Beyond the canal: Panama & Copa highlight hidden gems, stopover program

Panama was on feature on Wednesday (Sept. 24) at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Toronto as Copa Airlines and Visit Panama held an information session on the Central American country.

About 50 travel agents attended for presentations and speed-dating style of meetings with 17 Panama providers, which included hotels, car rental companies and others from the country to showcase their product.

Gabriella Rodriguez, trade manager for Visit Panama, told PAX that Panama is still a hidden gem that can easily be overlooked or known only for its famous canal, but offers much more.

“It’s still a country and a destination to be discovered,” she said. “You can do a lot of things in such a short time.”

She said you can go from the Pacific to the Caribbean on the same day and move from beach to mountain. She highlighted the Volcán Barú, an active volcano that is also the tallest mountain in the country, sitting at 3,475 metres above sea level.

You can hike up it and, on a clear day, see both oceans on either side of the country at the same time, Rodriguez said.

Besides the mountain, Panama features over 1,500 islands to explore with untouched beaches and turtle sanctuaries. One experience on offer is a nighttime “Turtle Patrol,” in which you can see turtles lay eggs on the beach. The eggs are then taken for protection from predators, and the baby turtles are released into the ocean once hatched.

Panama City is a modern city known for its shopping where good discounts can be found. It also features its historic district, the old city San Felipe, which was first destroyed by pirates then rebuilt in 1673. It is a picturesque UNESCO heritage site with cobble stone streets.

Then, of course, there is the Panama Canal, which Rodriguez encourages visitors to see. In 2016, a canal expansion was completed in the province of Colón that has different locks from the original built in 1914, and a second visitor centre.

Panama has seven Indigenous communities that tourists can visit, Rodriguez said, and the Tierras Altas highlands, where most of the country’s coffee production is found, also includes bird watching and hiking.

“In Panama, our coffee is our pride,” she said, noting that some beans are grown using volcanic soil that give it that extra zing.

Jan Woolford, the consul general for Panama in Toronto, told PAX that the country is still full of surprises to make unique tourist experiences.

He told the story of one day when he was at the beach, a small boat docked that just came from fishing, and before he knew it, he was eating some of the best, most fresh fried fish he ever had.

 “Every time you go to Panama, there’s something new going on,” he said. “I want to extend the invitation to all the Canadian tourists to take a look at Panama and experience it for yourself.”

Woolford said the country hasn’t done the best job promoting itself and often is just known for its canal or other news stories, such as the tax evading “Panama Papers,” but said the country has a lot to offer.

Canadians don’t need a specific visa to visit Panama, and foreign nationals just need their Permanent Resident card.

Copa stopover program

Copa Airlines was also at the event, Panama’s flag carrier that travels directly to the country daily from both Toronto and Montreal.

Copa offers a stopover program for Panama, in which anyone travelling in the area can add a flight to the country completely for free, either on their way there or back, and can stay for up to seven days.

Copa has a micro-website for the stopover program where agents can find other discounts on hotels, car rentals and tours.

 “The stopover is a great product because it offers you two destinations for one,” Copa Airlines Sales Manager Laura Marin told PAX. “When you book the stopover, you have additional discounts for your clients to book.”

She highlighted that Copa was recognized in 2025 for the 10th year in a row as the most punctual airline in Latin America by aviation analytics company Cirium.

The airline travels to more than 85 destinations in 32 countries, she said, and uses the 737 Max and 737-800.

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