BASICS - The Rough Guide to Panama - page 34

Flights from the US and Canada
Given the historical links between the US and Panama it's no surprise that there are numerous
direct flights; Delta, United and American Airlines, alongside Copa and Avianca, fly daily
to Panama City from various US cities, including New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Or-
lando and Miami, with the last the main portal, offering several daily connections.
Bargains are thin on the ground, though Copa often has special return fares for as little
as US$275 return for the three-hour trip from Miami. More typically, return fares range
from US$400 (low season) to US$600 (high season), costing more for the five-hour flight
from New York or Washington (US$550-800) and the six-hour one from Los Angeles
(US$550-900). It is often slightly cheaper to fly to San José, Costa Rica, and take one of the
daily buses (US$82 return) down to Panama.
Since David airport, in western Panama, was upgraded a few years ago there has been talk
about direct flights from the US - keep checking the websites.
There are no direct flights from Canada ; connections have to be made in the US, making
it at least a nine-hour journey, with prices typically CAN$800-1100. Slightly cheaper direct
charter flights can sometimes be purchased in high season through Transat ( transat.com )

from Calgary, Montreal and Toronto or through Sunwing ( sunwing.ca ) from Montreal and

Toronto.
Flights from the UK and Ireland
The dearth of direct flights from Europe in part explains the relatively low number of
European visitors compared to the number of tourists from North America. There are cur-
rently no direct flights from the UK or Ireland , with KLM operating daily flights to Panama
City from Amsterdam and Air France making the trip five times a week (£700-900 from UK
& Ireland) from Paris for similar prices. Iberia operates frequent, but more expensive depar-
tures from several Spanish cities. The cheapest route from the UK or Ireland is often via the
US with a US carrier, which may save you over £100, though the lengthier flying time and
the extra hassle of clearing US immigration generally makes the KLM or Air France routes
via Amsterdam or Paris a more appealing option.
Flights from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
From Australia, New Zealand and South Africa it is a long, expensive haul to Panama, with
no direct flights. Most routes from Australasia (Aus$3500-4000) travel via the US, gener-
ally passing through Los Angeles, though flights via Santiago or Buenos Aires are also pos-
sible with the journey time (26hr-plus) much the same. From South Africa (30hr-plus), travel
can be via London, South America or the US (ZAR$17,000-21,000).