Getting Around
Upon Arriving at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City
As soon as you leave customs, there is an official taxi stand. These taxis are safe and reliable. It costs about $15 to go anywhere in Panama City from the International Airport and takes about 15-20 minutes depending on where you are going. There are also several car rental agencies including National, Thrifty and Dollar Car Rental.
Taxis
From your hotel or any downtown street, taxis are easy to get, numerous and cheap. Getting to most places in Panama City by taxi won't cost more than $4. There are no taxi meters. It is best to negotiate the price with the driver when you tell him where you want to go. If you take a hotel taxi it will be more than double. To avoid them, just walk out to the street and hail a regular taxi.
Tours
For organized tours, there excellent tour operators with tours beginning with half-day excursions to see the local attractions.See our What to Do and See section for ideas. Go to our TOUR OPERATORS page in the Business Services section for information on where, when and how much.
Buses
There is regular bus service to most parts of the country with round-trip tickets usually no more than $20. Ask a taxi driver to take you to Albrook Bus Terminal.
To go to the Colon Free Zone or Colon, the bus stop is at Avenida Peru between Calle 29 Este and Calle 30 Este.
For bus travel to Costa Rica daily trips are provided by Panaline (262.1618) and Tico Bus (262.2084). Call in advance for reservations. There is a daily Tico bus leaving from Albrook Terminal at 11 am.
Travel To and From Panama
The only way to go to and from Panama is by plane, car or bus. There is an excellent bus service between Costa Rica and Panama. To go to South America, the only way is to take a plane. There is no boat service to Columbia. If you have a car, it can be shipped to a Latin American port.