When people plan a trip to Panama, the same names usually appear again and again: Panama City, the Panama Canal, Bocas del Toro, San Blas and Boquete. All of them deserve visitors, but Panama is much bigger and stranger than that standard itinerary suggests.
Some of the country's most interesting places are the ones tourists accidentally drive past. There are mountain villages with waterfalls everywhere, Pacific beaches where you can feel like you have discovered the coastline yourself, tiny islands with almost no international tourism, historic Caribbean towns full of stories, and enormous areas of jungle where wildlife is more common than tourists.
If you want to see a different side of Panama, these are some of the places worth putting on your radar.
Santa Fe
Santa Fe in Veraguas is probably one of the best examples of a place that deserves considerably more international attention.
The little mountain town sits surrounded by rainforest and mountains, with Santa Fe National Park covering a huge area around it. The region has waterfalls, rivers, hiking trails, cloud forest, coffee farms, orchids, birds and butterflies. There are also rural roads and trails leading into communities and farms where the landscape feels dramatically different from the Panama that most tourists imagine.
The waterfalls are a major attraction. Places such as Alto de Piedra and Bermejo provide opportunities to hike through the forest and cool off in natural pools. There are also more ambitious hikes toward places such as Cerro Tute and Cerro Mariposa.
What makes Santa Fe particularly appealing is that it doesn't feel like a giant tourist destination that happens to have nature nearby. It still feels like a small Panamanian mountain community surrounded by wilderness.
If Boquete feels like Panama's famous mountain destination, Santa Fe feels like the version you discover before everybody else does.
The Gulf of Chiriquí
This might be one of Panama's biggest geographical secrets.
While international travelers head toward Bocas del Toro and San Blas, the Pacific coast of Chiriquí contains an extraordinary collection of islands, reefs, mangroves and beaches. The Gulf of Chiriquí National Marine Park protects a huge marine ecosystem, with islands such as Isla Parida, Isla Gamez and Isla Bolaños offering white sand beaches and opportunities for snorkeling, diving, kayaking and wildlife watching.
The area is also famous for marine life. Depending on the season, visitors can encounter dolphins, sea turtles and migrating humpback whales. The gulf is particularly interesting between roughly July and October, when humpback whales pass through the region.
The little mainland community of Boca Chica makes an excellent jumping off point.
The remarkable thing is that you can take a boat from a relatively quiet fishing village and suddenly find yourself on an almost deserted tropical island.
That is the sort of Panama experience that tends to stay in your memory.
Mariato
If Santa Catalina is the famous surf destination on the Azuero side of Panama, Mariato is one of the places that tends to get overlooked.
The western side of the Azuero Peninsula is rugged, rural and wonderfully undeveloped in many areas. There are long beaches, small communities, jungle, farmland, Pacific sunsets and surf breaks.
Travelers who want a completely different experience from the more developed beach towns can spend several days exploring this region without feeling like they are following a standard tourist itinerary.
Even Panamanians and expats discussing underrated destinations regularly mention the Mariato area and its beaches and surf possibilities.
It is particularly attractive if your idea of a beach holiday involves having more sand than people.
Las Lajas
Las Lajas in Chiriquí is another place that gets surprisingly little international attention.
It has a huge Pacific beach and a very different atmosphere from the resort developments around places such as Coronado. You can walk for an enormous distance along the coast and experience that wonderfully strange feeling of being somewhere that tourism has largely ignored.
It isn't necessarily the place for travelers looking for nightlife or a giant selection of restaurants.
That is precisely the point.
Las Lajas works for people who want a few quiet days by the Pacific, spectacular sunsets, warm water and a slower version of Panama.
Cerro Punta and the Tierras Altas
Many people who visit Chiriquí know Boquete but never explore much farther into the highlands.
That is a mistake.
Cerro Punta and the surrounding Tierras Altas offer some of Panama's most dramatic mountain scenery. The elevation produces a much cooler climate than the lowlands, and the region is famous for agriculture, flowers, strawberries, vegetables and other crops.
The landscape can look almost completely different from tropical Panama.
You can have misty mornings, mountain farms, dramatic volcanic scenery and forests only a relatively short distance from the heat of the Pacific lowlands.
The area is also close to some of the country's most important highland ecosystems.
For someone who likes Boquete but wants something quieter and more agricultural, the Tierras Altas are well worth exploring.
Portobelo
Portobelo isn't exactly a secret anymore, but it remains surprisingly underrated considering what is packed into such a small area.
Imagine a Caribbean village surrounded by jungle, colonial fortifications, turquoise water and centuries of stories involving Spanish treasure fleets, pirates, African resistance and Caribbean culture.
That is Portobelo.
The town was established in 1597 and became one of the Spanish Empire's most important Caribbean ports. The surviving fortifications are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
But history is only part of the attraction.
Portobelo is also one of the most important centers of Congo culture in Panama. The area's Afro Panamanian heritage is exceptionally rich, and Congo traditions of music, dance, costumes and performance are an important part of the cultural identity of the region.
Then there are the beaches.
From Portobelo and nearby Puerto Lindo, boats can take visitors toward small Caribbean beaches and coastal areas that feel completely different from the Pacific side of the country.
Portobelo is one of those places where history, jungle and Caribbean culture all collide.
Isla Grande
Just offshore from Portobelo is Isla Grande, another destination that tends to be overshadowed by the much more famous San Blas and Bocas del Toro.
The island is considerably more relaxed than Panama's major Caribbean tourist destinations. It has beaches, clear water, snorkeling and a distinctly Caribbean atmosphere.
The best thing about the area is that you can combine it with Portobelo.
Spend the morning looking at Spanish ruins, have lunch overlooking the Caribbean, take a boat to an island and finish the day watching the sun disappear over the jungle.
That is a pretty good Panama itinerary without having to fly anywhere.
The Azuero Peninsula
The Azuero Peninsula is one of the most culturally interesting parts of Panama and one of the places where you can experience a side of the country that is very different from Panama City.
Towns such as Pedasí, Las Tablas and Chitré are connected with traditional Panamanian culture, folklore, agriculture, festivals, fishing and rural life. The region also has beaches, surfing, wildlife and marine activities.
Pedasí in particular makes an interesting base because you can combine a small town atmosphere with beaches, surfing, fishing and excursions to Isla Iguana.
During whale season, humpback whales can also be seen in the waters offshore.
If you want to understand Panama rather than simply photograph Panama, spending time in the Azuero Peninsula can be incredibly rewarding.
The Pearl Islands beyond Contadora
Most travelers who hear "Pearl Islands" immediately think of Contadora.
But the archipelago contains more than 200 islands and islets, and many remain extremely quiet compared with the better known destinations of Panama.
The farther you get from the main developed islands, the more remote the experience can become.
This is particularly interesting for people who like fishing, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, wildlife and deserted beaches rather than beach clubs and crowds.
It is essentially the Pacific version of the island fantasy that people associate with San Blas, but with a completely different personality.
Otoque Island
Otoque is another Pacific island that rarely appears on the standard Panama itinerary.
The island has a small local population and community based tourism initiatives that allow visitors to experience island life, marine ecosystems and local culture.
There are opportunities for activities such as whale watching and nature excursions, particularly during the appropriate marine season.
The interesting part is not necessarily finding a huge list of attractions.
It is seeing how people actually live on a small Panamanian island.
That is becoming increasingly rare in a world where many islands have been transformed almost entirely around tourism.
Darién
Darién is perhaps the ultimate example of an underrated destination that needs a giant asterisk.
It is not somewhere I would recommend simply adding casually to a two week Panama itinerary.
But for experienced travelers interested in rainforest, wildlife, Indigenous cultures and genuinely remote environments, Darién is extraordinary.
The province contains enormous areas of rainforest and some of the most biologically important wilderness in Central America.
It is also considerably more complicated logistically than places such as Boquete or Santa Fe, so visiting remote areas should be done with appropriate local knowledge and organization.
This isn't the place to show up with flip flops and say, "I wonder what's down that road."
But for serious adventure travelers, Darién represents a completely different Panama.
The Chagres region
You don't necessarily have to travel deep into the country to get away from the tourist trail.
The Chagres region east of Panama City contains enormous areas of rainforest, rivers and mountains. The park is also closely connected to the Panama Canal's watershed.
For visitors based in Panama City, this is one of the easiest ways to experience genuinely wild tropical landscapes without spending several days traveling across the country.
River trips, rainforest excursions, waterfalls and Indigenous cultural experiences can all be combined in this region.
It is particularly interesting because the contrast is so extreme.
You can leave a city full of skyscrapers in the morning and be surrounded by rainforest and rivers later the same day.
The Gulf of Panama islands
The islands of the Gulf of Panama are another category of destination that most international visitors barely know exists.
Islands such as Otoque and other smaller islands can offer a much more local and remote experience than the famous Caribbean destinations.
The Gulf is also important for marine wildlife, including whales during their seasonal migrations.
The experience is less about checking off famous attractions and more about getting onto a boat, visiting a small community, exploring the coastline and seeing what you find.
That unpredictability is part of the attraction.
The Chiriquí Highlands beyond Boquete
Even if you've already been to Boquete, don't assume you've seen the Chiriquí highlands.
There are mountain communities, farms, forests and rural roads stretching well beyond the famous tourist town.
This is particularly interesting for travelers who enjoy hiking, birdwatching, coffee, cool temperatures and landscapes rather than nightlife.
The further you travel from Boquete's main tourist center, the more rural the experience becomes.
And this is one of the biggest themes of traveling around Panama: sometimes the underrated destination isn't actually a different province. It is simply the place 20 or 30 minutes beyond the famous place.
Lost and Found and the road between Boquete and Bocas
One of the most interesting examples is the mountain corridor between Boquete and Bocas del Toro.
Most backpackers think of the route as transportation rather than a destination. They travel through the mountains on their way to somewhere else.
But the Chiriquí highlands contain forests, rivers, waterfalls, wildlife and spectacular mountain scenery. The region around Hornito and the Fortuna Forest Reserve is one of those areas where the journey itself can become part of the adventure.
The broader Chiriquí region is often overlooked because Boquete and Bocas have become the recognizable names on international itineraries.
That is exactly why exploring the places between them can be so rewarding.
So where should you go?
If you want mountains and waterfalls, look at Santa Fe and the Tierras Altas.
If you want quiet Pacific beaches, look at Las Lajas and Mariato.
If you want Caribbean history and culture, go toward Portobelo and Isla Grande.
If you want islands without the Bocas or San Blas crowds, investigate the Gulf of Chiriquí, the Pearl Islands or smaller Pacific islands such as Otoque.
If you want traditional Panamanian culture, spend time in the Azuero Peninsula.
If you want serious wilderness, Darién is in another category altogether.
And if you simply want to get away from the obvious tourist route, don't underestimate the places sitting between Panama's famous destinations.
That may actually be the biggest secret of traveling around Panama.
The famous places are easy to find. The underrated Panama is what you discover when you stop rushing from one famous place to another.