Planning Panama

I've never been to Central or South America and I'm planning on taking 7-10 days in Panama in January. Definitely not looking to spend too much money on my trip--I was reading on another post that $40/day should be enough (I hope that's still true). I'm not really a beach person, but I enjoy nature, food, and culture. What can the forum suggest for me? I'd also appreciate accommodation recommendations.

Footprints Mexico and Central america has a short chapter on Panama with enough highlights to fill a 7-10 day trip.

Lonely planet, probably written more fully, same idea.

Both have sites online.

Tripadvisor.com They're not just about hotels and restaurants, though they have plenty of them. I was amazed when I looked up restaurants in Granada Nicaragua...

Google Panama Tourism- you'll find plenty.

After you've done some homework, you can tell us:

What you like about the country that you've read
the kinds of things specifically you like to do and are interested in

Then: you can ask us how to achieve specific goals, making your planning of itinerary and assessments of time/money costs easier. The more specific the question, within reason, the more useful the answer you will get.

No doubt Felix will have plenty to say about Panama, but this advice is all I can give you, as it comes from personal experience in PLANNING a trip. I myself plan on going to Panama for two weeks to a month, since I've always wanted to see the Canal Zone. To see one of the greatest engineering marvels of the 20th century is reward enough for me. I hear from this board and research that going on a ship going through the canal is both expensive and not so rewarding, so that is left off my agenda!!!!



I plan on using my Footprints guide, and when I arrive, ask the local people what is best to do. This seems to work best for me. Yes, the Footprints is a little sparse on details, but since I speak Spanish, the details usually end up filling themselves out for me. It's bang on for lodging, and tends to give alternatives not listed in the Lonely Planet tour circle. The Footprints recommendations often find places visited by people who are older and off the beaten track. It's amazing how they've managed to find different recommendations for the same areas! Ps. When the footprints guide says it is popular with tourists but is not recommended, that is code for a not so great place, at least as far as I'm concerned. It means its really cheap, but may not have great quality of facilities or clientele. When it says good vista- it means great. When it says spectacular, it means absolutely incredible. Its talent for understatement cannot be underestimated!!!!

PSS. People say that for Asia, go with LP. I tend to agree with that. Every guide has its strong and weak areas. For expensive lodgings and great restaurant and site reviews, try Frommers or Fodors. It's good for anything that might be a little more expensive. For great pictures, try the "Eye on" series. I wouldn't want to carry the heavy books with little practical info around, but its great for deciding where to go if you're the planning type. I never had much truck with the Moon series, and the Berkeley Lets go series usually means Lets go buy another guide. It is mostly cheeky, and not as useful as the Footprints or LP, at least in the areas I have been.

Also, for my first night anywhere, I like to make a reservation, often for the entire time I think I want to stay in a place. Its a pain to be moved around, or told a group has come and there is no more space tomorrow. Hint: find a place that has been reviewed, read the reviews or ask around, and THEN reserve. I have found doing my homework really pays off in terms of reliable lodging.

For you, for short term, you probably want to plan more rigidly than I did. This is the right place for those kind of specific planning questions only people who have been there can answer.

I've done some searches online and almost everything that interests me is on one of the borders, which means I need to find a way out there. Is it worth renting a car or should I just take a bus? (I rarely drive anymore and really don't like to.) I'd definitely like to visit Parque Nacional Volcán Barú.

As for hotels, I don't trust reviews on booking sites too much. I've had a few poor experiences in Asia with hotels that had positive reviews (and those weren't cheap hotels). I usually get more honest opinions on forums.

China-Matt wrote:I've never been to Central or South America and I'm planning on taking 7-10 days in Panama in January. Definitely not looking to spend too much money on my trip--I was reading on another post that $40/day should be enough (I hope that's still true). I'm not really a beach person, but I enjoy nature, food, and culture. What can the forum suggest for me? I'd also appreciate accommodation recommendations.

Take the Panama Canal Railway from Panama City to Colon and back. Do a tour of the canal and Gatun. Take a bus to Chitré in the Azuero Peninsula, and check out the towns there. Finally, head to David, switch to a bus for Boquete. Boquete is a cute coffee-growing highland town, and a good place to arrange a hike around Baru volcano, where you can see quetzales. From high enough, you can see both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Thanks, Felix.

So, if I check out Azuero Peninsula, I'd skip Boca del Toro...though after looking a little more closely, it appears easier to get to Chitre and a little less touristy.

Am I correct in assuming I should just take a day trip to Colon rather than stay overnight? I haven't read anything positive about it.

China-Matt wrote:Thanks, Felix.

So, if I check out Azuero Peninsula, I'd skip Boca del Toro...though after looking a little more closely, it appears easier to get to Chitre and a little less touristy.

Am I correct in assuming I should just take a day trip to Colon rather than stay overnight? I haven't read anything positive about it.

Colon City is worth visiting for the architecture, but it's dangerous and very impoverished. It's definitely not worth staying the night. You can do a same-day return on the train, which is what most people do.

Bocas del Toro is great if you're into beaches and surfing. It is quite touristy though. If, like you said, beaches aren't your thing, I'd go for a hike around Baru instead of Bocas.

Two more smaller questions.

Has anyone stayed at Hostal Urraca in Panama City? Very close to Parque Urraca. Claims to be less than 2 mi to the old cathedral (and I don't mind walking or taking public buses).

Also, I will have 7 full days. I definitely want to go to Boquete and hike the volcano. Would the schedule be too busy if I also go to Azuero Peninsula? I'd like to take a more leisurely trip than I usually do (I have to teach two days after I get home and I'm usually exhausted after rushing to see all the sights on vacation).

China-Matt wrote:Two more smaller questions.

Has anyone stayed at Hostal Urraca in Panama City? Very close to Parque Urraca. Claims to be less than 2 mi to the old cathedral (and I don't mind walking or taking public buses).

That's an upscale, if rather sterile part of Panama City. Don't know the specific hostel though. I really like Luna's Castle, in Casco Viejo. This is a much more atmospheric part of the city, although it's not really the place to walk around late at night. I'd imagine Urraca is less of a party than Luna's, which has a popular bar on the ground floor.

Also, I will have 7 full days. I definitely want to go to Boquete and hike the volcano. Would the schedule be too busy if I also go to Azuero Peninsula? I'd like to take a more leisurely trip than I usually do (I have to teach two days after I get home and I'm usually exhausted after rushing to see all the sights on vacation).

If you're taking a bus from Panama City, the Azuero is en route. Really though, if you give two days to Panama City, and two days for travel to and from Boquete, you probably won't have time for the Azuero. Azuero is very Panamanian, with a strong Iberian feel to many of the towns. Boquete has a large expat presence, and is much more touristy.

I checked out Luna's Castle...looks cool, but I can't stay there the first night since they won't guarantee my room if I arrive late at night (and my flight arrives at 10pm).

Also discovered that the flower and coffee festival will be going on in Boquete when I was planning on going, which definitely nixes that idea. So, I'm thinking about taking more time around the canal and then heading up to San Blas.

Just for future reference: It's difficult to find a hotel that isn't booked in Casco Viejo. Luna's Castle was entirely booked, as was another hostel in the area (can't recall the name). I ended up paying a lot more money to stay in Casa Sucre, which was an amazing experience. My last night was spent in Panama City was at Hotel Marbella in El Cangrejo. The area seems to have a lot of small hotels, some of which are rather new, but I didn't check prices of the others. It's definitely a nice area with a lot of restaurants nearby on Via Argentina.

For the rest of the trip I went to Sierra Llorona and Gamboa. Definitely did these in the wrong order. It would've been easier to go to Gamboa first (probably would've been $20 taxi from the city). Both are worth visiting. Sierra Llorona is popular with researchers--it's over 200 acres of private rainforest and a guided tour is included with the stay. Easiest way to get there is to take a bus or the Canal Railway to Colon and then a taxi. Another option for both destinations is to rent an SUV with GPS--it's especially helpful in Gamboa.