpenStreetMapODbL
Community-mapped places: coworking, cafés, gyms and diet options within 15km. Counts are a floor rather than a census — coverage depends on local mappers.
- 5
M-LabCC BY-SA 4.0
Internet speed from real speed tests run by people in the city, aggregated over a seven-day window.
- 6
OurAirportsPublic domain
Airport locations and types. Distances are to the nearest major airport with scheduled service.
- 7
UNODCFree with attribution
Intentional homicide rate from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime — a national figure, because no free source measures crime per city. The year next to the number is the year the country last reported.
- 8
Prices read by hand from the operator’s or authority’s own published price list — a transit tariff, a coworking rate card, an eSIM store — on the date shown. Checked quarterly; the linked page is the source.
- 9
World BankCC BY 4.0
Price level of household consumption at market exchange rates (US = 100) — a national figure that anchors the cost score where no city-level source exists yet. It measures what arriving with foreign income feels like, which is why a weak currency lowers it.
- 10
Hand-maintained country tables for the LGBTQ+ legal position and tap-water safety, compiled from advocacy databases (ILGA World, Human Dignity Trust), national authorities and government travel advice, and scored with a published rubric. Country-level by nature — city reality can differ, which is what the practical note is for.
- 11
WikidataCC0
Structural facts taken from the place’s Wikidata entity — resident population, which mirrors a national census figure, and elevation above sea level. The year is the one Wikidata records for that figure; where the entity was the wrong scale for the place we describe, the number has been replaced by a hand-sourced one from the statistics office instead.
- 12
Government sources
Visa and entry rules come from the responsible authority for each country, linked in the visa section and re-checked by hand on the date shown.
Frequently asked questions
How fast is the internet in Panama City?
Median download speed is about 62.4 Mbps. Source: M-Lab median of 855 tests within 50 km, last 7 days.
What visa do I need for Panama City?
EU passports get 90 days visa-free, US and Canadian passports 180 — the split dates from September 2021 and still stands. The Short Stay Remote Worker visa (Executive Decree 198 of 2021) buys 9+9 months at $36,000/year foreign income, filed in-country through a Panamanian lawyer. Last checked 2026-07-29. Always confirm with the official source before booking.
What is the weather like in Panama City?
Winters average 26.9 °C and summers 27 °C. 0 of 12 months average a comfortable 18–27 °C (felt temperature). Source: Copernicus ERA5, 2025 annual average.
Can I work European or US hours from Panama City?
A 09:00–17:00 working day in Panama City overlaps 2 hours with Central European time and 8 hours with US Eastern time, at standard time.
Are there coworking spaces in Panama City?
5 coworking spaces are mapped in Panama City, plus 170 cafés to work from. Source: OpenStreetMap, within 15km. Counts are a floor, not a census — coverage depends on local mappers.
How do you get to Panama City?
The nearest major airport is about 17 km away. 3 airports with scheduled service within 100 km. Source: OurAirports — nearest major airport is Tocumen International Airport.
Where Panama City ranks
Last reviewed August 5, 2026. Every figure carries its own measurement date; hover a footnote for the source, or see the list above.