City Sightseeing Panama City Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour

Wow this is a must if you come to Panama. Its very educational and I will definitely do it again. Just book it.

This tour is perfect for the time restricted traveller. We got a great insight into the available attractions.

This was a great experience to learn quickly about the attractions in Panama City. On some buses depending on where you’re seated it may be hard to hear the bus conductor. The buses work on a schedule so if you’re finished at an attraction or miss a bus, you’ll be waiting around until the next bus comes.

this is a must on your Panama vacation. This tour gave history, vibes, visits to must see sights, and the ticket is good for 24 or 48 hours. so you dont have to rush your tour. We used our tickets over two days and we had the opportunity to see things we did not the first day. Great tour, another win for our trip

My biggest takeaway from this "tour." DO NOT take the first bus in the morning. For us, it was the 8:00 am bus that left their Balboa Avenue location. Why? Because if you were like us, you thought this was a 24-hour ticket (you could ride the bus around the entire route and see what you might be interested in, then continue the loop and start hopping on and off the second time around). Unfortunately, most places were not open, so you did not get a "feel" for whether or not you might be interested in exploring it further. That said, our tour guide wasn't as fluent in English as we would have liked. I don't doubt that, when talking in her native language, she was very good at describing what she was talking about. But hey, we weren't in Kansas anymore, so you deal with it. The first bus of the day was nearly empty, which for most passengers is a good thing. We wish we had taken the second bus so we could have enjoyed the full benefit of Hop-On Hop-Off, but that is on us and just our opinion. Is it worth the $30 per person? Probably so, because you get to see all the major touristy places in this beautiful city. There, that's my $.02

This was one of the most disappointing tour experiences I’ve had. We paid for a 48-hour hop-on hop-off tour, but the service didn’t come close to what was advertised. From the very beginning, things were disorganized. We arrived at Avenida Balboa around 8:30 a.m., and there was no staff member to greet passengers or explain where to board. The tour started around 8:33 a.m., but it was rushed and got to the canal around 9:15 a.m. —not even an hour. The guide barely spoke understandable English, which made it difficult to follow the tour. At many of the main attractions, the explanations were extremely brief or incomplete. The buses themselves were in poor condition. They were dirty, the seats bounced constantly, and some felt like they were barely holding together, making the ride uncomfortable. The worst part was what happened at the Panama Canal. We were told buses came every hour (10:30, 11:30, and 12:30). We arrived at the pickup point around 12:05 p.m., and there was already a long line of passengers waiting in the rain. The bus left without waiting even 5–10 minutes for people who were already lined up to board. When we contacted the office to get help, Eileen hung up on us instead of helping resolve the situation. That level of customer service was unacceptable. Overall, the buses were poorly maintained, communication was poor, the English was very limited, and customer service was extremely disappointing. We expected a professional 48-hour sightseeing experience, but this fell far below expectations. I would not recommend this company.

The bus was old and a bit bockety but the host was great , I think his name was Adolfo . Really good tour including a large area.

Pros: The tour price was reasonable, and the tour guide was good, but he struggled to speak in English. We saved some money on the trip to the Panama Canal as the bus stopped there, and we were able to stay and visit for a while, and then we were picked up after. Cons: The bus seemed old and it croaked, shaked badly, and was definitely in need of maintenance. I booked the 48 hours and now I wished I had done the 24 hours instead, as I learned everything in a couple of hours. The bus was open air and it was hot and humid at the end I felt very tired.

Great opportunity to hop off to experience the Panama Canal then hop back on. Very relaxing way to see the City.

Disappointed that we didn’t go on the city to view the sky scrapers. Trip was a little boring especially since we had already gone to the canal.

I bought four 48-hour tickets for my family to visit Panama. We purchased them at the tour's first stop, paying the bus guide in cash (as is common with this type of bus). We boarded the bus for the 11:30 AM departure but had to wait nearly 30 minutes for the tour to actually start. The bus we boarded lacked air conditioning—something that should be essential in a city like Panama. We got off at the Panama Canal stop, and when we wanted to catch the bus again, the mobile app showed no buses nearby; we therefore decided to take an Uber back to our hotel (which was near the tour's first stop). The next day, we planned to catch the 10:00 AM bus (according to the app), but when we arrived, it had already left. We asked the information and sales agent at the first stop about the next departure; he told us it was scheduled for 11:30 AM, even though the app indicated departures every 30 minutes—which turned out not to be true. The attendant told us the app hadn't worked for over two years and that we would have to wait another hour and a half for the next bus. This wait ruined our plans, as the service ends at 3:45 PM and it threw off our entire schedule. We asked for a refund for the lost day, but the agent said it wasn't possible because we hadn't bought the ticket directly from him, but rather from an intermediary (the bus attendant who works for the same company). This person was very arrogant and rude to tourists. In the end, I decided to take an Uber to the Biomuseo and simply forfeit the day's service. I do not recommend using this service; it is better to use Uber. Uber is faster and more comfortable than a bus service where you never know when you'll actually be able to board.

We were unsure about taking this bus after reading some of the negative reviews however we were pleased we did. We walked to bus stop no.1 and the bus arrived at the time scheduled. The guide was excellent, very knowledgeable and flipped between Spanish and English effortlessly. We stayed on the bus for almost the whole round trip, about 2 hours in total. I’d say it’s well worth the money. $22 each. We saw parts of the city we weren’t even aware of with excellent commentary throughout. The only downside is the seats are plastic and very uncomfortable in the humid climate.

This was a great tour. We wouldn't have been able to see as much as we did had we opted not to do the tour.

Our tour guide was not very proficient in English so we had a hard time understanding her. I don’t feel like we had the best experience.

Plan your sightseeing tour early in the morning or no later than 2:30pm. The tour of the city is awesome.

Great way to see the Areas around Panama City . The Canal , The Causeway, Albrook Mall , Clayton , The Fish Market! They have an App . Well worth the Money

Great way to see parts of Panama you probably won’t have thought to see. Nice experience. The guide was awesome

There was no one available to answer questions about pick up points or assist with retrieving tickets. For the contact numbers listed online, one not in service and the other was Spanish speaking only. By the way, please ensure you confirm all information within 24 hours before the trip since it’s non-refundable. Maybe save your time and enjoy other activities that have customer service agents who are warm and welcoming.

This tour is well organized and lots of fun. I had such a good time sitting back and allowing the wind to blow through my hair.

Hop on hop off bus is a great excursion option to learn about the city and country. Book it and enjoy.

The bus ride is not the most comfortable but the guide was wonderful. She knew so much and communicated very well in English and Spanish. Driver also did a great job.

We had a wonderful time! The bus arrived right on schedule, and we really enjoyed our tour with Adolfo. I’d definitely suggest this tour to anyone who’s new to the area.

Start the tour as early as possible in the day and try to spend a longer time at the canal. Download the app before the start of the tour

Both their buses look old and beat up, but they will take you to all the locations as described and pickup/drop off on time. Bus#1 was ok and the guide was great. Bus#2 was shaking almost non-stop.

We had a really good time exploring Panama City, the hop on and off is timely managed! The major spots are on the route or few steps from the stops…

This tour allowed for an affordable, quick introduction to Panama (if your time is limited) but also an extended view (if you have several hours). The options were extensive (the Panama Canal, Old-Town with museums, fish market, historical village, shopping mall etc.). The guide was very friendly, entertaining and knowledgeable. Take an umbrella in case of "flash" rain because riding on the top floor is the most ideal option. :)

Really good first day in Panama to get an idea of what is available in Panama City! Sit on top level!

It was really good, very informative, learned a lot about Panama and the history. The tour guide was the best as well answered so many questions.

Read a lot of review, but I found it ok. This was a very good way to get a sense of the city . They crew was also very informative

A good way to see a large portion of Panama by bus.

They make stops are the top places to visit in everybody's list. They come around every hour and you have an app to live track the busses to see when you need to be back at the stop. Even if you don't get off the bus, it's so an excellent way to see the city. I'd recommend getting if in Caso and at the Canal.

The tour guides were knowledgeable and they gave suggestions and recommendations and were patient.

The narrator pointed out the key sites listed in the brochure but provided no explanation or background about them. I’ve used this service in other cities and got better understanding of the culture and history of the sites. The narrator was disappointing.

I would recommend doing this first. We did this one last and most of the things we saw already were on this tour.

It is a good way to see the city highlights. However, the bus frequency is too long at 75 minutes. But it covers the Panama canal centre which is a must see.

I was never sent a list of the stops, tho I asked directly twice - the details for the excursion referred to “the published stops” but they were not published anywhere. Then the start time changed from 10 am when I signed up to 8:30 the day before. Other than that, the tour itself was good. Informative.

Exploring Panama City on the hop-on hop-off bus from the Panama Canal to Casco Viejo and the waterfront views, it made sightseeing easy and stress-free. The open-top skyline views were beautiful, though waits between buses could be a bit long. Overall, it’s a solid option for first-time visitors!

Pass by of most of the major stops in Panama, Very reasonably priced, get off at a stop if you want and get back on another bus later(wait time between busses varies ).

The tour guide was very uninformative as he failed to provide information on many of the sites we saw and also failed to properly translate into English what was said in Spanish. The bus traveled at 5 miles an hour and took almost 4 hours to complete one loop without me getting off the bus.

We have used the hop on hop off bus company in 3 other locations, all enjoyable & informative & value for money. Unfortunately this was NOT the case in Panama City. For $20 each we boarded a bus that could barely climb a hill, rarely got over 15mph and constantly had other traffic sounding their horns at it due to the dangerously slow driving. The bus struggled to navigate the city and we were sure it was going to break down at any point. No headphones were provided not even a leaflet of the journey. We were told the journey would be 45 mins, 2 hours later we still had not completed even half the journey & another bus had to be called to speed us back to our cruise ship. If time is important to you DO NOT BOARD THIS BUS. FairPlay to the staff for arranging alternative transportation. This bus needs taken out of use. REALLY disappointing. An Uber would have been cheaper and less stressful as we really were concerned we would not get back in time for our cruise departure. Panamá city is notorious for heavy traffic especially on the causeway. A refund should have been offered. As 2 hours for what should have been 45 minutes is not acceptable. Avoid!

This was a wonderful tour to see the layout of the city. I highly recommend this tour. Excellent tour guide.

This was an "ok" experience, in that the bus ran according to schedule, had a live guide (as compared to recorded guides which are very common now) and allowed us to have a relaxing overview of Panama City's main sights (which is what we wanted after a red-eye flight). It did stop at important places like the Old Town, Panama Canal and Albrook Mall, and we appreciated the app which allowed us to see where the buses were real time. However, the cons were 1) the bus was not very new or clean...I have seen better in other Hop On Hop Offs, 2) the buses run every 45 minutes or so, compared to other cities I have been to, where the bus runs every 15 or 30 minutes, 3) the audio quality was not the best, so we missed some bits of what the guide was saying and 4) a good part of our journey was spent in traffic. overall though, it was not a bad experience and served our purpose.

The bus pick up and drop off is aggravating. First off it looks like only two busses were running for both days. Day one, I asked the person in the booth what time was the last bus departing the starting location, he said 6pm. I also asked was there a bus scheduled he can provide me with he said no. First off, we waited almost an hour for a bus to start the tour despite what the sheet said we went to the canal. We waited at the canal bus stop from 4:50pm to 6pm. No bus arrived. We had to take two Ubers to get back to our hotel. Day two, I speak to the next agent in the booth and explained to her what happen and I emailed and called and received no response. She then explained the last bus is around 4:30pm at the canal. I again asked for a bus schedule and she showed me a QR code to scan and see the bus live. We head out to Bio Museo, when it was time to come home I look at the map. It says the next bus is 74 minutes away. So we head next door to ride bikes until the bus got closer. By the time we crossed the street the bus came rolling by. The map was trash, it served no purpose. I refresh the map and it says the next bus is in one hour. So we waited. The map showed the bus at the stop prior to the bio museum and 9 mins. We waited 15, nothing, then the map cleared off and said next bus 478 mins away. At this point I had enough. I called 2 Ubers to take us back to our hotel. This was very poor service. I was not pleased to spend $348 for a two day tour AND then had to spend $60 in Uber to get back home. I certainly hope the company makes things right because I will have to challenge the transaction due to none deliver of service. Now I've used this company in Philadelphia and it was superb. So I expected the same quality of service. Very disappointed.

Road bus with out of town friend to give her an overview of the city. Adequate seating and informative narration.

Easy and quick way to see Panama City but the stops must be planned ahead. The canal boat transfer is only at certain times so if you pick wrong timings you’ll be wasting time at the canal waiting for a ship to pass. It’s probably best to buy 48hrs ticket if you intend to see attractions at most stops.

The driver and the guide are very friendly and accommodating. Each bus has a guide all h ed way. There may be three buses running and one of them has its air conditioning broken so they run it with the doors open to let fresh air in. Otherwise risers would be suffocated in the hot and humid weather. So be aware that Panamá still has long way to go on its infrastructure.

The bus was a wreck with some broken seats which would be easy to fix but weren’t. The guide was okay but spoke loudly to comp baste for a poor sound system.

Although the driver and tour guide were exceptionally nice, the bus itself was very uncomfortable, was blowing freezing cold air (which could not be adjusted) and a metal grate on the back of the bus kept opening and slamming into passengers. Due to Easter week, they did not stop at a few stops, so with all the traffic and limited places to depart, we only got to go to one stop (the Panama Canal) the entire day. We have done Hop On Hop Off in other locations, but I would not recommend it for Panama City, Panama.

Like a lot of people who have submitted reviews, we have been fortunate to visit a number of places around the world and used hop-on hop-off buses. The Panama version is at the mercy of the traffic and start-to-finish can take 3-4 hours. We enjoyed it, the guides were fab, it takes you to places you may want to see from the canal to Flamenco island and with a reasonable upgrade to 48 hours you can make good use of the time available. Be understanding and be prepared to wait as it is a difficult timetable to meet. It did the job for us at a good price.