Transportation

Panamanian public transportation bus. Usually a school bus in its former life, the driver would customize with pop-culture pictures, names, etc.

Wedding Events

We will have transportation buses to and from for the various Wedding events from the Marriott hotel.

Getting around the City

Taxis are common and cheap, and can be called if none are available (particularly at night) from "radio taxis". There is no meter, so they go by zones, with the fare ranging from $1.50 to maximum around $5.00 within the City. Some numbers for radio taxis:

• America Libre: 223-7342, 800-TAXI (tolllfree)
• Radio Taxi America: 223-7694, 223-1928, 223-7534
• Radio Taxi El Golf: 220-0229, 266-0842

Public buses while fun, can be rather confusing as there are no route maps per se. The fare is around $0.25.

Renting a car is possible as the usual American companies (Hertz, Budget, etc.) all are located at the airport and some with offices around the Panama City. The rental rate is cheaper than in the US.

Driving is on the right hand side, and while Panamanians tend to prefer manual, automatics are available at not much more. Driving however, can be chaotic, particulary during rush hour when some of the major streets turn one-way. Watch out for the public buses and stay out of their way. Driving with a foreign Driver's License is permitted for the first 90 days as long as you carry your passport or a copy of it with you. Most Panamanians navigate by telling you to make a right at a certain Supermarket then a left at the gas station, so directions are not particularly easy to find. Infractions can sometimes be handled with "coffee money", but wait for the policeman to ask, and of course we don't advocate such a practice.

Getting out of the City

By car

The "Interamerican Highway" runs from east of Panama City, all the way to the Costa Rican border and is relatively fast moving, except on certain weekends and during Carnaval, when Panamanians head for the interior en masse.

You can also drive North from Panama City, along the Canal to Colon, Portobelo and Isla Grande.

You cannot really drive to San Blas. Bocas is also an island, so to these places, flying tends to be a better choice.

Distances from Panama City:

By air

Domestic flights leave out of the "Albrook" airport (Marcos Gelabert Airport) which is located on what was formerly an US Air Force base near the Canal and very close to the City.

The two biggest airlines (list here) for getting to San Blas, Bocas and the Pearl Islands are Aeroperlas (tel. +507 315-7500) and Aero/Mapiex (tel. +507 315-0888). The usual fare to those places is around $100 round trip.