San Felipe Market & Santa Ana Experience. City Rhythms Revealed!

If you want to see Panama City the way locals actually live it, this two and a half hour tour with Juan Carlos is exactly what you're looking for. Instead of sticking to the polished, touristy streets of Casco Viejo, we got a real, unfiltered look at daily life in San Felipe and Santa Ana. The San Felipe Market was a highlight — stalls of fresh chicken, beef, and pork, a food court packed with local vendors, and fruits and vegetables we'd genuinely never seen before. We also tried some incredible fresh fruit juices, hot sauce and sweets along the way. From there, we made our way through Santa Ana and the expanding edges of Casco Viejo, taking in the blend of Spanish and French colonial architecture, vibrant murals, and historic squares lined with monuments and beautiful old trees. Alongside all of this, we saw the visible signs of gentrification firsthand — buildings occupied by squatters standing just steps from renovated hotels with rooftop bars. That contrast stayed with us and spoke volumes about the city's ongoing transformation. Juan Carlos was an outstanding guide throughout — knowledgeable about Panamanian history and culture, and clearly passionate about showing visitors a side of the city that most tourists never get to see. I highly recommend this tour if you’re looking for something beyond the typical Casco Viejo tourist experience.

Bekar was a great host, taking us around the market, showing us the different foods and helping our conversation with the traders who were happy to chat without pressuring us to buy. At the end of the tour he helped us get an uber back to the cruise port

Belco was a great guide! His knowledge of the history of the marketplaces in Panama City kept me interested and asking questions! The tour is a great way to pick up the souvenirs for your return trip.

Excellent tour with knowledgeable tour guide who gave great information about the people and the places. Best tour of Casco Viejo.

The tour guide Juan Carlos was amazing and extremely knowledgeable. He took us through the evolution of Panama City. His referral of Fonda San Felipe for us to get a taste of traditional Panamanian food was gold star.

Another excellent tour of the many sites in Panama City. Luis (sp?) was a very well spoken, knowledgeable, and gracious guide. He optimized the tour for us, eg keeping in the shade, providing bootlegs of cold water, answering our questions, all while covering a lot of old town. He knows the sites well and relayed that information to us. This is what we hoped for and we walked for several hours non-stop.

Roberto our guide was very knowledgeable and knew not just the area, but most of the people in it. He took us to some areas that we wouldn’t otherwise have seen without him. He also took many group photos for us.

Learning about all the foods that are native to Panama and a mystery to us. Luis made especially aware of all the different styles of housies throughout old town. He pointed out all different balcony designs which never noticed before. The tour was a real treat and Luis is an excellent guide and person.

The half day tour was amazing. It was nice to learn about how the Canal works and actually see it in action. Our guide was amazing and gor us there very early as we beat the crowd The tour around Panama City and Old Town was equally amazing and we learned so much about the city Highly recommend!!!!

I’d actually walked around all the areas on the tour by myself the day before, but I got SO much more interesting context about the local culture and history by going on this tour. Definitely recommend!

Juan Carlos was awesome! Gave me a real Panama experience. Very knowledgeable and informative. Would recommend to all.

This was an excellent tour. A close up look at old town Panama. A deep dive into the long history of Panama. Roberto was has a deep knowledge of Panamanian history.

Very informative, our guide Roberto was very knowledgeable and friendly. Let us stop to take photos and we had a body/beverage break in a nice air conditioned coffee shop names Geisha Experience.

Roberto was on time, flexible, a wealth of info and personable. This tour gives you a lot and although we had taken a bike tour that touched on some of the neighborhoods included on this tour, this one provided more depth and local flavor. Roberto was great. Highly recommend.

Excellent knowledge and the local neighbourhoods we were taken through. Our guide Roberto used to live here and even bumped into numerous friends along the way. We felt safe and got to see areas off the tourist tracks.

Very comprehensive explanations and in-depth knowledge of typical foods, history and many city facts that would surprise and enlighten visitors. Our guide was very attentive, spoke perfect English and was highly professional. A great tour to get a feel for the city.

I absolutely recommend taking this tour! Roberto was so kind and lovely; it ended up only being my friend and myself and I was so grateful that he didn’t cancel it. Roberto was so kind and let us stop and take a many pictures as we wanted and even got a coke at Cafe Coca Cola :). I will also add that I had taken another city tour a few days earlier and the tour with Roberto was much more informative, enjoyable and worth it.

Juan Carlos was knowledgeable and kept the tour interesting. He answered all our questions. Knows the city well.

It covered a lot of interesting sights. With the overview, we really enjoyed our time in chinatown and casco vieja.

Raphael was a fantastic guide and we really got to know the old city. He was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot! He had terrific recommendations as well and went the extra mile helping us plan the rest of our day. Highly recommend!

A terrific way to learn the history of Panama, as well as current day. Rafa is clearly passionate about Panama, extremely knowledgeable, and very fun.

The walk was fine and our tour guide was sweet however we just didnt get the depth of information we usually get from walking tours. It all felt very flat with random facts thrown in. For the price I had expected more.

Raphael was a great guide! He knew a lot about the city, its people, and its culture. He really took care of us and as we walked through the historic city, a lot of people knew him and said hello. The old city is beautiful. We liked the Spanish colonial architecture and hearing about the history behind the different buildings. Raphael also pointed out good places to eat and drink. After the tour was over and we visited those places, we were not disappointed. Highly recommend

Casco Viejo is one of the jewels of Panama. Luis did a wonderful job of bringing to life the history of this UNESCO World Heritage site, which is not to be missed. Casco Viejo reminded us of New Orleans, but it is cleaner and more elegant. It’s also a great place to stay in Panama City. There are many beautifully restored hotels and plenty of excellent restaurants. Luis showed us many of them and also suggested we visit the Canal Museum right in the historic center. We did this separately after our tour. (The Canal museum is very well done and tells the incredible story of how the Canal was built and all the intrigue that went with it.) We also stopped by several Colonial-era churches, including an amazing large nativity scene inside one of them. We began the tour on the outskirts of Casco Viejo in (tired-looking) Chinatown and at the San Felipe Market, a civic marvel illustrative of the Panamanian cleanliness and efficiency we’ve experienced here. Luis is warm, knowledgeable and happily answered our many questions. You will definitely enjoy your time with him.

Very interesting walking tour with Roberto. We learned a lot about the history and culture of Panama City. Highly recommended!

Covered a good portion of the most interesting areas, and enjoyed the history lessons. This was a great introductory tour!

Roberto was a friendly, professional and very knowledgeable tour guide who took time to answer all of our questions and ensured the tour included a stop for refreshments; he included many interesting historical facts in his narrative; it was a great start to our visit of Panama City

Roberto was amazing! He is so knowledgeable and kind. At every stop, he shared detailed facts and information. We got to see Panama City up close and personal. I could not have learned as much about the city if I didn’t take this tour.

very good, out tour guide Roberto was beyond wonderful . He was very informative, knowledgeable about his country and patient . Overall a great tour , would highly recommend it.

The old city is great. Save for that, this tour struggled a little bit for content. I would recommend it but you might need to do a little work yourself as to ideas to explore with the guide.

My tour guide “Roberto” was really great with great history information . The tour started at a food market and took a walk later around the old town in Panama which was very interesting and full of history stories

The smell group meines the tour very personable. The explanations comprise a balanced blend of historic facts and insight into current everyday-life, particularly Panama’s multicultural society and its manifestations. Very highly recommended.

My favorite part is learning where the locals eat. $3 meals. Also, the history of the people who migrated to work to construct the Panama Canal

Roberto, our guide brought the city’s history to life. His knowledge while interjecting his personal stories kept our interest throughout the tour. Next time I visit, this tour will be on my list of to dos.

Juan Carlos was very informative. There were so many things I didn't know about Panama. He is very knowledgeable and polite. The tour was excellent! Great introduction to the beauty of Panama.

This was our last tour in Panamá before leaving. It was the perfect amount of time. Luis was a great guide, he balanced the typical tourist spots with local areas. We visited Chinatown, the fish market, coffee shops, church’s and also learned historical data about the city. Luis has so much passion for his city and its history, he also catered the tour to our needs and made suggestions on wear we should get souvenirs.

We learned a great deal about the history of Panama and Panama City on our walk with Luis. He is highly informative and very pleasant company. We visited many places new to us -- and this is our fifth or sixth visit to Panama City! Want to better understand this fabulous city? Go for a walk with Luis!

This was a fantastic tour. We both really enjoyed it and learned a great deal about Panama City. Rafael was a knowledgeable and personable guide.

Luis was a great tour guide! He was very informative, knowledgeable, but also laid back! He took us all over Casco Viejo, it was very cool to see places that aren’t as frequented by tourists. We had a great time and learned and saw a lot! Highly recommend this tour!!

Rafeal was a great tour guide. He's very knowledgeable in his English as well spoken. I would recommend this to her to anyone that wants to learn more about Old Town.

I stayed at the Westin Playa Bonita, and Rafael was highly recommended by the concierge person when I asked about tours. He was extremely informative, professional, friendly and accommodating. I was traveling by myself, so safety and security were very important and I felt safe at all times. I highly recommend his tours.

Excelente experiencia. Hay que tener calzado cómodo. Es un camino interesante y se puede apreciar todo bien cerca. Lo recomiendo. Me gustó mucho esta excursión. Belco fue nuestro guía. Explico muy bien. Excelente.

Roberto the Super Guide and the good cares gave meaning to this tour of the old town. The right indications and explanations.

To był nasz ostatni dzień w Panamie. W związku z tym ,że wcześniej zwiedziliśmy już Casco Viejo szczególnie podobała nam się część obejmująca zwiedzanie dzielnicy Santa Ana oraz China Town. Proponujemy raczej turę poranną gdyż zwiedzanie obejmuje również wizytę na targu owocowo-warzywnym i mięsnym ,a po południu duża część stoisk była już zamknięta. Ogólnie polecamy zwłaszcza w pierwszych dniach zwiedzania Panamy.

Excellent Service. Rafael treated us like family, a great experience. Thank you for making our trip to Panama an unforgettable one and for sharing your love for your country. See you soon.

Since we arrived we were greeted by Rafael with very good vibes ... he guided us kindly from the first moment ... excellent guide ... until he indicated the best place on the canal to see the functioning of it from there in more all the information of this beautiful city ... super punctual ... indicated places to shop and eat ... makes us want to return ... Thanks Rafael.....

It was very interesting to know the city, the canal and the very good lunch, recommended. Thanks for the Rafa tour, a strong hug!!!.

Rafael is an excellent guide, with a lot of patience to explain and resolve any doubts that may arise, very friendly and knowledgeable of his country... I loved the tour and was surprised how beautiful Panama City is... thank you Rafael!