hi there.
a friend and i are spending a week in panama next month and are trying to maximize our time. we have friends in pedasi on the pacific side and want to see them for a few days but would also like to check out the carribean side, possibly bocas del toro.
the issue we are having is getting from point a to point b. i'd rather not have to rent a car. the bus seems stupid and twelve hours. we aren't really in a place where flying makes sense. so? other places i've traveled have car hires where you can just pay someone $40 or whatever to drive you where you need to go even if its hours away. is that something that exists in small town panama?
should we just suck it up and rent a car? or should we skip bocas del toro all together and just hang out on the pacific side?
any information welcome....
Just fly the long hauls if you don't want to drive it everywhere. I did rent a car for a week with a friend, and drove from David down to Panama City, and highly recommend the trip. The rental was pretty reasonable, (around $220 for the week, including insurance), Plenty of places to stop along the way, and the Interamericana is pretty scenic in some places. As for flying, it's so damn cheap to fly around Panama that it definitely pays to do that. For example, I would DEFINITELY fly from David to Bocas del Toro, the fare is something like $40, and it saves what at least for me is a pretty miserable bus ride to Almirante or Changuinola, on account of carsick Ngobes who just can't handle the bus ride and start yakking in unison. :P
Whatever you do, don't miss San Blas. That's all I gotta say.
trusted partner
