Letting out a breathe of relief, Panama has, after nearly 6 long months, finally begun the reopening of the economy with set dates. October 12 marks the official date for hotels, tour operators, and the country reopening its borders to tourists. You may not be one of these early adopters to hop on the first plane in, but if you are eager then I'm talking to you!
There will be deals a plenty, but this will vary greatly depending on type of service or item you're looking to buy because not all businesses fared so bad as the others. Hotels will be your go to for specials and offers in addition to restaurants.
Regarding day tours, you'll find that you will need to book these with more anticipation now since all the smaller operators went out of business and had to shut down. There are fewer providers so fewer spots available, especially since even the bigger players had to contract business as a result of this pandemic. Keep in mind that though you may be an early adopter with fewer tourists around town, there are also significantly fewer service providers so choose right and book ahead of time.
If you were planning a nightlife focused trip then you'll need to think differently. Restaurants (& bars with food) reopen Sept 28 ahead of the tourism date, but nightclubs have no set date set as of now, so make the most of the restaurant bar scene then make sure you got a plan set out for a private party. The private mansion pool party or villa party are both great options in lieu of no nightclubs. Or make even more of your days and take to the seas for an all day fun in the sun yacht party.
Like everywhere, the new normal just requires adjusting your perspective and expectations a bit. Guaranteed you'll have a good time, but be sure to plan ahead so as to not waste time. Who better than YC in Panama for private group trips. We are positioned for this new normal like few others in the industry are, so reach out and we'll help guide your trip to be another one for the books!