November Nomad Budget Panama City, Panamá
This budget was for the entire month of November 2025 in Panama. Please note that we didn’t have any of the ‘extra’ costs of a new location for this month, as we have been here for a while now. You can read more about those unexpected costs here. Total for November $4,956.28. Compare this to our mid August to mid Sept costs here.
Accommodation: $3,170
We rented two different AirBNB’s starting in October and going through December, so this cost is about 50:50 each location. Both are in the PH Yoo Panama building - the first one in the ‘arts’ building and the second in the main building. The view was rather limited in the first rental but it was a lot less expensive. Unfortunately, it had almost nothing in the kitchen, so we had to buy a number of things that you can read about here. Our second location has a lovely balcony with a table and chairs - it has more dishes than you could ever use, but a very odd assortment of things. The place was absolutely filthy when we arrived. We have simply cleaned it, as there were fresh linens and towels. Unfortunately, there must be a cat that normally lives here, as we have had some pretty bad allergies the entire time.
PH Yoo building is right along Avenue Balboa (noisy busy street), but easy access to Cinta Costera - a lovely walking path along the bay. The building has a nice, but worn down workout space (with no wifi access) and a nice pool. Please note that there ARE daily rentals here - so I’d recommend staying in the smaller arts building.
First one: Oct 7 - Nov 18 $3,389 - 1 month $2,469.60
Second one: Nov 18 - Dec 16 - $3,170.30
This was our biggest budget item - this included high speed internet, electricity (no cap), other utilities, and linens (though only one set - it is nice when they provide 2, so you can wash. I note the no cap on electricity, because many units list a cap of between $100 and $150 - while I have no idea what we actually spent - given the A/C ran almost non-stop (largely to keep the mildew smell at bay, but also the heat). Both of these had a king bed - this is kinda essential for us as we are both tall and like our own space.
Cell phone: $79
This includes our cell phone plans in the U.S. so we can keep our numbers and local sims. I have written more about what those are here. We use Airalo for eSIMs mostly.
Transportation: $57.06
We tend to walk everywhere, but this includes 5 rides in one day to or from various locations for Peter’s birthday. Uber is super easy and affordable in Panama City.
Shopping: $119.84
This includes a birthday gift for Peter that I wrote about here - a traditional linen shirt.
Insurance: $287.68
We went with Genki and have yet to have to use it, but I have heard good things. My husband turns 65 in November and I have heard that the costs go up dramatically after that - since we are spending some time in early 2026 in Europe, I may just keep it for simplicity.
Self care: $195.84
Day of pampering for Peter and another massage for him on his birthday and a pedicure for me. The costs of all of this was very low relative to the U.S.
Food and Drink: $506.64
This includes restaurants, coffee shops, and wine/beer. Restaurants were about the same cost as back in the U.S., so don’t expect to pay less and eat out a lot.
Groceries: $540.64
We are vegetarian and have really ‘found’ our stuff here, while it gets a bit monotonous, it is a fairly low cost and we are happy with it.
Activities: $0
We had one charity walk - $15 each at the end of October, so not included in this month. We haven’t done much that costs anything this month!
