First time visitors to Panama City - Page 2

DanDiego · 03-09-2008

I highly recommend getting in touch with Judy at EasyTravelPanama before your first visit to Panama City. She offers a variety of nice options for pickup at the airport and personalized tours of the city.

I have also written an article that might help with your first trip, especially if you are continuing on to David or Boquete...

http://boquetelots.com/Articles.html

Enjoy!

MRWOOHOO · 03-09-2008

Hi Gordon, that is correct. It is cheaper if you actually ask for "Corporate Rate" and you do not have to prove anything. I forgot how much you save but it is something.

GordonS · 03-09-2008

That's a great tip! I sure hope no one pays "rack rate" but sometimes it's hard to find one of my "discount" rates in some hotel's rate list. When all else fails, I ask for my AAA discount and usually that helps except when they tell you that their "special" is cheaper than AAA.

Panamax · 03-23-2008

In no particular order...

Casco Viejo (colonial quarter)
Amador Causeway (retreat from the incessant energy of the city)
Miraflores Locks (Panama Canal visitors center)
Las Bóvedas (Casco Viejo's seawall promenade)
Ancon Hill (sweeping panoramic views of city)
Metropolitan Natural Park (where nature and urbanism collide)
Pedestrianized shopping strip (Central Ave's people-watching mecca)
Balboa Ave. (scenic drive that merges views of bay and city skyline)
Panama Canal and Bay cruises
El Cangrejo (commercial nerve center of the city)
Calle 50 (international banking center)
Calle Uruguay (nightlife nerve center of the city)
Panama Canal Railway (See tropical rainforest by train)
Barro Colorado (island home to Smithsonian Tropical Research Institue)
Gamboa Rainforest Resort
Shopping Malls: Albrook (at internal bus/air terminal), Multicentro (Paitilla), Multiplaza (Punta Pacifica)

panamaoffshorelegal · 03-27-2008

All in all, Panama City itself isn't really much of an attraction in my opinion. Casco Viejo is nice (during the daytime) and the Panama Canal is interesting for a one time tour but the city is sorely lacking in cool places to just hang out.

There is a nice park in Punta Paitilla by the ocean that can be a relaxing diversion. I find Panama's charm is best on display outside the city in places like Bocas Del Toro and Isla Grande. Isla Coiba and Isla Contadorra are also awesome to visit.

I have lived in Panama now for over 1.5 years and I have never felt any danger... but I also live in a relatively nice neighborhood in the downtown / Avenida Balboa area.

Panamax · 03-28-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by panamaoffshorelegal

All in all, Panama City itself isn't really much of an attraction in my opinion. Casco Viejo is nice (during the daytime) and the Panama Canal is interesting for a one time tour but the city is sorely lacking in cool places to just hang out.

There is a nice park in Punta Paitilla by the ocean that can be a relaxing diversion. I find Panama's charm is best on display outside the city in places like Bocas Del Toro and Isla Grande. Isla Coiba and Isla Contadorra are also awesome to visit.

I have lived in Panama now for over 1.5 years and I have never felt any danger... but I also live in a relatively nice neighborhood in the downtown / Avenida Balboa area.

What people would or would not like about Panama, or any other place for that matter, is largely dependent upon the personal taste of the individual. Those who have a preference for nature and the outdoors will share your views. Those - like myself - who prefer the urban energy of cities will find Panama City stimulating and charming. There are lots of cool places to hang-out in Panama City.

In Casco Viejo, there are plazas, Bolivar, Centenario, Francia and the Las Bovedas seawall prominade, where one can enjoy sweeping views of the bay, causeway and the spectacular skyline. In Santa Ana/Calidonia one can stroll and people-watch at the pedestrianized shopping strip and rest at Plaza 5 de Mayo. In El Cangrejo one can stroll the commercial center of Via España; gamble at the El Panama Hotel casino, or hang-out at Plaza Concordia. The El Dorado Shopping center and area is also a fun place to hang-out. If you enjoy night life there are cabarets, discotheques and clubs all over town, particularly on Calle Uruguay.

The point is, anyone who likes city life would enjoy Panama City. Granted it's not in the same league with Las Vegas or New York City, but if I may quote The Rough Guide's Central America, "Few cities in Latin America can match the diversity, cosmopolitanism and sheer energy of Panama City.".

MRWOOHOO · 03-28-2008

I have to admit the longer I am in Panama City the more it is growing on me. I enjoy walking and as long as you really watch where you are going this really is a fun city to explore on foot. I accidentally walked through the Bella Vista barrio tonight, really beautiful. The city really does have a heart and soul, very metro for a city of it's size. People seem fairly friendly and I feel fairly safe walking at night. Always be aware of your surroundings of course.

panamaoffshorelegal · 03-28-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panamax

What people would or would not like about Panama, or any other place for that matter, is largely dependent upon the personal taste of the individual. Those who have a preference for nature and the outdoors will share your views. Those - like myself - who prefer the urban energy of cities will find Panama City stimulating and charming. There are lots of cool places to hang-out in Panama City.

In Casco Viejo, there are plazas, Bolivar, Centenario, Francia and the Las Bovedas seawall prominade, where one can enjoy sweeping views of the bay, causeway and the spectacular skyline. In Santa Ana/Calidonia one can stroll and people-watch at the pedestrianized shopping strip and rest at Plaza 5 de Mayo. In El Cangrejo one can stroll the commercial center of Via España; gamble at the El Panama Hotel casino, or hang-out at Plaza Concordia. The El Dorado Shopping center and area is also a fun place to hang-out. If you enjoy night life there are cabarets, discotheques and clubs all over town, particularly on Calle Uruguay.

The point is, anyone who likes city life would enjoy Panama City. Granted it's not in the same league with Las Vegas or New York City, but if I may quote The Rough Guide's Central America, "Few cities in Latin America can match the diversity, cosmopolitanism and sheer energy of Panama City.".

Well I come from living in Toronto and Montreal in Canada and I enjoy the city lifestyle as much as anyone.

I am not going to butter up Panama City and say that it is world class when it simply isn't.

Raw sewage drains into the Ocean right in the best part of the city making it stink to high heavens. Driving is a nightmare at best... public transit virtually non existent except for some pollution spewing school buses that were obviously bought on the cheap from North America and re-painted.

Panama City has charm and some great eating... clubs are a fun time but day in day out getting around Panama City is a chore even as a pedestrian not driving.

panamaoffshorelegal · 03-28-2008

And Casco Viejo is only a shell of what it could be with some investment. You want to see what it should really look like go to Cartagena in Columbia.

MRWOOHOO · 03-28-2008

There are some trade-offs but at least you can spit and it doesn't freeze before it hits the ground, like Canada. I have been in Montreal in Feb and everybody is to busy trying to keep warm and unable to enjoy the city. Just curiously, can you feel safe walking around downtown Cartagena at night as a tourist?

GordonS · 03-28-2008

Canada may be cold sometimes, but we're tough!

MRWOOHOO · 03-28-2008

You don't have much choice when you live there. Middle of the winter is survival mode, LOL.

Panamax · 03-29-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by panamaoffshorelegal

Well I come from living in Toronto and Montreal in Canada and I enjoy the city lifestyle as much as anyone.

I am not going to butter up Panama City and say that it is world class when it simply isn't.

Raw sewage drains into the Ocean right in the best part of the city making it stink to high heavens. Driving is a nightmare at best... public transit virtually non existent except for some pollution spewing school buses that were obviously bought on the cheap from North America and re-painted.

Panama City has charm and some great eating... clubs are a fun time but day in day out getting around Panama City is a chore even as a pedestrian not driving.

If Panama City is the %$&*-@#!% you purport it to be, what in heaven's name are you doing there, serving a prison sentence?! Despite it's drawbacks, which all cities have (even Paris), Panama City is - by Latin American standards - as world-class as any other. I'll concede the bayfront stench, but driving is a nightmare (gridlock, reckless drivers) in Manhattan (NYC) and that doesn't make it any less than world-class.

GordonS · 03-29-2008

LOL. The eternal arguement... "What's the best place in the world to live" My wife and I have lived in 8 towns and cities with populations ranging from 800 to 16 million+ and have heard the same discussions (?) many times. Wherever we've lived, we've found the good the bad and the ugly. Paradise for some of friends is living in the security of a high rise bunker. Paradise for others is basically as far away from other people as possible in areas with few amenities. So look for the good

, shake your head at the bad

and try to fix up the ugly if you can.

. Panama, Paris and Montreal all have plenty of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Lalaguayaba · 03-31-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panamax

If Panama City is the #$%&-@#$% you purport it to be, what in heaven's name are you doing there, serving a prison sentence?! ...

He is expressing an opinion that a lot of people share--as for me, I tend to like cities. Could we please refrain from swearing a bit?

Thanks!

MRWOOHOO · 03-31-2008

I have edited the language in both places, I apologize for not doing so before. You are correct Lalaguayaba this is not a place to use profanity. I do not believe there is an ongoing flame war, I hope? We can disagree though.

panamaoffshorelegal · 03-31-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panamax

If Panama City is the %$&*-@#!% you purport it to be, what in heaven's name are you doing there, serving a prison sentence?! Despite it's drawbacks, which all cities have (even Paris), Panama City is - by Latin American standards - as world-class as any other. I'll concede the bayfront stench, but driving is a nightmare (gridlock, reckless drivers) in Manhattan (NYC) and that doesn't make it any less than world-class.

Panama has a lot of advantages for business and outside the city some beautiful places to visit.

Yes, Canada is cold! After 30 years of winters I want to live somewhere hot.

I don't dislike Panama or it's people but I won't turn a blind eye to it's problems either.

panamaoffshorelegal · 03-31-2008

I'm not looking to fight anybody. I left Toronto and Montreal so obviously they didn't have everything I needed either