What is it Like Coming to Panama Now?

Last Updated on August 16, 2025 by Retire in Panama

Well, it’s early December, 2020 and lately emails are coming in and the phones are ringing, mostly with the same question. Should I come to visit Panama now? The problem is, we cannot answer that for you. Then there are those that just book a flight and arrive here without knowing what is going on. They may not realize they have to take a COVID test at the airport, mask wearing is mandatory everywhere outside of your residence, or hotel room, you have to be back home by 11 PM, and the bars and dance clubs are not open.

Maybe after reading this, you will have a better understanding about what it is like in Panama now, and can make an informed decision on coming now, or waiting.

Day to day life here is quite normal, I am finding. But I have accepted the fact that I wear a mask when I leave my house, and when I enter a retail store, restaurant, or office, my temperature is taken, and hands sprayed with sanitizer. If I have to wait in line somewhere, I just look down to the floor and I will see the social distancing stickers or lines, showing me where to stand to keep a safe distance. To some this may not seem normal, but here is Panama it is, any of these things is not really affecting our lives negatively, we are just living our lives cautiously, doing basically the same things daily we did before.

If you are a younger nightlife person, well there really is no nightlife here right now. Bars and dance clubs are closed, including all concerts and large gathering events, so Panama may not be the place for you right now. But for the average person or couple, just wanting to go to a nice dinner in the evening, there are no crowds, and most restaurants have reopened, and you can have a nice evening, returning to your room by 11 PM.

If you are planning on moving here, all services you need are in operation, and nothing is really delayed. Immigration seems to be just as fast as before, people are getting Visas in 3 – 5 months, health insurance applications are normal, and real estate transactions are also normal. Travel across the country is unrestricted between 5 AM and 11 PM.

If you do listen to Panama media, or frequent Facebook Groups, you will read exaggerated stories about COVID in Panama, just like you do in other countries. When you see the headline, “Panama Cases Spiking”, they forget to mention that testing in Panama in the last 4 months has increased 500%, where percent positives has been cut in half. When you see the headline “Hospitals About to Collapse Due to COVID”, where in actuality they were referring to one region’s hospital, which has a lack of beds. The truth is the number of ICU beds being used by COVID patients today is 20% lower than it was in August. The fact is that active cases in Panama on August 15 were 25,000 where today it is 20,000. So Panama is actually progressing positively in this pandemic.

Now, we at Retire in Panama Tours are not in any way downplaying COVID-19, the opposite is actually true. We are respecting this virus, and doing everything in our power to keep ourselves safe, and then in turn keep our guests who decide to come to Panama safe. When we have our small groups come, we follow and exceed all MINSA (health authority) guidelines. We sanitize our vehicles daily, take your temperature in the morning, provide all the hand sanitizer and masks you will need, we choose hotels and restaurants who we know are following MINSA guidelines, keep you away from crowds, but still are able to deliver the experience you need to make the decision if Panama is right for you.

If you would like to talk more about the possibility of coming to Panama soon, or waiting for a few months, please reach out by replying to this email or giving us a call at 786-296-0192. We do have a few spots open in January and February, or wait things out and plan on coming next fall, to reserve one of these spots go HERE.

Retire in Panama Tours
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