Panama is one of those countries where following the exact same route as everyone else can mean missing some of the most interesting places. Most travelers arrive with a fairly predictable list in their heads: Panama City, San Blas, Bocas del Toro, Boquete, maybe Santa Catalina and a few beaches in between. Those places are popular for good reasons, but Panama has something that many travelers don't realize until they start exploring it: the country is small enough to travel across relatively easily, but incredibly diverse once you get away from the standard tourist route.

Some of Panama's best experiences require a little effort. Sometimes that means taking a bus down a road that doesn't seem to be going anywhere particularly exciting. Sometimes it means getting off the main tourist route altogether. And sometimes, surprisingly, it means simply paying attention to what is right in front of you.

Because one of Panama's great secrets is that not every hidden gem is actually hidden.

Panama is small, but it doesn't feel small

Geographically, Panama is a relatively small country. You can cross it in a matter of hours, and compared with many countries in Latin America, distances between major destinations aren't enormous.

But the variety packed into that space is remarkable.

You can go from the skyscrapers and tropical heat of Panama City to cloud forests, Caribbean islands, Pacific beaches, mountain valleys, rainforest, coffee country, coral reefs and remote indigenous communities without having to travel across an enormous continent.

The landscape changes.

The climate changes.

The culture changes.

The wildlife changes.

Even the food can change.

That is one of the reasons Panama is such an interesting country for independent travelers. You don't necessarily have to spend weeks traveling enormous distances to experience completely different environments. Sometimes the difference between an ordinary tourist experience and an extraordinary one is simply choosing a slightly different direction.

The danger of following the Panama checklist

There is nothing wrong with visiting the famous places.

You absolutely should see Panama City.

Bocas del Toro is spectacular.

Boquete is beautiful.

The San Blas Islands are extraordinary.

Santa Catalina is worth the journey.

But there is a danger in treating a country like a checklist.

You fly into Panama City.

You go to the next famous destination.

Then the next.

You take the same shuttle as everybody else, stay in the same neighborhood, visit the same attractions and follow the same route that thousands of other travelers have followed before you.

You can have a fantastic vacation that way.

But you may also leave Panama thinking you saw the country when you really only saw its most popular highlights.

The more interesting question is:

What is just beyond the obvious route?

Sometimes the hidden gem is hiding in plain sight

One of the best examples is Lost and Found Hostel.

You might imagine that a place called a hidden gem would require hours of hiking through the jungle, a four wheel drive vehicle and perhaps a machete.

Not this one.

Lost and Found is actually located directly along one of the important roads connecting western Panama.

You can be traveling between the Boquete area and Bocas del Toro and literally pass the entrance without realizing what is up there.

That is part of what makes it such an unusual destination.

You don't necessarily need to travel farther.

You need to stop somewhere different.

Turn off the main road.

Walk into the forest.

And suddenly you find yourself in a mountain jungle surrounded by wildlife, trails, waterfalls, hammocks and views across the mountains.

The lesson is important for traveling around Panama: don't assume that everything interesting is located at the end of a famous tourist road.

Sometimes the best places are sitting beside the road everyone else is using.

Gulf of Chiriquí: an entire world that many travelers skip

The Gulf of Chiriquí is another example of why getting away from the standard itinerary can be so rewarding.

The gulf contains an extraordinary mixture of islands, beaches, mangroves, reefs and marine environments along Panama's Pacific coast.

It is famous for places such as Coiba and its surrounding waters, but there is much more to the region than the destinations that make it into the average backpacker's itinerary.

The marine life is a huge part of the attraction.

Depending on the season and location, you can encounter dolphins, whales, sea turtles, rays, sharks and an incredible variety of fish.

And then there are the islands.

Some are developed.

Some are barely developed.

Some feel like you have stumbled onto the edge of the world.

The Gulf of Chiriquí is exactly the kind of place where spending an extra day or two exploring can completely change your impression of Panama.

Santa Fe is another example

Then there is Santa Fe, up in the mountains of Veraguas.

Santa Fe doesn't receive the same international attention as Boquete.

That is precisely why it is interesting.

The area is mountainous, green and spectacularly lush, with waterfalls, rivers, hiking opportunities, farms and forests.

It is the sort of place where you can spend time outdoors without feeling as though you are participating in a carefully packaged tourist experience.

And getting there doesn't require crossing half the country.

For many travelers, Santa Fe can be reached with a relatively manageable detour from the main Panama travel routes.

Sometimes that is all it takes.

An extra bus ride.

A little patience.

And the willingness to go somewhere because it sounds interesting rather than because everyone on Instagram told you to go there.

Some hidden gems are only an hour away

This is perhaps the biggest mistake travelers make in Panama.

They think getting off the beaten track means going somewhere incredibly remote.

It doesn't.

Sometimes the place you are looking for is only an hour by bus from the direction everybody else is going.

That is one of the great advantages of traveling through Panama.

You can be following a well established route and make a relatively small change to your journey.

Instead of going directly from one famous destination to another, look at the map.

What's nearby?

What happens if you get off one bus earlier?

What happens if you take the road going the other way?

What town is on the other side of that mountain?

What is at the end of that local bus route?

You might be surprised.

Talk to people instead of only looking at maps

Google Maps is fantastic.

Travel blogs are fantastic.

Travel apps are fantastic.

But locals still know things that don't necessarily appear in an algorithm.

Ask somebody where they go for a waterfall.

Ask where the best swimming hole is.

Ask which road leads into the mountains.

Ask where they would spend a free weekend.

Sometimes the answer will be somewhere you've never heard of.

That's exactly what you're looking for.

A place you've never heard of is not automatically amazing, of course. But it is a good starting point.

Panama rewards curiosity

There is a particular kind of traveler who does very well in Panama.

It is not necessarily the traveler with the biggest budget.

It isn't necessarily the traveler with the most expensive camera.

It is the traveler who is curious.

Curiosity makes you look twice.

You see a road disappearing into the mountains and wonder where it goes.

You hear about a waterfall that isn't in your guidebook and want to see it.

Someone tells you about a small village and suddenly your itinerary changes.

You meet another traveler who says, "You have to go here," and instead of immediately checking whether it has 4.8 stars, you go.

That is how you find things.

Don't confuse "hidden" with "unknown"

There is another important distinction.

A hidden gem doesn't necessarily mean nobody knows about it.

Santa Fe isn't a secret.

The Gulf of Chiriquí isn't a secret.

Lost and Found isn't a secret.

These places are simply less obvious to the average traveler than Panama City's Casco Viejo, Bocas Town or the most heavily promoted attractions.

That's what "off the beaten track" really means.

It doesn't mean completely undiscovered.

It means that fewer people are going there.

And sometimes that's enough to make the experience completely different.

Panama's diversity makes this particularly rewarding

Imagine a traveler who spends two weeks in Panama but only visits the most famous destinations.

They can have an incredible trip.

But now imagine adding just two or three less obvious stops.

Suddenly they might experience a completely different Panama.

Mountain forests.

Tiny rural communities.

Pacific islands.

Caribbean culture.

Coffee farms.

Waterfalls.

Rainforest.

Cloud forest.

Jungle wildlife.

Surf beaches.

Coral reefs.

Mangroves.

Rivers.

And places where the biggest event of the afternoon is watching a hummingbird at a feeder.

That's an enormous amount of diversity for such a relatively small country.

The road itself can be part of the adventure

One of the great things about traveling overland in Panama is that sometimes the journey reveals the destination.

You may be sitting on a bus expecting to simply get from point A to point B.

Then the scenery changes.

The road climbs.

The temperature drops.

The forest gets thicker.

You pass through a tiny town.

A waterfall appears beside the road.

A mountain suddenly opens up in front of you.

And you realize that you are seeing a part of Panama that you never would have experienced from an airplane or an organized tour.

This is why buses can be so useful for adventurous travelers.

They aren't always the fastest way to travel.

But they can be the most interesting.

You don't need to abandon the famous places

Getting off the beaten track doesn't mean avoiding everything popular.

Do both.

Visit Panama City.

Go to Bocas.

See Boquete.

Visit the famous beaches.

Then give yourself some flexibility.

Instead of planning every single night months in advance, leave a little room for discovery.

If someone tells you about a place that sounds interesting, investigate it.

If you love a particular area, stay another night.

If a local bus goes somewhere you've never heard of, find out where it goes.

The best travel stories often begin with a sentence like:

"We weren't actually planning to go there."

Sometimes the best memories are the accidental ones

Maybe you miss the bus.

Maybe you get off at the wrong stop.

Maybe somebody recommends a restaurant.

Maybe you see a sign for a waterfall.

Maybe you decide to stay one extra night.

Maybe you hear about a hostel in the mountains that you've never heard of.

Those little deviations can become the stories you remember years later.

That's one of the reasons backpacking remains so much fun.

There is room for things to go slightly wrong.

And sometimes "wrong" turns out to be exactly where you wanted to be.

Panama is perfect for this kind of travel

Panama has enough infrastructure that you don't need to be an extreme adventurer to explore beyond the tourist trail.

There are buses.

There are local taxis.

There are domestic flights.

There are roads connecting many parts of the country.

There are hostels and small hotels outside the major tourist centers.

You can often travel quite cheaply compared with many other destinations.

And because the country isn't enormous, a detour doesn't necessarily destroy your entire itinerary.

That is a huge advantage.

You can explore.

Then get back onto the main route.

Go looking for the Panama that isn't on your itinerary

The famous Panama is spectacular.

But there is another Panama waiting just beyond it.

It is found in mountain villages.

On quiet Pacific beaches.

In the forests of Chiriquí.

Around the islands of the Gulf of Chiriquí.

In Santa Fe.

On rural roads.

At waterfalls.

In small towns.

And sometimes literally just off the main highway.

Lost and Found Hostel is a perfect example. You don't necessarily have to travel farther to find something special. Sometimes you simply have to notice what is already there.

That may be the biggest lesson for traveling around Panama.

Don't spend your entire trip racing toward the next famous destination.

Slow down.

Look at the map.

Talk to people.

Take the bus.

Make a detour.

Follow the road that looks interesting.

Stay somewhere you've never heard of.

Because Panama may be small on the map, but it is enormous in terms of what you can experience.

And if you spend your entire trip following everybody else, you may see Panama.

But if you occasionally go the other way, you might actually discover it.