A Travel Price Comparison for Families, Couples, and Backpackers Krakow vs. Panama City for Vacations, Tours, and Honeymoons

Should you visit Krakow or Panama City?

Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?

Should I visit Krakow or Panama City? This is a common question asked by many travelers. By figuring out which city has activities that align with your interests along with knowing which is more affordable, you'll understand where you can get more bang for your buck. So, let's dive into the details and the data, which all comes from actual travelers.

Where Should I go: Krakow or Panama City?

Krakow

Krakow is Poland's second largest city. It sits on both sides of the Wisla River at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains. There are more than 1.4 million residents in the metropolitan area. Krakow is known as a historical and beautiful city that is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. Tourism makes up a large part of the city's economy, but there is also a university and several local colleges which are major employers as well. Technology has grown in recent years and the city has some notable employees including Google, IBM and Motorola. Other important industries include steel, pharmaceuticals and tobacco.

Panama City

Panama City is the cosmopolitan capital city of the country of Panama. With a population of almost 900,000 and almost 1.5 million in the metropolitan area, it's a very diverse city with expat residents from all over the world. You don't have to search far to find someone who speaks English, and many Panamanians are quite helpful and friendly.

For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best 10-Day Tours in Poland, The Best Sightseeing Tours in Poland, The Best 2-Week Tours from Panama City, and The Best Adventure Tours to Panama.


Which place is cheaper, Panama City or Krakow?

These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.

The average daily cost (per person) in Krakow is $65, while the average daily cost in Panama City is $86. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Krakow and Panama City in more detail.



Accommodation
  • Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one person
    Krakow $42
    Panama City $35
  • Accommodation Typical double-occupancy room
    Krakow $84
    Panama City $70
Compare Hotels in Krakow and Panama City

Looking for a hotel in Krakow or Panama City? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.

Hotels in Krakow


Hotels in Panama City


Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.


Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Krakow Hotel Prices and Panama City Hotel Prices.

Local Transportation
  • Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    Krakow $6.41
    Panama City $11

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Krakow

Some specific examples of transportation prices in Krakow:

  • Private Transfer to or from Budapest: $871
  • Warsaw to Luxury Private Transfer: $750
  • Private Transfer to or from Prague: $747
  • From Gdansk or One-Way Private Transfer: $672
  • Private Transfer to or from Bratislava: $622
  • Private transfer! Warsaw Chopin Airport - Krakow City Center: $425
  • Private transfer from Krakow to Budapest or from Budapest to Krakow: $299
  • Private door-to-door transfer from Krakow to Budapest: $292
  • From Krakow to Wroclaw Airport Private Transfer: $291
  • Warsaw - Premium-Class Private Airport Transfer: $288
  • Private Transfer from Krakow to Warsaw with 2h of Sightseeing: $287
  • Private Transfer Airport to Warszawa Okęcie: $279

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Panama City

Also for Panama City, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:

  • Airport TRANSFER 1 way Tocumen Howard BLB Albrook Rio Hato Colon: $28
  • PTY Airport Transfer Service To Panama City: $50
  • PTY Tocumen Airport Private Transfer One Way or Round Trip!: $45
  • Panama Airport (PTY) to Panama city - Arrival Private Transfer: $28
  • Panama Airport (PTY) to Panama city - Round-Trip Private Transfer: $57
  • Panama Airport (PTY) to Playa Bonita/Gamboa - Private Transfer: $38
  • Panama Airport (PTY) to Playa Bonita/Gamboa - Round-Trip Transfer: $77
  • Panama City Private Arrival Transfer: $17
  • Embera Indian Village Tour w/ Airport Transfer: $290
  • Guided Panama Canal & City Tour with Transfers: $65
  • Half-Day City & Canal Tour w/ Airport Transfer: $215
  • Historic District and Canal Tour with Transfer: $65

Is it cheaper to fly into Krakow or Panama City?

Prices for flights to both Panama City and Krakow change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.





Food
  • Food Meals for one day
    Krakow $13
    Panama City $21

Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Krakow

Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Krakow.

  • Walking Street Food Tour: $22
  • Discovering Cracow's Local Flavour: Food Tour: $22
  • From Polish Folk Show with All-You-Can-Eat Dinner: $32
  • Folk Show & 3-Course Dinner at Jama Michalika Café: $44
  • Polish Folk Show with 3 course dinner in Krakow legendary restaurant: $45
  • Krakow : Folk Show Dinner Drinking and Fun ! Book Now!: $64
  • Cabaret Show with Optional Dinner: $70
  • Pierogi Cooking Class: Mastering the Art of Polish Dumplings: $74
  • Half-Day Krakow Food Tour in Old Town and Kazimierz: $83
  • 4-Hour Polish Food Tour: $88
  • Polish Pierogi Cooking Class with Farmer's Market Shopping: $97
  • Krakow Bites and Sights Food Tour: $104

Typical Food Prices in Panama City

Here are some examples of typical meal expenses from previous travelers to Panama City:


  • Sandwich
    $8.27

Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Panama City

For Panama City, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:

  • Panamanian Dinner and Folkloric Show Ticket with Pickup: $60
  • Panama Evening Food Tour: $60
  • Panama City FOOD Tour: $65
  • Night Out Experience (360 Panoramic Views + Dinner Show): $80
  • Panama: 10-Recipe Boozy Panamanian Cooking Class + Dinner: $85
  • The 'Real' Panamanian Private Food Tour: $200

Entertainment
  • Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
    Krakow $20
    Panama City $66

Tours and Activities in Krakow

Here are a few actual costs in Krakow for available activities, ticket prices, and tours:

  • Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum Guided Tour from Krakow: $64
  • Krakow Jewish Quarter Tour in a Small Group. : $49
  • Rynek Underground Museum Guided Tour: $25
  • Magic Christmas tour in Wieliczka: $153
  • 1 Day Auschwitz Birkenau Museum Guided Tour Hotel Pick up: $51
  • 1 Day Trip Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum Guided Tour from Krakow: $34
  • 1 Hour Traditional Gondola Sightseeing Vistula River Cruise: $16
  • 1-Hour Tour to Krakow's Old Town by Electric Golf Cart: $21
  • 2 Day Private Krakow City Tour, Old Town and Jewish Quarter: $153
  • 2 Hour Private Pinball and Arcade Museum Tour from Krakow: $273
  • 2 Hours Old Town Guided Bike Tour in Krakow: $27
  • 2-Hour Guided Tour in Kraków-Płaszów Concentration Camp : $22

Tours and Activities in Panama City

Also, here are some specific examples of entertainment, tickets, and activities for Panama City.

  • Bar tour in El Cangrejo with Bar Hopping Panama: $20
  • Walking Tour Metropolitan Park Panama City : $25
  • POIN Swing Experience: $27
  • Poin Glass Observation Deck Ticket with VR Tour: $27
  • POIN The Edge Experience: $27
  • Panama: Highlights Bike Tour in Casco Viejo & Cinta Costera: $28
  • Get to know the city aboard CitySightseeing Panama: $30
  • City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour: $30
  • Sunset Walking Tour at Casco Viejo El Chorrillo and the fish market: $30
  • walking tour in Casco Antiguo !: $30
  • Bike tour in Panama City and Old Quarter with local guided: $31
  • Bike tour in Panama City and Old City with locals: $31

Alcohol
  • Alcohol Drinks for one day
    Krakow $6.76
    Panama City $18
Typical Alcohol Prices in Krakow

Below are a few samples from actual travelers for alcohol and nightlife costs in Krakow:


  • Vodka
    $13

Sample the Local Flavors in Krakow

Here are a few nightlife and alcohol tours and activities from local tour providers in Krakow:

  • Pub Crawl with 1 Hour of Unlimited Alcoholic Drinks: $22
  • Kazimierz Pub Crawl with 1-Hour of Unlimited Drinks: $22
  • Pub Crawl - 1-hour Open Bar then Vip to 5 Clubs - Krakow: $24
  • Pub Crawl 1 hour Open Bar and 5 Hours Clubs in Krakow with VIP: $24
  • Halloween Pub Crawl - Krawl Through Krakow: $24
  • Pub tour in Old Town with 1 hour open bar with a guide.: $25
  • Pub Crawl with Shots, Drinks & Skip-the-Line Entry: $25
  • Pub Crawl + Unlimited Drinks + VIP entry + Drinking Games & Photographer : $25
  • Three-Hour Pub Crawl: $39
  • Wieliczka Vineyard: Wine tasting with local snacks: $44
  • Tyskie Brewery Tour from Katowice: $120


When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Krakow and Panama City, we can see that Panama City is more expensive. And not only is Krakow much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Krakow is in Europe and Panama City is in Central America, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Krakow would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Krakow and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Panama City would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Panama City than you might in Krakow.

If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Krakow Expensive? and Is Panama City Expensive?.


Which is Bigger, Krakow or Panama City?

Krakow has a larger population, and is about 85% larger than the population of Panama City. When comparing the sizes of Krakow and Panama City, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.