Panama
The information below is provided by Lonely Planet readers and is not verified by Lonely Planet. For the official lowdown, contact your nearest embassy or check out our Travel Links.
Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
When crossing the border into Costa Rica, make sure you carry your passport and travel documents, because when you re-enter Panama they will charge you for a new visa that's US$20.00 if you can't prove that you have an exiting ticket!
Jakke St. Clair, USA (Dec 03)
Panama/Costa Rica: We didn't pay an exit fee but some people seem to have been charged US$10 in addition to the US$10 entrance fee to Costa Rica. Also they didn't really care on the Costa Rican side if we had ongoing tickets from the country (we didn't) however, bus drivers make a big killing selling return tickets for the same day.
Agi and Sharif Burra, Australia (Dec 01)
A tourist card costs US$10 now...The Panamanians are highly suspicious of tourists traveling around Paso Canoas near the Costa Rican border. Some tourists don't always have the proper visa requirements and there is a flourishing drug trade across the border. Generally buses will be stopped, with police boarding asking for identification (not just from tourists). Should you be unfortunate to not have your passport on the day like me (I had other ID but that wasn't good enough), you will be escorted off the bus and taken aside to be interrogated. Should you be even unluckier (like me again), you will end up at the Paso Canoas police station and then the immigration office, spending most of the day trying to prove your innocence in 40 degree heat. So, make sure you always have your passport handy, not just in Western Panama, but most of Panama.
Allegra Marshall, Australia (May 01)
Travel Tips
Overall: Panama is not geared for backpacker- type travel at all. The country, as reported to us by a local "Zonian" (Panamanian who grew up in the American Canal Zone), is actively avoiding it and courting high-end travel as a conscious policy for economic growth. Travelers on a budget should seriously consider this before going; there are very few hostels and places of that nature and many tourist activities are grossly overpriced. With careful choices, however, it is possible to explore this amazing country without much cash. And it is worth the challenge- in 8 day hikes, we only saw other people on 2 of the days. But we did see 3 species of toucan, many sloths, monkeys, etc. and were able to chat with many locals throughout the country. It is a wonderful place to explore, and it is always rewarding to visit a country going through a lot of change even if it means navigating through very little tourism infrastructure.
Amy Bann and David Leon, USA (Dec 03)
One can now take a boat directly out of Changuinola to get to Bocas Island. The cost is a bit more than the bus ride to Almirante and the boat ride from there, but the area that the boat leaves from is quite nice. Take either a bus ($.50) or a Taxi ($1.00) from the Piquera to Las 60 (Finca 60). They will let you off at a small park that you walk through to get to the boats. The same boat company runs this boat operation and the one out of Almirante. The ride is stunning and shorter than the ride from Almirante. Boats run roughly every hour ($9.00 round trip or $5.00 one way).
Beth Genovese (Mar 03)
One travel book that I recommend is called, The Full Montezuma, Around Central America and the Caribbean with the Girl Next Door, by Peter Moore. Six weeks after falling in love with his next-door neighbor, Peter suggested a romantic trip through Central America- as you do! Over the next six months they battled hurricanes, mosquitoes, uncooperative border officials and over-sexed Mexican commuters. It shines an unrelenting spotlight on the highs and lows of traveling with a partner and proves once and for all that there is a world of difference between men and women.
Hiske van Haren, Netherlands (Dec 01)
Scams & Warnings
In September 2003, I suffered two massive and consecutive epileptic seizures and was unconscious for 45 minutes in a remote corner of Panama because the anti-malarial drugs I had been taking brought out the worst of what, until then, had been a very mild and environmentalised form of epilepsy (which had not then been diagnosed). I had seen a neurologist and a GP in the UK but the risks associated with anti-malaria tablets for epileptics were not mentioned to me - even after me specifically asking the GP about risks associated with these drugs!
Fortunately, I was looked after in Panama after a near brush with death. Can I suggest that epilepsy be mentioned in your guidebooks for tropical countries. Epilepsy is very 'unscientific' and doctors do not know huge amounts about it but they do know which anti-malarial drugs are dangerous for epileptics. This information could put travellers on notice of a serious risk.
Seán McNulty, UK (Jan 04)
You mentioned that Casco Viejo and Chorillo are unsafe. This is true. It would also be worth mentioning that visitors to Panama City should, at all costs, stay out of Curundú, the neighborhood north of Central and east of Ancón.
Lauren Giles, USA (Dec 03)
I was on a bus today from Boquete to David. A few people got on just before we got off. They all sat at the back of the bus with us. We thought this was strange as there were only a few stops to go. When we arrived, the woman dropped her glasses and expected us to help her pick them up while her accomplice then picks the pocket of the person helping her. How I know this is that my partner had the same woman do the same thing and had his pocket picked of his wallet and lost everything a few weeks back on another bus (Puerto Armuelles to David). Please alert all tourists visiting David of this scam. We will tell the police. They were also waiting for us to go to the front of the bus to pick our bags. But we lept off the back on purpose.
Allegra Marshall, Australia (May 03)
Santa Clara is a beautiful beach to relax on, but you should really warn people of the stingrays. I was stung there and it took several weeks for my foot to recover. If a person does get stung they should go to the nearest clinic in Anton or another hospital. Infection is also common with stingray stings.
Please, please, please give a strong warning to the dangers of the currents and riptides in Bocas. When we were there one of the family's staying at Al Natural lost their father who appeared to be very fit and healthy in a riptide. They were on a tour and they took them to a very rough beach on the other side of Isla Bastimentos and gave them no warnings of the dangers of the currents. Two girls died in the same beach not long before. Please warn your readers that there will be no signs to warn them and irresponsible companies that just want to make a buck will also not warn you. The rip tides and currents are dangerous and should be taken seriously.
Serena Ayers & Aaron Baker (Feb 03)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
Chitré (Peninsula de Azueros): The local famous festival is held on the Sunday closest to the 19th of October, and is really worth seeing. I was there last autumn, and I did see some of the most beautiful horses I had seen in my life (I did see many!). Horses are a very serious matter in the David Province. I saw a beautiful procession of "Ford Mustang" and other more typical attractions, with a big party ambiance.
Frederic Metey, France (Aug 01)
Before leaving, I was worried because of your comments about the police. To give credit where credit is due, I thought that you might like to hear how impressed we were by all the policemen we met. When we rented a car at Tocumen Airport to go to Cerro Azul, we asked directions from the two tourism policemen on duty. Realizing that we would have trouble following them, they arranged for a police car to take us all the way to Cerro Azul. In Panama Viejo, my husband and I went to buy drinks from a little store. Back on the street, we were escorted by a tourism policeman who (we found out later) had kept an eye on us. He stopped the traffic so that we could cross the avenue safely and pointed to our two friends birding along the shore. Two young policemen on bicycles arrived immediately and told us that the area was dangerous because of all the equipment we had with us. One of them was also interested in birds and we managed to have a conversation in broken English and Spanish. In the Darien, we were escorted on a trail by an English-speaking policeman armed with an AK-47. He too was interested in birds. When we came back from David, we missed a turn and found ourselves in Diablo. Two policemen on motorcycles escorted us back to the traffic light. Considering that I was expecting harassment, all these experiences were a very pleasant surprise. I think that future travelers to Panama should also know about that positive side of the tourism and national police forces.
Josette Arassus (March 01)
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