Panama

Is Panama safe to visit?

For most trips, yes. The US State Department rates Panama Level 2, the same as Costa Rica, and the usual circuit of Panama City, the canal, Boquete, Bocas del Toro and the San Blas islands has few serious problems for visitors. The exception is the Darién, the roadless jungle on the Colombian border, which both the US and UK treat as off limits for independent travel.

Crime is the main caveat. InSight Crime counted 593 murders in 2025, a rate of 12.9 per 100,000, unchanged from the year before and below Costa Rica's 16.7 but well above Chile. We score Panama 66.

Where crime is concentrated

Panama's violence is tied to the cocaine trade passing north from Colombia. More than 40% of the 2025 murders were in Panamá province, which includes the capital and the poorer suburb of San Miguelito, and 20% were in Colón province on the Caribbean end of the canal, a major entry point for drug shipments. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says most killings are between rival gangs, but some targeted shootings have happened in tourist areas.

Within Panama City, the FCDO names San Miguelito, El Chorrillo, Río Abajo, 24 de Diciembre, Santa Ana and Juan Díaz as higher-crime districts. El Chorrillo and Santa Ana border Casco Viejo, the restored old town where many visitors stay, so it is easy to walk a few blocks too far. Muggings are also reported in Calidonia, along Avenida Central and Via España, around Albrook Mall and at the Panamá Viejo ruins.

People have been attacked after using street ATMs. Gangs have also talked their way into homes and holiday rentals to burgle them, so do not let strangers into your accommodation. The FCDO reports violent attacks, including sexual assault, in tourist destinations across the country.

The Darién Gap

The Darién Gap is the only break in the Pan-American Highway, a stretch of jungle between Panama and Colombia crossed in recent years by hundreds of thousands of migrants heading north. It is controlled in places by Colombian armed groups and smugglers. The US tells its citizens not to travel to parts of the Darién region and to the Mosquito Gulf on the Caribbean coast. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says to travel east of a line from Punta Carreto in Guna Yala, through Yaviza, to Punta Piña on the Pacific only in an organised group and after informing local police, because foreigners have been kidnapped and murdered there.

This affects few tourists. The rest of Darién province and the western half of Guna Yala, where most San Blas island trips go, are outside the line.

Protests and roadblocks

Panama has had two waves of large protests in three years. In 2023, demonstrations over a copper mining contract blocked highways across the country for weeks. In 2025, unions and Indigenous groups protested for months against a pension reform; in June, the government declared a state of emergency in Bocas del Toro after rioters took over the airport at Changuinola and looted businesses. Police said one person was killed and about 30 injured.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says protests can escalate quickly, block the Paso Canoas border with Costa Rica and access to airports, and are often largest in Colón. Authorities also impose night-time curfews in some areas to tackle gangs, though usually not in tourist zones.

Roads, taxis and the sea

WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 7.3 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, about half its 2019 estimate. Police figures compiled by INEC show 288 deaths in the first ten months of 2025, almost the same as in 2024, which points to a similar rate. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary describes driving standards as poor, roads as often unlit and potholed, and taxis as badly maintained, and recommends ride-hailing apps or hotel transport instead. Any alcohol in a driver's blood is an offence.

Many Pacific and Caribbean beaches have strong currents and few warning signs, and the FCDO says people drown every year. Do not swim in the Bay of Panama, which receives untreated sewage. Hikers have gone missing and died on unmarked trails, so go with a guide.

Health care is good in Panama City's private hospitals and limited elsewhere. Dengue, Zika and chikungunya occur, and malaria is present in parts of the country; tap water is safe in most areas.

How to stay safe in Panama

• Stay inside Casco Viejo's restored streets and take a car to and from it at night.
• Use ATMs inside banks or malls.
• Book cars through an app or your hotel; avoid street taxis.
• Check for protests and roadblocks before overland trips, especially to the Costa Rican border.
• Do not enter the Darién beyond Yaviza without an organised group.
• Emergency numbers: 911, ambulance 103.

How we scored it

Road safety (77), natural hazards (74), conflict (72) and health (72) are Panama's stronger factors; the road score uses WHO's 2021 estimate of 7.3 deaths per 100,000. Violent crime (50) is the weakest, reflecting a homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary near 13 per 100,000 concentrated in Panamá and Colón provinces. Petty crime (55) is moderate. Confidence is medium because the latest official road death figures are preliminary and the homicide rate comes from InSight Crime's count.