Must-see nightlife in Panama

  • La Rana Dorada

    Panama City

    Replete with brass fixtures and polished wood bars, this gorgeous low-lit brewpub serves its own award-winning small craft beers, alongside tasty thin…

  • Tántalo Bar

    Panama City

    Though it serves casual lunches, this ultra-hip cafe-bar is best known for sunset happy hours on its rooftop deck. Pair your cocktail with fusion-style…

  • Bar Relic

    Panama City

    Wildly popular with travelers and hip young Panamanians, this cavernous hostel bar is a hit. Service is friendly and patrons easily mingle in the ample…

  • Casa Jaguar

    Panama City

    Don your stilettos and glitter for a night out at the Casco's hottest club, located on the 2nd floor next to Teatro Amador. There's no hurry, though, as…

  • Selina Bar

    Bocas del Toro Town

    The bar at this landmark hostel is open daily, with happy hour between 7pm and 8pm, but most people make it here between 10pm and 2am on a Friday, when…

  • Stranger's Club

    Panama City

    For a buzzy scene of 20- to 40-somethings, duck into this dimly lit cocktail bar. The Consuelo, a revelation of muddled cucumber, gin and elderflower…

  • Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar

    Panama City

    The first dedicated rum bar to call Casco Viejo home offers a laid-back Caribbean vibe, an extensive rum-based cocktail menu, and a six-hour-long happy…

  • Teatro Amador

    Panama City

    When Teatro Amador first opened its doors in 1912, it was one of the city’s first movie theaters. It was abandoned in the 1990s and only reopened after…

  • Bookstore Bar

    Bocas del Toro Town

    Just what its name suggests: this cavernous spot sells both books and drinks, though most seem more interested in the latter. It's the best spot for live…

  • Boquete Brewing Company

    Boquete

    With craft-beer bars all the rage in Panama these days, Boquete's contribution is more than hipster-friendly, with an outdoor patio with a food truck…

  • Barco Hundido

    Bocas del Toro Town

    At some point you'll probably find yourself at this open-air bar, affectionately known as the ‘Wreck Deck’ after the sunken banana boat that rests in the…

  • Tequila Republic

    Bocas del Toro Town

    While you're still 3000km from Cancun, this lively bar with an island vibe offers more than a tequila fix, though you'll get that too. There's frosty…

  • La Iguana Surf Bar

    Bocas del Toro Town

    Kick off your crazy Bocas night at this popular surfer and skate bar on the waterfront. Start with a US$2 beer-tequila combo. You probably won’t be in the…

  • Skully's

    Isla Colón

    A waterfront tiki bar with good pub grub, this is a nice place to gather for sunsets and cocktails, and the burgers ain't bad either. It's a US$2 taxi…

  • El Apartamento

    Panama City

    At any given time there's three floors of mischief going on at the Apartment, a yellow villa with a discoteca, live music floor and great bar with bottle…

  • La Rana Dorada

    Panama City

    The sister outlet to a Casco Viejo microbrewery, with good pub food and a congenial, relaxed atmosphere.

  • Mis Cabañas del Nuevo Milenio

    Darién Province

    This cimarrón-owned shop up a flight of steps at the northern end of the village also has a couple of thatched cabañas at ground level for serious boozing…

  • Capitan Morgan

    Panamá Province

    This rather somber place named after the English buccaneer who burned Panamá Viejo to the ground in 1671 also moonlights as a disco and a restaurant …

  • Café Ruiz

    Boquete

    The outdoor patio at Ruiz makes a good spot to sip a cappuccino and watch the mist move across the mountains. It's also the epicenter of Panama's famous…

  • La Cabaña Boquete

    Boquete

    Boquete’s only dance club has DJs, reggaetón, a young crowd and a steady stream of rum and cola to keep it all flowing, though it only opens its doors for…

  • Bocas Brewery

    Bocas del Toro Town

    This smart little brewpub in the Barco Hundido complex has nine beers on tap, ranging from its greatest hit Maracuya Wheat (with passionfruit) to IPAs and…

  • Cayucos

    Panama City

    This open-air resto-bar sits on the water with excellent views of the city. While not exactly a bar, it has the perfect ambience for the first cold beer…

  • Taboo

    Boquete

    Twenty-somethings gather at this dim club for whatever nightlife they can grab in an ostensibly agricultural town, with occasional live rock and salsa.

  • Cantinas

    Darién Province

    A strip of raucous cantinas a few blocks southeast of the ferry pier playing mostly Colombian music.

  • La Gringa

    Darién Province

    This bar with the generous (for Sambú) hours hasn't seen a lot of gringas (or gringos for that matter) darken its doors over the years but it lives in…

  • El Toro Loco

    Bocas del Toro Town

    Expat-owned, this sports bar is the closest thing you’ll find to Hooters in Bocas. Five screens are aglow at the same time and there's occasional live…

  • El Pavo Real

    Panama City

    While no longer in fashion, the old location of this pub was made famous by John le Carré’s thriller The Tailor of Panama. There's occasional live music.

  • Starlight

    Panama City

    The lion’s den of karaoke, this older club has no cover; you just have to consume a drink and muster the courage to croon under the disco rays.

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