This old port town on the northern coastline of Panama’s isthmus is a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A little-known fact is that Portobello Road, the famous market lane in London, was named after it following a successful British attack against the Spanish in 1739. There’s much to explore in this tourist town: spend a morning walking the Spanish fortifications, with coral walls three-metres thick, book a kayaking trip through the mangroves and look for monkeys, sloths and birds, or spend a day at the pristine Playa Blanca, a deserted island a 20-minute boat trip away. For a more vigorous vacation, hike and swim in waterfalls or join a diving school or snorkelling trip and immerse yourself in the underwater reefs.