Private Panama City Tour in a Classic VW Safari

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/33

Duration2h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

A 1970s VW Safari convertible with the top down, your own driver, and the city's landmarks rolling past.

A private Panama City tour in a classic 1970s VW Safari convertible with a live guide in English or Spanish. You ride in an open-air vehicle through Casco Viejo's historic plazas, along the Amador Causeway, past the Biomuseo and modern skyline, with the driver using your phone to capture photos at each stop. Pickup is included; the tour runs two hours and covers water and soft drinks.

Step-by-step itinerary

Panama City Classic Car Tour Highlights

Start tour in Obarrio neighborhood
Pass by F&F Tower photo stop
Cruise through Punta Paitilla coastline
Drive past JW Marriott Panama
Cruise along Avenida Balboa waterfront
Pass Parque Urracá urban park
Visit Mercado de Mariscos for ceviche
Drive along Cinta Costera park
Enter historic Casco Viejo district
Stop at Plaza Mayor (Cathedral Plaza)
Visit Plaza Herrera historic square
Pause on Calle de los Sombreros street
See Plaza de Francia monument
Pass Plaza Bolívar square
Drive on elevated Cinta Costera 3 viaduct
Stop at La Conquista de la Soberanía monument
Visit Biomuseo museum building
Drive along Amador Causeway road
Stop at Perico Island marketplace
View Panama Canal from Naos Island
Visit Flamenco Island marina and shops
Photo stop at colorful PANAMA sign

The Experience

The tour starts in Obarrio, the city's modern financial district, where glass towers and commercial energy set the tone. Your private chauffeur handles the streets while you sit back in the open-air Safari—no navigating Panama's traffic yourself. From there, the route moves through Punta Paitilla's exclusive coastal condos, past the JW Marriott's 70-story sail-shaped tower (the tallest building in Central America), and along Avenida Balboa, the three-and-a-half-kilometer waterfront boulevard that frames the bay and skyline. You'll pass Parque Urracá, where locals play basketball and baseball under tropical trees, and roll through the Mercado de Mariscos to watch vendors negotiate the day's catch and sample ceviche.

The route then crosses the Cinta Costera, an urban park that runs three and a half kilometers along the waterfront with gardens, sports courts, and walking paths—a local pulse point with views of the modern skyline towering over the Pacific. Next comes the threshold into Casco Viejo, the UNESCO World Heritage district established in 1673, where narrow cobblestone streets and colonial architecture replace the glass towers. You'll stop at the Cathedral Plaza, where Panama declared independence on November 3, 1903, framed by the Metropolitan Cathedral's twin bell towers; at Plaza Herrera, a shaded square with an equestrian statue of General Tomás Herrera; and at Calle de los Sombreros (Hat Street), famous for its colorful colonial buildings and craft shops. Plaza de Francia sits on a former military rampart and offers unobstructed views of the modern skyline, the Puente de las Américas, and the Panama Canal entrance. Plaza Bolívar, dedicated to Simón Bolívar, is framed by the Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís and the original National Theatre.

The tour's most dramatic stretch is Cinta Costera 3, an elevated viaduct that curves directly over the Bay of Panama—a modern engineering marvel that gives you a unique perspective of the city, reminiscent of the Miami Keys but flanked by a glass-and-steel skyline that rivals Miami's. The route then reaches the Amador Causeway, a six-kilometer man-made road stretching into the Pacific and connecting the mainland to four islands: Naos, Perico, Culebra, and Flamenco. Along the way, you'll see the 13-meter bronze monument "La Conquista de la Soberanía," commemorating the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties and Panama's sovereignty over the Canal. The Biomuseo, designed by Frank Gehry, is an architectural landmark with bright primary colors and angular shapes that look like giant origami or a shattered rainbow. From Naos Island, you get close-up views of massive cargo ships passing the Pacific entrance to the Canal. The tour ends at the iconic PANAMA sign at the far end of the Causeway, where your driver captures hero shots of your group with the skyline and ocean as backdrop.

What’s included

Private 1970s VW Safari convertible with a chauffeur.
live guide in English or Spanish.
hotel or meeting-point pickup.
chilled bottled water.
chilled colas and lemonades.
smartphone photography at each major stop (the driver uses your device to capture photos).

Good to know

Easy physical levelPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by TOMI TOURS

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you want to see both the modern skyline and historic Casco Viejo in a single morning or afternoon without driving yourself or standing in a crowded bus. The open-air convertible and photo stops at each landmark make it a way to move through the city and document it at the same time, rather than a walking tour or a standard coach ride.