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Published: 25-04-2023
Nestled just north of the equator, Panama is located firmly within the tropics, with a climate to match. The country consists of relentlessly hot and humid lowlands, cooling off fractionally to give balmy nights, and in the highlands, temperatures vary significantly, depending on the altitude, and can be chilly at night. Here is some valuable information about the best time to visit Panama.
Orchid and Tree Frog in Boquete
Panama Seasons
Most travelers visit Panama in the summer which runs from late December to the end of April. This is the best time to visit Panama and with good reason. Azure skies predominate, at least on the drier Pacific plains, sheltered by Panama’s mountainous backbone. The firmer ground underfoot makes it easier to travel on unpaved roads and explore Panama´s rainforests, and the reduced rainwater ensures clearer waters to swim in. The dry season also includes the lively holiday periods of Christmas, New Year, Carnaval, and Holy Week, when flights and hotels in popular tourist spots are at a premium.
Sunny San Blas Islands
You’ll avoid the crowds and the mark-ups in the "winter" rainy season, which stretches from May to December. Although the mountainous and rainforested regions in Panama are best avoided during the wettest months, due to extensive cloud cover over the peaks and the muddy trails. If you are planning to stick to the lowland areas on the Pacific coast, the downpours, while frequent and intense, rarely last more than a few hours at a time, leaving plenty of sunny, dry periods to enjoy. In particular, the otherwise parched Azuero Peninsula offers much more picturesque scenery during its understated rainy season.
By contrast, the Caribbean coast receives almost twice as much rain as the Pacific coast, with virtually no recognizable dry season. Regional variations impact here too. The Trade Winds are at their strongest Dec to mid-Feb, making the water choppy and outer islands inaccessible in Bocas del Toro and Kuna Yala, while Bocas enjoys two relatively dry spells around March and October.
Season Low-Down
Dry Season: December-April (afternoon/ evening thunderstorms are common on the Caribbean coast)
Wet Season: May-November (rains mostly on the Pacific coast but also on the northern Caribbean coasts)
High tourism season: December-April
Low tourism season: November
Hurricanes? Don’t worry! Hurricanes almost always pass much further north than Panama!
Keel-Billed Toucan
Festivals and holidays in Panama
Another main reason to visit Panama is the country's incredible festivals. Here are the highlights of Panama’s festivals calendar. There are even more festivals on the Azuero Peninsula.
January
Feria de las Flores y del Café in Boquete (date varies).
February
Comarca de Guna Yala (Feb 25) celebrates the Guna Revolution of 1925, their independence day; Carnaval (Feb/March) is celebrated all over the country, but especially in Las Tablas and Panama City, with an aquatic version in Penonomé; Festival de Los Diablos y Congos, biennially in Portobelo (2015, 2017, date varies).
Guna Festival Celebrations
March/April
Semana Santa. Celebrated everywhere, but most colorfully in La Villa de Los Santos, Pesé, and Guararé, on the Azuero Peninsula.
Semana Santa, Azuero
April
Feria de las Orquideas in Boquete (date varies); Feria International del Azuero in La Villa de Los Santos (date varies).
Feria de Las Orchideas
June
Corpus Christi (date varies) in La Villa de Los Santos.
July
Nuestra Señora del Carmen (July 16) on Isla Taboga; Patronales de La Santa Librada and Festival de la Pollera in Las Tablas (July 20–22).
August
Festival del Manito Ocueño (date varies).
October
Festival of Nogagope (Oct 10–12) on Isla Tigre, Feria Guna (mid-Oct); Festival de la Mejorana (five days mid-Oct) in Guararé; Fiesta de Cristo Negro (Oct 21) in Portobelo.
November 10
The “First Cry of Independence”, Independence Day, is celebrated as part of “El Mes de la Patria”. Cities and towns across the nation put on parades featuring school drumming troupes and majorettes, which the whole population comes out to watch.
Independence Day Celebrations
If you want to visit the stunning country of Panama for your South America Vacation, contact us here!
