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May
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the panama cheat sheet
Filed Under cheat sheet |
this is intended to be a quick reference for first time visitors.
is it safe? - here’s the u.s government website for travel warnings, visa, and passport info
departure - there’s a pant-load of cheap flights into panama city. but if you really want cheap, and you’re planning to stay longer than three months, you’ve got a problem. a $400-$600 round trip ticket jumps to over $1000 - $1200 if you want to hang in panama longer than 90 days.
one solution is to buy a one way ticket. i’ve found good prices at intratours. when you check in at the airport the airlines will tell you that you need a round trip ticket to get into panama. sorry, their hands are tied, they’ll say. i know, i’ve been there. my bus ticket out of panama wasn’t good enough for them. i had to purchase a refundable return ticket at the counter. later, after i cleared customs in panama city, i just cashed it in. easy.
visa runs - i’ve written three articles about it here. if you’re on a tourist visa you must leave the country after four and half months. both panaline and tica bus make runs from panama city to san jose costa rica. cost - $50 round trip. the bus service between panama and costa rica is dependable and cheap. there are modern air-conditioned buses leaving allbrook station for domestic trips as well.
domestic and international flights leave from tocumen and albrook airport (formerly an US Air Force base near the Canal). check out Aeroperlas, airpanama, and nature air. cost- around $100 -$200 round trip to costa rica. nature Air offers daily flights to 15 destinations in Costa Rica and a couple to Bocas del Toro , Panama, and Granada , Nicaragua
getting around town - taxis are cheap and ubiquitous, except when it rains. then you’ll have to blackmail a government official if you want a lift. relax, you’re in panama - what’s the rush? hang out under the eves with the locals, and watch the monkeys float past.
i’ve been in hundreds of panama taxis, and never had a bad experience. the vehicles are crap, but most drivers are honest. oh sure, you’ll meet some interesting characters. but they’re cool. don’t be alarmed if your driver stops to pick up a local. if someone’s going in the same general direction the driver will pick them up to make more cash.
the taxis aren’t metered, they’re zoned. cost - fares run from $1.00 to $3.00 within the City. a run out to the amador causeway, or the canal, might cost you a little more. taxis can also be rented for about $6 - $10 an hour.
ok, there are emergencies. like when you’ve just loaded up on groceries at supermercado reys, it’s raining, and the chocolate ice cream’s melting. that’s when you pick up the phone and dial. be prepared to speak spanish.
America Libre: 223-7342, 800-TAXI
Radio Taxi America: 223-7694, 223-1928, 223-7534
Radio Taxi El Golf: 220-0229, 266-0842
Many visitors leaving Toucamen Airport catch a cab. It’s best not to commit yourself to a rental car unless you’re sure you ready to leave the city. It’s about a thirty minute ride from the airport. cost - about $25.
Inside the city you can hike. Most areas are safe by day. a word of warning, If you’re crippled, slow of foot, or wit, you could end up crushed beneath diablo rojo’s wheels. careful, the drivers of these buses and cars do not respect pedestrians. cost - your life.
Public buses: sadly, they’re no chickens running round. but they do seem to wash the blood of freshly killed pedestrians off the bumper before anyone’s allowed to board. panama buses are cheap, brightly painted, and run all over the city; sometimes right up onto the sidewalk. don’t ask for a map. i don’t think they exist. locals tell me they’re not safe. but, except for the grade school flashbacks, i like them. watch your wallet. and catch on if you dare. cost - 25 cents.
Renting a car: is doable from the usual suspects. you can find them at the airport and all over the p-city. like most things in panama they’re cheaper than in the U.S. but what do you care? you’re going to charge it anyway.
for some, a frenetic ride up and down panama’s streets would qualify as an extreme sport. beware, most panamanians are crazy drivers, others just suck. traffic can get heavy; stay off the roads after 3:30 pm until 6:30 pm unless you’re outside the city. you can drive with your foreign license, just remember to carry your passport with you. panama’s roads are some of the best in central america. cost - a little piece of your soul.
cheap hotel - try the hotel California. last time i checked you could stay the month for $500. rooms feature air, cable tv, hot showers, room service. they’ve got a good restaurant below and friendly staff. tip - stay on the top floor, on the back side, to lesson the sounds of diablo rojo bellowing up and down via espania.
banks - don’t believe the hype about privacy and secrecy. your assets are always at risk in panama. keep most of your money at home. use atms. open an account only if you’re going to stay, and only keep enough on hand to pay bills. use online banking to pay bills back home.
conventional wisdom says you need two letters of introduction to open a bank account in panama. i haven’t found that to be accurate. just have your bank in the u.s contact them with a letter of intro and that should suffice. if you have a problem go to another bank.
taxes - file your u.s. income tax online. as an incentive to buy here, there’s a ten -20 year tax exemption for some newly built real estate in panama. check with your lawyer before you buy. for older apartments or homes valued under $30k there’s no tax. over $30k you need to pay 1.75% from $30,000 to $50,000; plus 1.95% from $50,000 to $75,000; and 2.10% on values above $75,000. there’s also a capital gains tax for sellers.
real estate - the markets hot. prices are cheap compared to the u.s. and costa rica, but don’t buy at the top. are we there yet? some think the market’s overheated and due for an adjustment. i don’t know about that. i think the boomers in the u.s have just started to make their move. be careful about buying pre-construction. some of those projects don’t work out. and sometimes they’ll sell your unit out from under you if they can get a better price.
always have a lawyer on hand. you can look for a reputable lawyer here. i recommend buying older, titled properties in decent condition. their prices are lower. in many cases they were built better, are cheaper to maintain, and they’re more resilient to a real estate crash.
you can always customize them to suit your tastes. workers are cheap down here. and in an older building there’s less chance you’ll find yourself living with creepy rabiblancos and colombian drug lords.
cable/tv/internet - service is excellent in the panama city, first world. outside the city you’re on a dish and service can be spotty.
cost of living - cheap. cheaper if you want to live like a cholo. a couple of examples: a gallon of breyers vanilla ice cream is over $7, but the local brand is $2. i bought a cool new jacket (brand name bodyglove) yesterday for $7. a shirt for $5. i normally pay $15- $18 when eating out with my girlfriend. i’ve written a longer article on the cost of living here. the point is, if you want to live cheaply you can, if you want to live like a king, you can.
what to bring - cash, an atm card, credit card, passport, and books. travel light. you never know when a bus will drop you in the casa del culo (middle of nowhere/house of the ass). you don’t want to be hiking in the equatorial heat loaded down with gear. you can find everything you need in panama city anyway. everything, except a good selection of reasonably priced english language books.
crime - one of the reasons the toni grossi abrams story has been on panamanian tv for the last couple of weeks is that panama’s a reasonably safe country. and stories such as these are not the norm. there’s a grisly fascination with murders like this. that said, it’s best to fly under the radar, don’t present yourself as a target, live modestly, and use common sense in urban areas.
i should probably file this under beating a dead horse, but here’s a recent follow up to the toni gorssi abrams murder. the staten island advance does a good job blaming the victim.
currency - panama uses the balboa, based on the dollar. there’s an interesting article here about the monetary system of panama. the author claims that panama’s inflation is lower than the u.s., and that their market driven system is wildly stable. he writes“panama is the only country in latin america that has not experienced a financial collapse or currency crisis.”
weather - hot, humid. cool in the mountains. no major storms. oh sure, we get the occasional earthquake. but who doesn’t love a good shake now and again?
the people - multi racial, fun loving, easy going, well dressed, respectful, decent. the men are handsome, the women stunning.
the siesta - explains why the people are so chill. a new study shows that taking a siesta lowers the risk of heart attacks, and lowers stress.
health insurance - cheap. a couple of examples i found over on the panama forum. british/american offer coverage in Panama. for two healthy people over 40 a premium is about $100/month.
an even cheaper option might be a health plan, or HMO, from Hospital Chiriqui. there are rumors they will be offering care in panama city soon. here another very cheap plan from the hospital santa fe.
condo insurance - you’ll want to buy an individual unit owner policy which will cover the roof walls and floor of your unit - about $70 a year.
tipping - cleaners, waitresses, bag boys etc., are all struggling to survive. a modest tip goes a long way down here.
panama’s upside - there’s huge money being invested in panama right now, a construction boom, excellent climate, wonderful people, an international, first world city, no standing army, good infrastructure, canal modernization, stable currency, protected parks, good hospitals.
the downside - dengue-like humidity in low areas. building boom possibly fueled by speculation and colombian drug money, corrupt government doesn’t invest enough money in schools and training for the poor. judiciary is slow moving, the rich and well connected get out of jail free, assets and investments not safe, the press is not free to write the truth, pollution runs into the bay of panama.
more later. this list is ongoing. feel free to add your contributions in the comments section below.
join the cult of cojito. just drink the koolaid.
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nice work.
A very accurate and important synopsis for those folks thinking about moving to Panama!I was especially interested in your comments i.e. buying pre-construction—I put a deposit on a condo unit in Nov of 05 —delivery scheduled for late 07–no concrete has been poured as yet!!Delivery now said to be 12/08.The problem her is that the price of the proposed unit is rapidly going up as are the developers costs. He’s in a tough position.I hop likehellthat we do’nt have to get into the Panamian judicial system with its inherent delays and “whacky decisions”!!!
who is the builder of this pre-construction and who did you purchase this property from? i recently purchased one from empresas bern and had the same concern on delay..though your delay of 1 year seems excessive while they sit on your money. empresas bern seems to have a better reputation than rest, but lets see. have you explored any recourse for this delay? would appreciate cojito’s comment on this too.
marco - thank you sir - when’s the party?
todbals + indio - well, there are so many buildings going up, i think they’re stretched thin. i hear there’s a shortage of materials. and i know things seem to move slow down here anyway.
far as i know bern has a decent rep. and once they get rolling the building usually goes up fairly fast. i don’t know about recourse. that’s something you pay your lawyer for.