10-23-2008, 08:38 PM
Recently I've been thinking about doing a month in Panama and thought a fun thread would be for us to share tips on travel for those looking to go abroad (or stateside) next year. I'll share some stuff about Panama since that's the most recent foreign travel I've done but I'll post about Japan sometime soon here too.
Panama
Anyway, my family has a house in Panama so if anyone else wants to go for a week or two they could stay there for free. Tickets for January are going for around $300-400 so you could have a pretty damned good time for cheap. Lemme know if you're interested.
What to do there
*Tour the Panama Canal*
It's a pretty impressive piece of engineering but you can do the canal locks on the Pacific side in a couple of hours. There are tours where you can ride through them but I wouldn't recommend going that far.
*Beaches*
Plenty of really nice beaches in Panama and they're not going to be nearly as crowded as popular Caribbean or stateside beaches. Most of them are about 1 or more hours outside of Panama city. Some of the new beach resorts are really nice and are all-inclusive so you can really live it up on the cheap.
*Surfing*
There's good beaches on each coast for surfing but I don't surf so don't ask me which ones. All I know is that you can do it if that's your thing.
*Snorkeling/Scuba Diving*
This is the big thing I want to do when I'm out there next. Most of the good diving is on the Atlantic/Caribbean side of Panama so you'll have to spend a few days on that side to get some good diving in.
Isla Coiba (Pacific side) is one of the most famous places in Panama to dive because it has a lot of deep ocean fish congregating around it (including sharks). Spearfishing is really good there.
*Jungle/Eco/Bird-Watching Tours*
Panama has over 900 species of birds so even if bird-watching is not your specific goal you'll see a lot of amazing birds if you do a jungle tour. The Smithsonian has several research facilities around that you can visit and see a lot of wildlife.
I never did any of the jungle hikes while I was out there but suffice it to say there's a lot of ground to cover and a lot of crazy stuff to see (poison arrow frogs, monkeys, snakes, toucans, caimans, sloths).
*Whitewater Rafting/Kayaking*
The main river to go rafting or kayaking on is the Chagres, which includes some class 5 rapids. Sea kayaking in some areas is also fairly popular. There's an archipelago of islands on the Caribbean side that would probably be the best place for sea kayaking.
*Nightlife*
As you'd expect, in Panama City there's a good amount of nightlife, replete with cheap alcohol and hot women. Taxis are stupid cheap there ($5-10 can get you basically across the city) so no worries about getting to or from the venue.
Best time to go
By far I'd recommend going during dry season, which runs from about late December to March. In the dry season it literally may only rain once every 3 or 4 weeks and the ground cracks from being so dry. So every day is a clear day and you have a lot of breeze to keep you cool, making days at the beach perfect.
Getting there
There's a direct flight from Washington-Dulles via Copa Airlines that leaves at about 5 am and arrives 4-5 hours later. I took this flight last time and it was perfect. You get up early, get on the plane, sleep, wake up and you have a full day to enjoy. You also avoid the hassle of Miami International.
Otherwise, Continental and America are typically the cheapest carriers.
Getting around
Taxis and buses are an easy way to get around in Panama City, but be prepared. A lot of the buses are seriously from the 50's.
Regional flights to remote regions can save you a ton of time. Driving to places like Bocas del Toro (gorgeous archipelago) might take 8 hours but it's a one-hour prop plane ride. You can also take a chopper ride to some of the islands from near Panama City.
There's a train that crosses the isthmus but I'd almost say it's easier to drive. But...
If you drive...
The drivers in Panama are very aggressive. People will often pull out in front of you forcing you to slow down to let them join traffic. You pretty much have to do the same to get out of side streets. The speed limit isn't really enforced so you've gotta be careful about getting t-boned from a car you didn't even see coming.
I'll have to see if I can find some good pics to post. Post up your vacation spots if you've got 'em.
Panama
Anyway, my family has a house in Panama so if anyone else wants to go for a week or two they could stay there for free. Tickets for January are going for around $300-400 so you could have a pretty damned good time for cheap. Lemme know if you're interested.
What to do there
*Tour the Panama Canal*
It's a pretty impressive piece of engineering but you can do the canal locks on the Pacific side in a couple of hours. There are tours where you can ride through them but I wouldn't recommend going that far.
*Beaches*
Plenty of really nice beaches in Panama and they're not going to be nearly as crowded as popular Caribbean or stateside beaches. Most of them are about 1 or more hours outside of Panama city. Some of the new beach resorts are really nice and are all-inclusive so you can really live it up on the cheap.
*Surfing*
There's good beaches on each coast for surfing but I don't surf so don't ask me which ones. All I know is that you can do it if that's your thing.
*Snorkeling/Scuba Diving*
This is the big thing I want to do when I'm out there next. Most of the good diving is on the Atlantic/Caribbean side of Panama so you'll have to spend a few days on that side to get some good diving in.
Isla Coiba (Pacific side) is one of the most famous places in Panama to dive because it has a lot of deep ocean fish congregating around it (including sharks). Spearfishing is really good there.
*Jungle/Eco/Bird-Watching Tours*
Panama has over 900 species of birds so even if bird-watching is not your specific goal you'll see a lot of amazing birds if you do a jungle tour. The Smithsonian has several research facilities around that you can visit and see a lot of wildlife.
I never did any of the jungle hikes while I was out there but suffice it to say there's a lot of ground to cover and a lot of crazy stuff to see (poison arrow frogs, monkeys, snakes, toucans, caimans, sloths).
*Whitewater Rafting/Kayaking*
The main river to go rafting or kayaking on is the Chagres, which includes some class 5 rapids. Sea kayaking in some areas is also fairly popular. There's an archipelago of islands on the Caribbean side that would probably be the best place for sea kayaking.
*Nightlife*
As you'd expect, in Panama City there's a good amount of nightlife, replete with cheap alcohol and hot women. Taxis are stupid cheap there ($5-10 can get you basically across the city) so no worries about getting to or from the venue.
Best time to go
By far I'd recommend going during dry season, which runs from about late December to March. In the dry season it literally may only rain once every 3 or 4 weeks and the ground cracks from being so dry. So every day is a clear day and you have a lot of breeze to keep you cool, making days at the beach perfect.
Getting there
There's a direct flight from Washington-Dulles via Copa Airlines that leaves at about 5 am and arrives 4-5 hours later. I took this flight last time and it was perfect. You get up early, get on the plane, sleep, wake up and you have a full day to enjoy. You also avoid the hassle of Miami International.
Otherwise, Continental and America are typically the cheapest carriers.
Getting around
Taxis and buses are an easy way to get around in Panama City, but be prepared. A lot of the buses are seriously from the 50's.
Regional flights to remote regions can save you a ton of time. Driving to places like Bocas del Toro (gorgeous archipelago) might take 8 hours but it's a one-hour prop plane ride. You can also take a chopper ride to some of the islands from near Panama City.
There's a train that crosses the isthmus but I'd almost say it's easier to drive. But...
If you drive...
The drivers in Panama are very aggressive. People will often pull out in front of you forcing you to slow down to let them join traffic. You pretty much have to do the same to get out of side streets. The speed limit isn't really enforced so you've gotta be careful about getting t-boned from a car you didn't even see coming.
I'll have to see if I can find some good pics to post. Post up your vacation spots if you've got 'em.
2018 Ducati Panigale V4
Past: 2018 Honda Civic Type-R, 2015 Yamaha R1, 2009 BMW M3, 2013 Aprilia RSV4R, 2006 Honda Ridgeline, 2006 Porsche Cayman S, 2012 Ducati 1199, 2009 Subaru WRX, 2008 CBR1000RR, 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2000 Toyota Tundra, 2005 Honda CBR600RR, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1997 Honda Civic EX
http://www.aclr8.com
Past: 2018 Honda Civic Type-R, 2015 Yamaha R1, 2009 BMW M3, 2013 Aprilia RSV4R, 2006 Honda Ridgeline, 2006 Porsche Cayman S, 2012 Ducati 1199, 2009 Subaru WRX, 2008 CBR1000RR, 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2000 Toyota Tundra, 2005 Honda CBR600RR, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1997 Honda Civic EX
http://www.aclr8.com