Panama in July
· Updated · BootsnAll
July is the middle of Panama's green season, which is the tourist board's word for the rainy one. That sounds like a reason to stay away and it is not, for two specific reasons: the rain behaves predictably, and July is when the whales arrive.
How the rain actually works
The wet season runs roughly May to November. The pattern in July is not all-day rain: it is a hot bright morning, a heavy downpour in the afternoon lasting an hour or two, and then a clear evening.
Plan around it and you lose very little. Do the outdoor things in the morning, be somewhere with a roof at three o'clock, and go out again at five.
There is also a local phenomenon worth knowing about, the veranillo, a short dry spell that often falls in July and gives a week or two of reduced rain in the middle of the wet season. It is not guaranteed and it is common enough to be named.
Temperatures sit around 30 to 31 degrees, and the humidity is high.
The whales, which are the reason to come now
Humpback whales migrate to Panama's Pacific coast between about July and October, and this is one of the few places on earth where populations from both hemispheres arrive in the same waters.
The Pearl Islands and the Gulf of Chiriquí are the places to go, and Coiba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the serious destination for marine wildlife.
If whale watching is the point of the trip, July to October is the window and the dry season is not.
Green season advantages
The countryside is genuinely green rather than parched, the waterfalls around Boquete and El Valle are running properly, and the rivers are up, which makes this the season for whitewater rafting on the Chiriquí Viejo.
Prices are lower, rooms are available, and the sites are quieter. Panama in January is better weather and considerably more crowded.
What July is not good for
The San Blas islands in Guna Yala. Boat crossings are weather dependent and the wet season makes them less reliable and less pleasant. Go in the dry season for those.
Beach holidays on the Pacific coast are compromised by the afternoons, though the mornings are fine.
Hiking Volcán Barú for the view of two oceans is a dry season activity, because you need a clear dawn.
Practical
Bring a light rain jacket rather than an umbrella, because the rain arrives with wind. Shoes that dry.
Panama uses the US dollar, with the balboa as pegged coinage, so there is no currency to change if you are coming from the States.
Roads in the interior can flood and landslides occasionally close mountain routes, so build slack into any tight schedule.