Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
way to David. There are set prices for every route, often posted on the bus window, and tour-
ists are rarely overcharged - if in doubt ask a local on the bus what the fare is in advance.
Luggage
generally goes for free, either on the roof or in the luggage compartment, although
surfboards sometimes incur extra charges. Security is not usually an issue.
Booking ahead
for busy holiday periods and international journeys is a must, though it is
only possible for international and some long-haul domestic routes and entails going in per-
son to the travel company ticket office, usually located in the bus terminal, in Panama City,
David or Changuinola, to purchase the ticket in cash.
By plane
Flying
within Panama is a convenient and safe experience though you might have your heart
in your mouth landing in the more flimsy twin-props at some of the more remote airstrips of
Guna Yala and Darién. Panama has one
domestic airline
that serves the major urban areas,
several locations along the largely inaccessible Comarca de Guna Yala and a handful of des-
tinations in the Darién, which are also hard to reach by road, especially in the rainy season.
It operates out of Marcos A. Gelabert Airport ( 238 2700), more commonly known as
Al-
brook Airport
after the former US air-force base it occupies, which lies 3km northwest of
the city centre. All internal flights depart from or arrive here.
Propeller planes seating forty to fifty passengers generally ply the urban routes, while smal-
ler puddle hoppers operate in the Darién and Guna Yala to suit the shorter runways - some-
times only as long as the island they're on.
Air Panama
( 316 9000,
airpanama.com
)
serves around twenty destinations, including San José, Costa Rica, via a connecting flight
from David. Prices remain constant irrespective of the season, with the maximum domestic
fare one way currently around $158 (including taxes), but with many much cheaper. Luggage
allowances are 12kg plus 2.3kg carry-on but full-size surfboards incur an extra charge of $20.
Compared with the long-distance buses, plane
timetables
are fairly sketchily adhered to,
especially in Guna Yala and Darién. Flights to David, Bocas and Guna Yala book up quickly
in advance of a holiday weekend.
By car
Away from the traffic hell that is Panama City,
driving
in Panama is generally fairly straight-
forward, with very good, well-signposted roads connecting the main urban centres, though it
can be a different story in some of the more remote or mountainous areas.
The
Interamericana
(also called the Carretera Panamericana), Panama's main thoroughfare
- part of the Pan-American Highway that travels almost 48,000km from Alaska to Chile -
runs 486km from the Costa Rican border at Paso Canoas in the west, skirting several major
cities, crossing the canal and bludgeoning its way through the capital before continuing an-
other 282km and grinding to an abrupt halt in Yaviza in the eastern Darién.
