Getting There By Air:Tocumen International Airport (PTY)
Tel: 437 2626.
Tocumen International Airport is located 35km (20.5 miles) east of the city center. As Panama’s main gateway, Tocumen is serviced by a number of international carriers.
Airport facilities: These include conference and banqueting facilities, a business center, shops, restaurants, bars, banks, ATMs, bureaux de change, tourist information and car hire from
Avis, Budget, Hertz and several others.
Transport to the city: Buses marked
España Tocumen run frequently
from the airport to the city center, though journey time is about two hours. Taxis also serve the terminals, and are a much quicker but costlier alternative.
Getting There By Road:Panama City lies at the geographical center of Panama, and is served well by road connections. With that said, roads are poorly marked, and driving these crowded streets is not for the faint of heart. Parking is widely available throughout the city center, though it is recommended that you only use guarded lots as car theft and vandalism is a major problem. If you’re not a road warrior, there is an extensive network of public bus lines that radiates from Panama City.
Getting There By Rail:Panama Canal Railway Company (tel: 317 6070; website:
www.panarail.com) runs from Panama City to the Caribbean port of Colón in approximately one hour. Aimed at tourists in search of luxury rail travel, this historic line runs parallel to the Panama Canal and passes through thick virgin rainforest.
The Panama City terminus is located in the town of Corazal, which is about a 15-minute cab ride from the capital.
There are no other services and no station in town.
Getting Around:Public TransportPanama City has an extensive network of public
buses, though unfortunately it’s confusing and at times daunting if you don’t speak Spanish. As a result, most visitors prefer to take taxis, or even huff it on foot around the city center. However, if you feel like braving the public buses, destinations and prices are posted on the front windshield. Although there are few formal bus stops in the city, do as the locals do and queue up along major routes.
Special tickets and passes are not available for visitors, though this isn’t a problem as bus fare is extremely cheap. Public transport generally operates between approximately 0500-2200. However, it is safer to take a taxi during early morning and late night hours.
TaxisTaxis can be hailed on the street, though drivers are surprisingly reluctant to pick up passengers and may even protest if your destination won’t result in a high fare. Drivers will almost always leave the meter off in an attempt to charge you more, though fares are never more than a few dollars.
Car HireHire cars are available from
Avis (tel: 264 0722; website:
www.avis.com),
Budget (tel: 263 8777; website:
www.budget.com) and
Thrifty (tel: 164 1402; website:
www.thrifty.com).
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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