Panvel Junction links Mumbai's Central and Harbour suburban railway lines with Konkan Railway services, and the town is the starting point of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Sion-Panvel Highway and NH-4B/NH-66.

It is about 12 km from the new Navi Mumbai International Airport and 5 km from the Atal Setu sea bridge; Navi Mumbai Metro Line-1 adds further transit reach.

The locality has established K-12 schools such as DAV Public School and St. Joseph's High School, and is home to Pillai College of Engineering - Navi Mumbai's first autonomous engineering college, NAAC A+ accredited, offering B.Tech, M.Tech and PhD programmes.

Panvel's own Kalamboli Industrial Area sits within the locality; Taloja MIDC's chemicals, pharmaceuticals and engineering estate is about 11 km away; and CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai's established business district, is roughly 12 km away.

Panvel taluka is home to the Karnala Bird Sanctuary and the historic Karnala hill-fort (about 12 km away) - Maharashtra's first bird sanctuary, built around a fort dating to before 1400 CE.

Panvel is also a traditional gateway to the Konkan coast and to hill stations such as Matheran, reachable via the Neral rail link.

Orion Mall, along with K Mall and Mahalaxmi Mall, serve as the locality's main organised shopping, dining and multiplex entertainment hubs.

Panvel Municipal Council - India's first municipal council, formed in 1852 - was upgraded to a Municipal Corporation on 1 October 2016; it now governs Panvel city plus 29 revenue villages (including Kharghar, Kalamboli, Kamothe and Taloja) across about 110 sq km.

CIDCO built and maintains the wide, planned arterial roads of New Panvel.