How safe is Panama for travelers?

Where crime happens

• Panama City has clear geography to its crime. The FCDO names San Miguelito, El Chorrillo, Rio Abajo, 24 de Diciembre, Santa Ana and Juan Diaz as higher risk, and flags pickpocketing and mugging around Albrook Mall, Via Espana, Avenida Central, Calidonia, Casco Viejo and Panama Viejo.
• Casco Viejo being on that list surprises people, because it is also the prettiest part of the city. The risk is opportunistic and concentrated at the edges and after dark.
• Colon city has both elevated crime and large protests, and is not a place to wander.
• Report a crime before you leave the country. Panamanian police may decline to investigate a report filed after departure, and insurers want the report.

Transport

• Do not hail a taxi in the street. This is the FCDO's advice, not a preference, and it is about vehicle condition and driving as much as crime. Use an app or the hotel.
• Road travel is the bigger statistical risk than crime: poor lighting, potholes, and driving standards the FCDO describes plainly.

Protests and roadblocks

• Protests happen without warning and close roads, including the Pan-American Highway and the Paso Canoas crossing to Costa Rica, sometimes for days.
• They can affect access to airports. Leave slack on the day you fly if there is anything going on.

Drugs and the Darien

• Drug offences carry long sentences for small quantities, and there is no leniency for visitors.
• The Darien Gap is not a route. It is roadless jungle, an active migration corridor and controlled in parts by armed groups. Nobody should be planning to cross it.