debbie1958

Anyone been to Panama and stayed outside the city in an all inc. resort? We are a fmily of 4 who are looking at Panama. Also anyone stayed at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort? If you did was it central to alot of things and did you feel safe? Any sites or info on Panama would be appreciated as there does not seem to be much info.

pattysuericia

Hello Debbie1958<BR><BR> I went on a cruise that stopped at the Panama Canal &amp; so I spent the day there;hardly enough to be knowledgable. But I did go on a whirlwind tour so-to-speak and this guides name is Archi. His e-mail address is [email protected] It was only last year so why not put on subject line &quot;Advice On Panama&quot; He wrote down these places for me:<BR>Decameron-Playa Blanca<BR>Isla Grande-Atlantic

pattysuericia

sorry-was interrupted:<BR>Coronado Resort-Pacific<BR>Hope this helps-it's worth a shot!

bje2002

Hey There - Gamboa is beautiful, absolutely safe, and fairly centrally located. I lived and worked in Panama City last year, working in ecotourism, and can definitely give you more information on Gamboa. You also have several other excellent options outside of Panama City. You might consider the Boquete and La Amistad regions of the highlands, and there are several great places in Bocas. San Blas is a great, unique destination, thought you're looking at simple accommodations. You can, however, sail through the archipelago - which is awesome.<BR>I'd be happy to help you out in any way that I can. Feel free to email me at [email protected] or provide me with a number and I'll give you a call. I'm nowe in Boulder, Colorado.<BR>Best of Luck! Panama is an amazing country.<BR>Brian

pattysuericia

Hello Brian, I was on a tour of Panama for one day-I've always wanted to go and would love to hear more about Panama city and the beach areas. I tried to e-mail you but it says your address is not in existence or something to that effect. Mine is [email protected] Put Panama on subject line so I don't delete Thanks in advance

nep

Just went to Panama in January and had a fabulous time. We stayed at the Royal Decameron all inclusive resort. It's located about 2 hours from Panama City airport. The resort was wonderful. Our favourite part was the food. THey have 7 ala carte places to choose from and a main buffet. We were very well taken care of there-the staff is excellent. If you stay there and are interested in exploring, there is a rental car place right outside of the resort. It costs about 60 US per day, if I remember correctly.

We had the chance to visit the Gamboa rainforest resort. It's just outside of Panama city and you can see the canal on your way there. The day we went most attractions in the reserve were closed. The main restaraunt was closed, as was hiking in the reserve. No reason was given for the closure of hiking.

Never felt like we were in any danger. Although the day we decided to visit Gamboa, there was an article in the paper about a tourist who was attacked and badly beaten up. However, he was in an area that was widely known as being unsafe for tourists. We actually had a really nice experience that day as well. We were told that the path to Gamboa would be easy to get on. That was not the case. We were told that it was right after the bridge of Americas and that we would just have to turn left. It was a little bit trickier than that and before we knew it we ended up in a not so nice part of town. Trying to find the right way, we made it to a very confusing intersection. A truck pulled up next to us and could see that we were lost. He asked where we were going and told us to follow him. We figured he would just lead us in the right direction. He actually took us all the way there!

Hope this helps. If you would like any more info on the Decameron you can e-mail me at [email protected].

kang

I spent one week in Panama in the middle of March. I didn't stay in Gamboa but went there one morning for the Pipeline Road Birding organized by the resort. The resort was quite nice. There are varity of tours/activities you can participate in a very relaxing environment.

I never felt unsafe during my entire stay. People were very friendly. I took local buses, walked the poor areas; there was never any problem. So as long as you keep a visitor's common sense, you'll be fine.

The most impressive attraction in Panama is still no doubt the Canal. I strongly recommend taking at least a partial canal transit to see the operation of the locks, and to enjoy the beautiful lake in the middle of the Canal. Watching the ocean liners passing by in the fresh water lake is definitely an unforgetable experience.