My Review Of Panama
This is a review of the places within Panama that I have been to. Hopefully this site will help other people have a better idea of what to expect when traveling in addition to guide books.
General Suggestions:
1. Always carry your own Toilet Paper with you wherever you go. Most places will not have any and sometimes, even if they do, you might rather use your left hand (just kidding).
2. When traveling on a tight budget and eating cheap food, it is a good idea to buy a little bag of oregano, maybe some curry and whatever other spices you might enjoy (although there is a very limited selection for the most part). It really helps make the food taste a lot better, and the people that you are with will look at you funny at first and then thank you profusely for letting them use it to enliven their bland food.
3. Never take just one person's advice if you can help it. Most everyone (especially people who have something to sell or a taxi/bus driver) will lie to you. In the case of directions, if someone tells you where something is, go that way but ask many more people along the way just to make sure that you are going the correect way.
4. When you arrive places, usually you will have lots of people bombarding you with things to sell and offers of hotels to stay at. Some people will tell you just about anything to get you to go to their establishment, including tell you lies about how horrible the place you want to stay at is. So use good judgement if you decide to follow one of them, and maybe you are better off exploring the area yourself first.
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Now for the actual review section, beginning from the Costa Rican border and working towards Panama city.
1. David City.
This is the 2nd largest city with plenty of accomodations and things to do. It is generally used as a transitory city from one place to another. The city is located very close to the "Paso Canoas" border crossing and a hub for travel to many popular destinations.
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Hotel accomodations
Budget Traveler - I suggest that you stay at the "Purple House Hostel". It is $6.60 per night for dorm rooms and slightly more for the 2 private rooms which are usually booked so call ahead (507-774-4059). Some people think the owner (Andrea) is a little nuts and can be slightly odd but I think it is because her and her husband are going through a divorce and living together while running the hostel, but either way it will make for an interesting story and a cheap stay at the very least. It is within a 10 minute walk of the city center and very close to a 24 hour internet cafe with a few restaraunts, supermarkets and casinos nearby. This is probably the most popular place to stay with most travelers and there are usually at least a few others staying there besides yourself so you get to meet interesting people from all over the place.
Mid Range - Check your guidebook. I am a budget traveler so I dont stay in mid range hotels, but some friends of mine did an they checked oput alot of hotels before deciding on Hotel Fiesta which is 2km outside of town, $20 per night for 2 people.
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Restaraunts
If you stay at the "Purple House Hostel", nearby, next to the 24 hour internet cafe is a chinese restaraunt called "Rest. Jenny" that serves great, really cheap chinese food. I suggest that you buy a lime or two before hand and maybe a fresh tomato to make give it a little umph!
A slight bit out of town is a cafe called "Java Juice" which is pretty good and a very welcome change of pace from he typical "Kill it, chop it, fry it" panamanian food. They have good grilled burgers, (Salmon, chicken, meat, veggie, etc) but I would suggest against the tuna burger since it is tuna out of a can. They also make awesome batidos (fruit smoothies) for a great price.
I don't deviate from these two places while I am In David, but I am sure that there are plenty of other good restaraunts.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Entertainment
The local movie theatre shows the latest hollywood films with spanish subtitles for about $2 at around 3, 5, 7, and 9 oclock. Other than that, there are plenty of casinos and bvars and internet cafes all over.
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Bus Station
General Suggestions:
1. Always carry your own Toilet Paper with you wherever you go. Most places will not have any and sometimes, even if they do, you might rather use your left hand (just kidding).
2. When traveling on a tight budget and eating cheap food, it is a good idea to buy a little bag of oregano, maybe some curry and whatever other spices you might enjoy (although there is a very limited selection for the most part). It really helps make the food taste a lot better, and the people that you are with will look at you funny at first and then thank you profusely for letting them use it to enliven their bland food.
3. Never take just one person's advice if you can help it. Most everyone (especially people who have something to sell or a taxi/bus driver) will lie to you. In the case of directions, if someone tells you where something is, go that way but ask many more people along the way just to make sure that you are going the correect way.
4. When you arrive places, usually you will have lots of people bombarding you with things to sell and offers of hotels to stay at. Some people will tell you just about anything to get you to go to their establishment, including tell you lies about how horrible the place you want to stay at is. So use good judgement if you decide to follow one of them, and maybe you are better off exploring the area yourself first.
__________________________________________
Now for the actual review section, beginning from the Costa Rican border and working towards Panama city.
1. David City.
This is the 2nd largest city with plenty of accomodations and things to do. It is generally used as a transitory city from one place to another. The city is located very close to the "Paso Canoas" border crossing and a hub for travel to many popular destinations.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Hotel accomodations
Budget Traveler - I suggest that you stay at the "Purple House Hostel". It is $6.60 per night for dorm rooms and slightly more for the 2 private rooms which are usually booked so call ahead (507-774-4059). Some people think the owner (Andrea) is a little nuts and can be slightly odd but I think it is because her and her husband are going through a divorce and living together while running the hostel, but either way it will make for an interesting story and a cheap stay at the very least. It is within a 10 minute walk of the city center and very close to a 24 hour internet cafe with a few restaraunts, supermarkets and casinos nearby. This is probably the most popular place to stay with most travelers and there are usually at least a few others staying there besides yourself so you get to meet interesting people from all over the place.
Mid Range - Check your guidebook. I am a budget traveler so I dont stay in mid range hotels, but some friends of mine did an they checked oput alot of hotels before deciding on Hotel Fiesta which is 2km outside of town, $20 per night for 2 people.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Restaraunts
If you stay at the "Purple House Hostel", nearby, next to the 24 hour internet cafe is a chinese restaraunt called "Rest. Jenny" that serves great, really cheap chinese food. I suggest that you buy a lime or two before hand and maybe a fresh tomato to make give it a little umph!
A slight bit out of town is a cafe called "Java Juice" which is pretty good and a very welcome change of pace from he typical "Kill it, chop it, fry it" panamanian food. They have good grilled burgers, (Salmon, chicken, meat, veggie, etc) but I would suggest against the tuna burger since it is tuna out of a can. They also make awesome batidos (fruit smoothies) for a great price.
I don't deviate from these two places while I am In David, but I am sure that there are plenty of other good restaraunts.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Entertainment
The local movie theatre shows the latest hollywood films with spanish subtitles for about $2 at around 3, 5, 7, and 9 oclock. Other than that, there are plenty of casinos and bvars and internet cafes all over.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Bus Station
The bus station is better than most in Panama and it is very easy to find your way around and catch the correct bus. Buses leave to just about everywhere ever half hour during the daylight hours so you shouldnt have to worry too much about when you arrive to catch one.
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posted by Unknown at 12:39 PM
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