Thread: Traveling by bus

I have a question about bus travel in Panama.

We're planning to leave Panama City and take the bus to David. My husband is getting concerned it will be too much travel for one day -- 3 hour flight plus airport time, then transit to the bus terminal, then 7 hour bus trip.

Do the buses to David stop anywhere? If so, is it possible to get off and then finish the trip the next day? If we do the entire trip at once, do they stop for meals anywhere, or do we need to bring food with us?

Thanks,
Susanna

that would be a long day , if you can stay in the city until the next morning and leave the albrook station early , i am not 100% sure but i think they stop in santiago for eats

The bus does stop in Santiago for food. If you wanted to you could get the bus to Santiago, about 4 hours, spend the night there, and continue on in the morning. Keep in mind the buses running between Panama City and David are pretty comfortable so you can sleep on the bus. Do make sure you have something warm to cover yourself on those buses. They crank up the AC pretty darn high sometimes.

Thanks, @nakedguydb and @mrwoohoo.

They say the trip all the way to David is 6-7 hours, how accurate do you think that is?

Originally Posted by FutureExpat.com

Thanks, @nakedguydb and @mrwoohoo.

They say the trip all the way to David is 6-7 hours, how accurate do you think that is?

That sounds about right given the time for stops. The bus is an affordable way to travel.

Have a look at this link to schedule your bus trip:

Mexican, Caribbean, Central and South American bus schedule

That's a really helpful site, Thegreatoggy. Thanks! Don't know how I missed it before. . .

Hi Future,
We have ridden the bus that you are inquiring about. It is pretty delux. The seats are all padded and adjustable. You even have a DVD viewer that pops down and they put on movies. It is a great, inexpensive way to travel and easy to sleep with earplugs on. But I agree with Mrwoohoo, Santiago is a good place to break up your journey. It takes a while to get out of the PC airport and then over to Albrook to catch the bus. PC motels are higher in price to stay also. We used the backpackers hostels and saved alot of cash. They are great if a person is just traveling through. About $30 a night on average. Just a thought. If you travel and sleep on the bus, you will miss some neat looking country.

Thanks, India. We're planning to stay in a hostel in David -- can't beat the price! How long would you estimate it usually takes to get through customs, luggage etc. and get out of the airport??

Susanna

Give yourself at least an hour to get your luggage and get through customs.

Thanks, Becky.

Originally Posted by FutureExpat.com

Thanks, India. We're planning to stay in a hostel in David -- can't beat the price! How long would you estimate it usually takes to get through customs, luggage etc. and get out of the airport??

Susanna

Hi Susanna, it depends if you are coming in by a commuter plane or a big one. It took us about 1/2 hour but all we had were our backpacks. Allow another 1/2 hour if you have checked luggage. We stayed in a great Backpacker hostel in David called the Bamboo. Ran us $30 a night and had a nice clean swimming pool to stay cool in. It was also airconditioned. The Taxis know where this place is if you tell them to go to the Bamboo Bpackers hostel. Just down the road from that is a really nice hospital that we got alot of questions answered. We then grabbed a plane and flew back up to Bocas. Take care and have fun!

India, we'll be flying from Orlando so I assume it would be a big plane, and we'll have luggage. But an hour isn't bad at all -- I was envisioning longer. Heck, here in Orlando it can take an hour just to collect luggage from a domestic flight!!!

No. I didnt think that an hour was bad at all either. When you arrive at Albrook, go to the ticket counter of the bus that you are wanting to take, buy a ticket at $8 each and go on through to the buses. You will need 10 cents (maybe it was a nickel) to go through the metal entry to the bus area. Dont forget to have this change or they will send you back to get it. You will then see the buses with all the towns on the windshields. Grab the one that will take you towards David. You can get off and spend a night some where but you will have to pay in order to get back on the next day. Have a bunch of fun!

Amtrak? In Panama?

Originally Posted by FutureExpat.com

Amtrak? In Panama?

Not likely. Last I heard, the train between PC and Colon was running again. That is the only place I know of in Panama that even has any tracks (besides the tugs on the canal). When I lived there, there were only rusted out rail cars on the track outside Albrook AFS. When we move back, I would love to ride on the train. Panama Canal Railway Co.

That's what I thought. I think someone was confused. . .

Will be back in Panama soon and plan to travel from PTY to David and from David to Bocas by bus. I have seen references to double decker buses with luxury top deck seats in the past. Can anyone enlighten me on these?

I will say that the long distance buses beat driving.

Yeah, that's what we figured. :-) And you definitely can't beat the price!

Originally Posted by topspinnn

Will be back in Panama soon and plan to travel from PTY to David and from David to Bocas by bus. I have seen references to double decker buses with luxury top deck seats in the past. Can anyone enlighten me on these?

I know they exist, because I've passed many of them on the highway in the interior. I've never been inside one, so I don't know if the top deck is "luxury" or not.

Originally Posted by topspinnn

Will be back in Panama soon and plan to travel from PTY to David and from David to Bocas by bus. I have seen references to double decker buses with luxury top deck seats in the past. Can anyone enlighten me on these?

Hi Topspin,
The buses are pretty decent. We traveled on them from Chitre to David. They are probably the plushest of anything in Panama tranport. They are nice padded seats that do a partial recline, blinds that you can shut by your seat, DVD screens that pop down and show movies, and a person is high enough to see outside distances good. I thought that they were very nice. Well worth it.