What you need to enter
A US or Canadian passport valid for at least three months beyond your arrival, and a return ticket. No visa, no forms in advance, no fee at the airport.
Panama City · Santa Maria Golf Club
Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 April 2027
Golf in Panama. Three to five hours from most US hubs.
Three nights at The Santa Maria, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott, and two rounds on its private Nicklaus course. Everything is arranged before you land.
From $1,498 per person with a companion/non golfer, $1,848 per person for two golfers, double occupancy required. Includes carts for both rounds, private airport transfers, a welcome reception, a group dinner and all taxes. Flights not included.
Flight time
3 to 5 hours nonstop from most major US hubs
Entry
US or Canadian passport. No visa.
Currency
US dollar
Time zone
Same as Miami in winter, Houston in summer
Meet Panama
New to golf in Panama? Start here.
Panama City is the business capital of Central America, a skyline of glass towers on the Pacific with a 350 year old quarter, Casco Viejo, at one end and the canal at the other. It runs on the US dollar, it never changes its clocks, and it sits a shorter flight from most of the East Coast than Denver does. The Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro are an hour's flight the other way.
Mid April is the tail of the dry season. Expect sunshine, high 80s, and a breeze off the water in the afternoon. It is a long weekend, not an expedition, and nobody needs a week off work to come.
Nonstop flying time to Panama City
Approximate nonstop flying times: Miami and Orlando 3 hours · Houston and Austin 4 · Atlanta and Dallas 4½ · Washington 5 · New York and Chicago 5½ · Toronto 6 · Los Angeles 6½.
Copa, United, American and Delta all fly nonstop into Tocumen, which is about thirty minutes from the resort. At many Caribbean and Mexican golf resorts the drive from the airport is an hour or more. Most morning flights land before lunch. Flights are not included in the package. We tell you which flight to book from your city so the whole group arrives together.
Money
Panama's currency is the US dollar. Your cards work, prices look like home, and the package price you see here is the price you pay.
Getting around
You do not need to. A private driver meets you at the airport, everything in the package is on the resort, and the add on tours leave from the hotel.
Panama City · The venue
Santa Maria, a private Nicklaus club with a Marriott Luxury Collection hotel on it
Santa Maria Golf Club is a private members' club, the first course Nicklaus Design built in Panama, and it opens to guests of the hotel that sits beside it. You stay at The Santa Maria, a Luxury Collection Hotel and Golf Resort by Marriott, and you play the course twice as a group, with tee times arranged before you land.
The course
- Nicklaus Design, par 72, 7,153 yards from the championship tees, with four tee sets on every hole so a mixed group plays comfortably together
- Water in play on most holes, generous fairways, and the Panama City skyline behind the closing stretch
- Driving range, short game area and putting green beside the clubhouse, with range access included
- Rental clubs available, so you can travel with hand luggage. Ask for them when you join and we reserve a set
- Carts included with both rounds. Managed by Troon
The hotel
- Deluxe rooms, breakfast included
- Full service spa, pools and private dining space for the group dinner
- About thirty minutes from Tocumen airport, minutes from downtown
The hotel, inside.
The Santa Maria, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott.
Santa Maria Golf Club, up close.
Santa Maria as it actually is, with the city on the horizon. Most of these were taken by Brian on ordinary days at the club.
How it works
You bring the group. We have done the rest.
- Built for groups of friends, country club groups and company outings, from one foursome up to twenty four golfers.
- Rooms at Santa Maria held as one block, so nobody is hunting for a rate.
- Tee times for both rounds arranged for the group before anyone flies.
- Private luxury transfers, with a driver waiting at Tocumen when you land. The resort is about thirty minutes away, so you can be on the range the afternoon you arrive.
- The welcome reception and the Saturday group dinner booked and paid for.
- One price per room, and each room pays its own way. Nobody collects credit card numbers from eighteen friends.
Add ons such as tours, lessons, extra nights and extra rounds are booked the same way, through us, so the person organising the trip never has to become a travel agent.
The itinerary
Four days, three nights, two rounds.
Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 April 2027.
Capped at 24 golfers, which is six foursomes. Partners welcome.
- Thursday15 AprilArrive Panama City. Private transfer to Santa Maria, time on the range if you land early, then the welcome reception.
- Friday16 AprilRound one at Santa Maria Golf Club, with an early tee time. The afternoon and evening are your own.
- Saturday17 AprilRound two, late morning start. Group dinner for everyone in the evening.
- Sunday18 AprilBreakfast and transfer to the airport, or stay on.
Tours, dinners downtown, extra nights, extra rounds and a few days in Bocas del Toro are available as add ons. They are not built into the price.
Two Panama golf packages, priced per person for the whole stay.
Package one
Golfer and companion
$1,498 per person
$2,995 per room, double occupancy required
One golfer plays two rounds. Both stay three nights and both come to everything else.
Package two
Two golfers
$1,848 per person
$3,695 per room, double occupancy required
Both play two rounds. Both stay three nights.
Per person prices require double occupancy, two people sharing a room. Travelling alone? A single room for one golfer is $2,395. All prices include Panama hotel tax.
How payment works
- NowSaying you are in costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
- By 30 November 2026A 50 percent deposit per room. We hold deposits until enough rooms have committed to confirm the trip.
- By 15 January 2027The remaining 50 percent, 90 days before arrival.
Once we confirm the trip, the deposit is non refundable. If too few rooms commit and the trip does not go ahead, every dollar comes back to you. Each room pays its own way, so an organiser never fronts the money for the group. We recommend travel insurance that covers cancellation.
Included
- Three nights at The Santa Maria, a Luxury Collection Hotel and Golf Resort by Marriott, in a Deluxe room with breakfast
- Two rounds at Santa Maria Golf Club, with a cart
- Driving range access throughout the stay
- Welcome reception on Thursday
- Group dinner on Saturday
- Private airport transfers in both directions
- An optional group competition across both rounds, with scoring and prizes
- Hotel tax
Not included
- Flights
- Tours, dinners downtown, extra nights, extra rounds and lessons, which are add ons
- Other lunches and dinners, which are your own
- Personal spending
Prices are in US dollars, which is Panama's currency, and include hotel tax, so the price quoted a year out is the price you pay. A comparable resort package in Cabo or Scottsdale typically runs $2,500 to $3,500 per person, or $5,000 to $7,000 per couple, before flights.
Add ons
Panama, beyond the course.
Priced separately and booked through us, so each couple picks what they want and nobody pays for a tour they do not take.
The Panama Canal
Watch ships climb the Miraflores locks from the visitor centre, or take a partial transit through the canal itself.
Casco Viejo, the Old Town
A guided walk through the 350 year old quarter, its plazas, churches and rooftop bars, with dinner to follow.
Dinners downtown
Tables held at the city's best restaurants on the free evenings, with transport there and back.
Bocas del Toro
Panama's Caribbean islands, an hour's flight from the city. Add two or three nights on the water before or after the golf.
Real estate and residency
For anyone curious about a second home or Panama's residency programmes, a half day with a licensed adviser and a look at properties around Santa Maria.
Longer stays, more golf, time with the pro
Arrive early or stay on after Sunday, and add extra rounds at Santa Maria. Or book a playing lesson or a short game clinic with the pro, or a first swing clinic for a partner who has never played.
About Domingo Golf Trips
Run by a golfer who lives here.
Brian at Domingo Golf runs high end Panama golf trips for people who want to come, play and stay. He lives in Panama City, plays Santa Maria, and is on the ground for every trip.
The course photos on this page are his own, taken on ordinary days at Santa Maria. What you see is what you get: a private Nicklaus course, the skyline on the horizon, and a city that makes an easy long weekend.
All travel is booked through Travel with Makini, a Fora travel advisory.
April 2027
Are you in for April 2027?
Tell us who you are and answer five short questions. It takes about two minutes, costs nothing and commits you to nothing. The answers decide whether this trip runs and what it looks like, and the people on this list hear first when the dates are confirmed.
All travel is booked through travelwithmakini.com, a Fora travel advisory.
April 2027
You are on the list.
Domingo Golf will email you within a day. If you are organising for a group, expect a question or two about dates and numbers.
Common questions
Do I need a visa for Panama?
No. US and Canadian passport holders enter as tourists with a passport valid for at least three months beyond arrival and a return ticket. There is nothing to apply for in advance. We confirm the current requirements for the group as part of planning, including anyone travelling on another passport.
Is Panama City safe?
It is the business capital of the region, home to the Latin American headquarters of dozens of multinationals, and Santa Maria itself is a gated golf community. Use the same judgement you would in Miami and you will be fine. Domingo Golf is based in Panama City.
What do the non golfers do?
Quite a lot. The canal, Casco Viejo's old quarter, the spa, the islands, and some of the best dining in Central America. Companion activities are sold as add ons, so each couple picks what they want.
How does payment work?
Saying you are in is free. If you go ahead, a 50 percent deposit per room is due by 30 November 2026 and the balance by 15 January 2027, which is 90 days before arrival. The deposit becomes non refundable once we confirm the trip. If too few rooms commit and the trip does not run, everything you paid is returned. Each room pays separately.
Is anything booked yet?
No. The dates, the itinerary and the prices on this page are the plan, and they hold until the group is confirmed. This list tells us whether there is a group. Once there is, the people on it hear first, and nothing is charged until you say yes to a written confirmation.
What happens after I say I am in?
Domingo Golf emails you within a day. If you are organising for a group, we will ask about your dates and numbers. When the trip is confirmed, you get the booking details and a single invoice for your group, booked through travelwithmakini.com.