Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cycling within larger Panamanian cities - particularly Panama City - is ill advised. The
roads tend to be narrow, there are no bike lanes, bus drivers and motorists drive aggress-
ively and it rains a lot, reducing motorists' visibility and your tires' ability to grip the road.
The best places for cyclists in Panama City are the coastal routes of Cinta Costera (a
dedicated bike trail from downtown to Casco Viejo) and the Causeway. Cyclists also go
out to Gamboa via a well-shaded but narrow road. In Panama City, gear, repairs or quality
bicycles can be found at
Bicicletas Rali
( ;
263-4136;
www.rali-carretero.com
; Punta
Paitilla, Panama City) .
Outside the cities, Panama's Interamericana boasts the best quality in Central America,
although sections have an extremely narrow shoulder. Roads in many of the provinces
(especially in Veraguas and Colón) are in poor shape - plan accordingly and bring lots of
spare parts.
Boat
Boats are the chief means of transportation in several areas of Panama, particularly in
Darién Province, the Archipiélago de Las Perlas, and the San Blás and Bocas del Toro is-
land chains. And while at least one eccentric soul has swum the entire length of the
Panama Canal, most people find that a boat simplifies the transit enormously.
From Panama City there are regular ferries from the Causeway to Isla Taboga and Isla
Contadora. Panama City is also the jumping-off point for partial and full Panama Canal
transits.
If you're planning an excursion to Isla de Coiba and the national marine park, the best
way to reach the island is through an organized boat tour. Local fishers also ply the wa-
ters off the coast of Veraguas, though this is a riskier proposition as the seas can get
really rough.
The tourist mecca of Bocas del Toro on Isla Colón is accessible from Almirante by fre-
quent water taxis.
Colombian and Kuna merchant boats carry cargo and passengers along the San Blás
coast between Colón and Puerto Obaldía, stopping at up to 48 of the islands to load and
unload passengers and cargo. However, these boats are often dangerously overloaded.
Taking passage on a sailboat, or the new four-day motorboat service to Colombia, is a
wiser option.
Since there aren't many roads in the eastern part of Darién Province, boat travel is of-
ten the most feasible way to get from one town to another, especially during the rainy sea-
son. The boat of choice here is a long canoe, or
piragua,
carved from the trunk of a giant
ceiba tree. The shallow hulls of these boats allow them to ride the many rivers that com-
prise the traditional transport network of eastern Panama. Many such boats - including
the ones travelers usually hire - are motorized.
