Hello all. This site has been so helpful to me when planning my trips, that I wanted to give back and post a report of my recent Panama vacation. This is a quick rundown of what we did, but if anyone has any specific questions for me I would be glad help.

Day 1: Arrived in Panama City around 7:30. Checked into Plaza Paitilla, which is essentially an old Holiday Inn, decent, but quite bland place to stay ($40).

Day 2: Woke up early to catch the 6:00 flight to Porvenir in San Blas. Stayed at Hotel San Blas on Nalunega. Took boat rides out to various islands, snorkeled, walked around village, bought molas. Lounged in the hammocks, drank beer, and just watched the water. Hotel was nothing more than huts set up on the beach - with sand floors. Shared baths, 3 meals a day (fish for lunch and lobster for dinner).

Day 3: Hotel San Blas. Took boat rides out to various islands - favorite place was Dog Island. This morning the other guests left and we had the entire hotel to ourselves.

San Blas was by far our absolute favorite part of this entire trip. Beautiful - white sand beaches, crystal clear water. It was a great way to start this vacation (and we could have ended it the same way as well!) In fact, we tried to stay a third night, but we couldn't get our flights changed. If you go to San Blas, you must expect very rustic accommodations, but for us this just added to the charm of the place. The second night it was so hot in the huts that we slept outside on the hammocks. What a great experience for a city girl - sleeping outside, under the stars, on the beach, with the water just feet away from me. I would go back tomorrow if I could.

Day 4: Flew back to Panama City. Checked into Plaza Paitilla - a slightly nicer room this time, for the same price. Went to Panama La Vieja (Old Panama), Mi Pueblito, and Casco Viejo. We were surprised by Casco Viejo - there is nothing to do there during the day. I had heard about these great little cafes to sit and relax, have drinks, etc. but none of these places were open! We walked around for a bit, then went back to the hotel. For dinner we went back to Casco Viejo to Las Bovedas - great food, and great atmosphere. A little on the pricey side, but definitely worth it. Then on to Café de Asis for a drink.

Day 5: Attempted to hike around Parque Nacional Soberania. Quite confusing trying to figure out where to go, finally ended up at the Summit Botanical Gardens and Zoo. I have to say, this was quite depressing - animals housed in cages that were much to small. Started pouring down rain, so we took a bus to Gamboa Rainforest Resort. It felt as if we were at Disney World, not Panama. Ended up taking a boat tour to Monkey Island to see the monkeys. Took taxi to Amador Causeway and had dinner at Bucanero.

Day 6: Did the partial transit of the Panama Canal. It was a great experience going through the locks. Transit ended at Gamboa and a bus took us back to Panama City.

Overall, we weren't too impressed with Panama City. We could have done everything we wanted to do in a day and a half. I'm glad I went, and would recommend others to go to the Canal, but definitely limit your time there.

Day 7: Flew to David, and took bus to Boquete. Stayed at Pension Marilos ($14). Had lunch at La Casona Mexicana. Hiked the Bajo Mono loop - which was nice, but tiring. 12.5 miles. About half of it was uphill (although we think it was more like 70% up hill!) Nice scenery, but a long day. It took us about 4 - 4 1/2 hours to complete the loop and my legs were sore for days! Dinner at Palo Alto Restaurant - good food and great atmosphere.

Day 8: Went white water rafting down the Chiriqui Viejo, which was a highlight of the trip. The drive to the put in was far away - they picked us up at the hotel at 7:00 am, and after several stops for safety instructions and to pick up other guests, we didn't get to the put in until around 11:30. When they say the put in is in a remote location, they are telling the truth! But once we got there it was definitely worth it. These were mostly class III and IV rapids. Our guide told us that one rapid was class V, although I don't really know if this was true (it didn't seem nearly as big as some of the other class V's I have rafted). Our raft was full, however, we were the only raft in the water that we saw all day. I went down the Pacuare in Costa Rica last December, and this was definitely better. Went to dinner at Bistro - the best meal I had in Panama!

Boquete was a great town - nice to get away from the heat, and enjoy the different scenery. Pension Marilos was a great deal - clean room, private bath, no frills but can't beat the price. However, we were disappointed in that the owners didn't seem to be as friendly as we had hoped. One of the greatest advantages of staying in one of these smaller places is the interaction with others. We asked several questions about Boquete - restaurants, taxis, etc. and were treated as if we annoyed them. I would still recommend this place for $14 a night, however, just be prepared not the receive a lot of help.

Day 9: Took taxi to David to catch a flight to Bocas del Toro. Flew to Bocas - stayed at Cocomo on the Sea. Great place - clean rooms, hot (sort of) water, very comfortable beds, great atmosphere, wonderful breakfast. The entire place had a lot of charm! There are only 4 rooms, so you are given quite a bit of personal attention. The owners of the hotel (2 Americans) even took us out on their boat to go snorkeling with them. Returned to hotel, drank beer, relaxed in the hammocks. Dinner at Pecada.

Day 10: In the morning, took taxi to Boca del Drago - nice enough beach, but nothing compared to San Blas. In the afternoon, we arranged another boat trip on the owner's boat - packed a cooler with beer and food and went to Red Frog Beach. Hung out on beach for a while, saw the red frogs, and even ran into several of the people we had been rafting with in Boquete. Went to the Pina Colada for dinner and drinks.

Bocas del Toro was fun. I've seen a lot of questions about Bocas and San Blas on this board Both were great, but very different. If I was forced to choose between the two it would probably be San Blas.

Day 11: Walked to airport (!), flew to Panama City, got in taxi and went immediately to international airport to catch flight back to the States.

Overall it was a great vacation. When we told people we were going to Panama, the main reaction we encountered was "Why Panama?" It seems as if the majority of travelers head to Costa Rica instead. I thought Panama was just as pretty as Costa Rica (prettier in some areas) and we liked the fact that we weren't overrun by tourists. It was nice to experience the country without being surrounded by other Americans.

Now I am beginning to work on my next vacation to New Zealand. While there was little information on Panama available, there is almost too much information on NZ. It's almost overwhelming!

I really enjoyed reading your trip report. Panama is on my list of places to see. I had hoped we'd go there in February 2004, but we're going to visit my husband's mother in Australia instead. Maybe 2005 instead? It sounds like you did the kind of trip I'd like to do. Thanks for the report.

Thank you for posting the terrific trip report. It sounds like it was a great trip. It is on list of places to go, too.

Hi Susan-we are going to Panama next June and will be seeing friends who just retired to run a diving resort closer to the San Blas area and then want to go to Boquete Bocas area-so similar to your trip. We are debating taking buses versus flights-both scare me a little I must admit. We spent 2 months 10 years ago taking 2nd class buses in Chiapas, Mexico and it was kind of hairraising-but we have also flown in some remote places and that can be exciting as well Could you give me an opinion since you have seen these areas-time isn't too big an issue since we should have between 18-21 days

thanks!

Jeanne

Hi Jeanne,
I don't know if I am the best person to answer your question, since we only flew. We were very limited on time, and didn't want to waste a day driving from Panama City to Boquete. So we just flew to David, and then took a bus to Boquete. The flights were very easy - we actually flew Aeroperlas around the country - to and from San Blas, from Panama City to David, from David to Bocas, and Bocas to Panama City. So unless you have a day to spare, and want to save some money I would consider flying. But you might want to talk to somebody who took the bus - they might give you an entirely different opinion!

Hi Susan...what a great report! What tour company did you use for your partial canal transit? Do you have their number, E mail,or web site? We have been considering " Panama Jones". Thanks for your help. Shirley

Another option for visiting the canal is to do what we did - take a taxi. The Miraflores lock, which is the most visited, is only about a 20 minute or so drive from the Panama City downtown area. Although many taxi drivers will try to charge you 'gringo' prices, you should be able to negotiate around $20 for the a 2 hour trip, which should include the drive as well as 1 - 1 1/2 hours watching the ships at Miraflores. Also, the drive passes through the former US military compounds which is kind of interesting to see.

Taxis are dirt cheap in Panama City. Don't ever pay more than $2 for a taxi ride to go anywhere within the downtown area.. and always agree on the price before getting into the taxi. Of course, the hotel taxis charge more.

Panama City for the most part, is a very safe, well organized city with a small town feel to it.

What a great trip & report. I spent a month(!) in Bocas & miss Pecado. I am going to try & make it to the San Blas in June. Do you recommend the Island you went to & place you stayed in the San Blas? Or would you recommend spending a couple nights on different islands? Any other suggestions appreciated!

Shirley - we used Argo tours for the canal transit. The website is http://www.big-ditch.com however, now that site is saying that Argo tours closed in May 2003. We went in August 2003 - so I am a little confused. I was under the impression that was the only company to do the partial canal transits - and the local tour operators just booked through them. But now I'm not so sure.

ShanL - we definitely loved Hotel San Blas. But I really can't compare it to much else, since I didn't visit any other hotels. We met some people on the airplane who stayed at a hotel near our island of Nalunega, but I can't rememeber the name (not Wichub Wala). They said that the entire island was the hotel, and there wasn't anyplace else to go. I liked having the village nearby to wander around.

I just returned from Panama as well. I work in tourism in Costa Rica, yet am VERY hot on Panama as a destination right now. I've been to Panama 4 times, but never did such touristy stuff as I did this trip. I was in a rush, but managed to see:

1. Panama City -- I think this is a great latin city, but most vacationers will probably only need 1 or 2 nights to see most of the coolest stuff. I stayed at the Holiday Inn and Melia while there. Casco Viejo, the Causeway and the ruins of the original city are worth seeing. The dining and nightlife are excellent.

2. Portobello and Isla Grande (caribbean) - a short land transfer and i was in the neat old pirate town of Portobello. You can see a neat fort that was sacked several times by Henry Morgan. A boat ride to Isla Grande later and I felt like I was on 'Fantasy Island'. I stayed at Bananas, a cool lodge with not-so-great service. The snorkeling there was unbelievable and the food was good.

3. Gamboa Resort - I just couldn't swallow the concept of 'eco-resort'. Though the grounds are stunning and massive, this 4-star hotel in the middle of the rainforest just struck me as wrong. I'm sure some people might find it awesome, but I wasn't into it. Seeing the cruise ships pass through the canal from their restaurant was cool though..

4. Valle Anton - This is a neat country town with rich history and wealthy weekend visitors from P. City. There are a bunch of really nice weekend houses turned B&Bs. There isn't a TON to do there but I did find it very quaint and relaxing. I stayed at Park Eden B&B which was very cool and the owners were super friendly.

I have yet to see Bocas, San Blas or Contador Islands. There are just so many islands and relatively unexplored regions. I love Panama for that.

I think that as Panama beings to promote more tourism outiside the canal zone many of the cutting edge tourists who discovered Costa Rica years ago will start heading there. There are some cons to Panama vs. CR, but they just don't seem that substantial versus the ability to be in fairly unexplored territory with two coasts, great roads, good prices, native cultures and a first world city. The biggest rub (for me): It is HOT in P. City.

Casey

Hey Casey and Susan,
I am one of those older longer time CR travelers who feel stiffled by the amount of tourists in CR. Still love it there but seriously thinking about heading down to Panama.
Thank you both for the great trip reports. Heard from someone a few years ago that thought Panama seemed cleaner than CR also. My husband was in Panama about 20 years ago with our daughter on their way down to Tierra del Fuego. He didn't care for it then but after showing him your trip reports he may change his mind.
I imagine that once we move to CR we will visit David quite a few times so would like to save that for then.
What do you both recommend for a first timer (me) that likes hiking, birding, snorkeling. Rainforest and beach.
How easy/hard is it to get down into Panama from San Jose. I am going to have about 10 days down in CR after my husband heads back home and am thinking Panama might be a nice change.

One more question. How is the language situation? Seems like english would be no problem around Panama and the border cities to CR (because of the 3 day expats) but how is it in the rest of the country. My husband speaks fluent spanish but mine is pretty basic.

Suzie,
As far as cleanliness, I thought the opposite. I think Costa Rica was cleaner than Panama. However, I didn't spend nearly as much time in Costa Rica, and only went to places that catered to tourists, so I might have a different opinion if I traveled other places.

Hiking is great in the Boquete area. Snorkeling was a little better in Bocas than San Blas. I'm not really sure about birding - that really isn't our thing - but I think it is supposed to be nice near Panama City - at the Canopy Tour Hotel.

The language barrier wasn't too big of a problem - neither one of us spoke much Spanish at all, but we still managed to get by. The places we went to in Costa Rica spoke much more English (obviously, they were touristy areas), but I have never minded the language barrier. In fact, I enjoy it. My biggest pet peeve is Americans who expect everyone to speak English. I just always go with the flow, use a lot of hand gestures, and hopefully get to where I am trying to go!