What to expect when traveling to Panama

Panama is different fromd the most countries in Central AmericaWe might have expected this beforehand if we had done a little more research. However, we also think that the circumstances of recent years have changed the country. The country itself is incredibly beautiful, but a lot less accessible than most other countries in this area. We will share with you what to expect when you travel to Panama in this blog, so that you will not be faced with the same surprises. The main topics here are; official papers, accommodations and transport, safety, locals, wildlife and nature, covid and tourism.

Traveling to Panama: which official documents do you need?

Before you travel to a country, you have to arrange a number of things in advance, such as applying for a visa or filling out specific forms. This can differ greatly per country and is therefore important to find out in advance. Before you travel to Panama, it is important that you fill out a health form in advance, after which you will receive a QR code. Every traveler is asked to show this as soon as you enter the country. When you fly to Panama, you will receive a visa form on the plane that you have to fill out. This asks for your personal information, how long you will stay and what kind of work you do. You have to hand this in at customs.

It is also important that you have an onward ticket. This can be a bus ticket or plane ticket. This must show that you will leave the country within 90 days. We were not asked to show this, but if they do, you must have it with you. Furthermore, a photo will be taken of you on arrival and fingerprints will be taken. If you've met all of the above, you'll get your stamp and you'll be all set to enter the country.

TIP: Do you not have an exit ticket because you do not yet know exactly where and when you will leave the country? Then buy an Onward-ticket. This is a temporarily valid exit ticket.

Accommodations and transportation

Once we arrived in Panama we soon found out that there are actually very few accommodations in the whole country. In total, there are only about 1730 in the whole country. If you compare this to other countries in Central America or countries in Asia, this is really very little. This means that you do not have much choice when you are looking for a hotel. The hotels in Panama are also on the expensive side, you can read exactly how expensive in our costs blog of Panama.

Not only are there few accommodations, but there is also little opportunity to rent scooters. There are only a few places in Panama where you can rent a scooter, quad or (electric) bicycle. This is mainly possible on Bocas del toro. There are many options to rent a car, which is not too expensive. Most rental cars can be found in Panama-city. We just wouldn't recommend driving through Panama City unnecessarily. It is a madhouse on the road here, like in most big cities.

In addition to renting a means of transport, using the bus is very accessible. Often these buses are old school buses, which we personally really liked. As soon as you get on the bus, just say where you want to go and pay immediately with cash. You can then sit down immediately because you will not receive a ticket. In general, the buses are not very busy and there is always a seat. You will hardly see any tourists in these buses, so you are sitting comfortably among the locals. The bus is very cheap compared to the rest of Panama, how cheap you'll find here.

Travelling to Panama; how about safety?

If you read the website of the Dutch government in advance about the possible dangers and safety in Panama, you would rather book a ticket elsewhere. We have personally never felt extremely unsafe. There have been times and places where we would rather take an uber than walk down the street. This was actually mainly in the evening and especially in the suburbs of the old part of Panama City.

Something that didn't always make us both feel very comfortable is the fact that both the police and a lot of security are very heavily armed. For example, the police drive around on motorcycles with a machine gun. Security is sometimes just as heavily armed as the police. I am not only talking about security of banks and casinos, but also of the supermarket. Despite the fact that these things do not give a very pleasant atmosphere to your trip, we have never felt very unsafe for a moment and we have not experienced any unpleasant situations. So you should not let this stop you if you want to travel to Panama.

Locals

We personally did not experience the locals from Panama as super friendly. With quite a few exceptions, of course. For starters, they are not mega friendly in greeting tourists. They often don't say anything, but even a smile is difficult. In addition, you are often looked at in a way like: 'What are you doing here?'. This does not give a very inviting feeling when you are looking for a nice restaurant.

Furthermore, the locals in Panama speak little to no English. This makes communication quite difficult if you don't speak Spanish well yourself (like us 😐). This in itself does not always cause problems. Unfortunately, this it does when the other person does not want to do his best to help you. We often only got the answer: 'No entiendo' and 'No hablo Inglés'. And that's it. If you are going to travel to Panama, it is therefore useful to already know some Spanish. Of course we also met very friendly people. We found these mainly in Boquete and on Bocas del Toro.

Wildlife and nature

Panama zelf is een ontzettend mooi land en het kent prachtige natuur. Zo kun je hele mooie watervallen en natuurparken bezoeken. Soms zijn de watervallen en natuurparken betaald, maar daardoor ook goed onderhouden. Bij niet betaalde watervallen is het vaak lastig om een duidelijk pad te ontdekken en moet je je eigen weg heen en terug zien te vinden. Naast mooie natuur kent Panama ook veel wildlife. Deze kun je makkelijk spotten in de natuurparken maar ook zeker daar buiten. Zo vind je in Panama veel brulapen, luiaards, witsnuitneusbeer, ontzettend veel soorten vogels en nog veel meer dieren. De meeste dieren spotten wij in het Metropolitan park in Panama-stad en op Bocas del Toro.

Learn more about the most beautiful places in Panama you shouldn't miss!

Travelling to Panama, how about covid?

In terms of covid-related measures, it is not so bad. All you have to do is keep your distance and wear a mask. Most locals wear these on the streets too. If you don't do this yourself, nothing will be said about it, not even by the police. In addition, there are hotels where certain facilities are not usable due to covid. Think of the swimming pool, the gym or the wellness. 

Unfortunately, besides the measures, you can see that covid has hit the country considerably. As soon as you arrive in Panama City, this is immediately apparent. In the new part of the city, shopping malls are half empty. But as soon as you travel further through the country, you notice that restaurants and shops are bankrupt everywhere. For example, it can happen that a restaurant is listed as open on google maps, but it no longer appears to exist when you arrive.

Besides the fact that restaurants and shops are often closed, it is sometimes very difficult to book a tour. Tours are often no longer available online and local tour operators are closed. Normally, along with Boquete, Santa Fe is one of the places where you can book the most, most beautiful and fun tours. Unfortunately this was no longer the case in Santa Fe when we got there. You can still visit beautiful waterfalls here, although this is almost impossible without your own transport. Fortunately, you could still book nice tours in Boquete and Bocas del Toro and almost all restaurants and shops were still open.

Tourism

Probably partly due to all of the above, we have also experienced most of Panama as not busy or touristy. Hotels were generally not crowded and a large part of the people who stayed there were locals. Also restaurants and shops were never really busy and certainly not with tourists. The only places that we have experienced as pleasantly busy and where we have encountered many other tourists; Old town Panama City, Boquete and Bocas del Toro. In these three places, hotels were fuller and restaurants and shops busier. In addition, you could also book very nice tours or do fun activities, especially in Boquete and Bocas del Toro.

Looking for a plane ticket to Panama? Take a look here!