jenny19

Hi - I'm just starting to plan a trip to Central America and have lots of questions. We visited Costa Rica last year and absolutely loved it - particulary the beautiful scenery and wildlife - and have heard that Panama and/or Nicaragua are the "new" Costa Rica, so I'm very intrigued.

I know this is a very general question but can anyone give me an idea of the pros/cons of Panama vs. Nica? We love the outdoors, and love low key funky places to visit, but also appreciate higher end properties and also good food. I love the idea of a jungle and beach vacation. Seeing wildlife and being able to do some scuba is also essential.

I've looked at Morgan's Rock so far which looks lovely.

Any advice would be great.

sparklegem

I would be interested, too, to hear what other Fodorites have to say.

cookie05500

I went to Panama in June of '06. It was very inexpensive. They use the US dollar. I rented a car. It was the only way to get around. Traffic is crazy in Panama City. The roads to both the Pacific and Carribean are rough. Large potholes, windy and one lane. If your up to the challenge, Isle Grande and Portebella were worth the 3 hour trip. Most beautiful beaches I had ever seen. .50 cent boat ride and .75 cent beers.

cookie05500

Sorry, I have never been to Nicaragua, would be afrain to go. Not as USA friendly. Also, noone claimed to speak English in Panama.

cmcfong

Although I speak Spanish relatively well, I have had no difficulty finding English speakers in Panama. I highly recommend the country. It is beautiful. There are a number of excellent posts here about the many attractions and areas of special interest. Having not visited Nicaragua I am not equipped to compare the two.

ttraveler

I went to Panama in Feb of 06. I have been to Costa Rica but haven't had the chance to go to Nicaragua although I would love to go.
I loved Panama. We didn't rent a car and found it easy enough to get around without one. We started in Panama City. We went on a very early birding trip, visited the canal, and went to a very interesting folklore dinner show.Plenty to do. From there we went to Bocas Del Toro. We flew in and actually were able to walk to our hotel.We hired out a man with a boat to take us for lunch, snorkeling ect..
Our third stop was Boqette. We hired a driver to take us there and used him the whole time we were there. Great hiking, birding ect.
I have been to Costa Rica three times and loved that too.. but it's different. Panama has a lot less tourists but there are many people who live there full time from the states. It's just a great easy spot to go.

cookie05500

How much was it to hire a driver in Panama? I know we found the taxis to be real cheap, in the city, after I rented the car. Maybe it's everywhere, but not speaking Spanish, I found people taking advantage of us. I noticed the American resort of Gamboa was very expensive. We caught the boat there to monkey island. Very jungle, a little scary to see a croc in the water.

sparklegem

Thank you all for the great information on Panama. It is so helpful to learn of your experiences.

ttraveler

I think it was 150 dollars from Bocas's(almirante) to Boquete. It was well worth it. The scenery was beautiful and our driver stopped whenever we wanted. Lunch, icecream, to see views. I can't recall what he charged for our other trips. We used him alot as it was great to have a dependable guy around. I never felt like we were taken advantage of at all.. really the opposite. I felt like everyone wanted to help us and I felt as safe there as I would here.