So we want to take a trip in April or May, not super high-budget, but not backpacking, either. I have enough miles on United for 2 tickets anywhere in North or Central America, but only if we can get Super Saver fares. We also don’t want, Say, overnight layovers in Houston. There seems to be a fair amount of availability either to Panama City or to Liberia, Costa Rica (but not as much to San Jose), nonstop flights, even. We like ocean, relaxing, cultural stuff (more exploring outdoors than museums), people-watching, arts, music, food, and general wandering around. I am fluent in Spanish, and we would love to be able to get around on public transportation and not rent a car.
Which of the two destinations would you pick, and why?
I just returned from a one-week trip in Panamá. We rented a car and hit the roads. Most of the roads of the places we went were well paved and maintained, so we had little problem there.
I’m not sure public transportation would be a good option outside the major city in either country. Certainly not when you want to explore and have a more limited schedule.
Of the two I’m quite happy with my trip to Panamá, but I’m eyeing eventually doing something similar in Costa Rica. We went to the Caribbean coast, to the Pacific coast, and to the mountains. Drawback is that it was a lot to cram in one week, and we wish we had more time to do more. Also, it is more driving than what was expected.
Costa Rica has a lot of microclimates which makes going to different areas particularly interesting. Arenal Volcano and its attendant hot springs is pretty amazing. You can often see lava flowing. There’s not a ton of historical stuff (ruins, etc) and as far as I can tell there’s nothing much interesting in San Jose, but a wealth of ecological sightseeing/hiking/nature walks. Costa Rica is very protective of its natural resources and there are many national parks that are well maintained.
There are buses but I’ve never heard of people relying on them for “just wandering around.” I’ve heard of more people using light aircraft (Nature air and Sansa are the two small-plane specialists) to hop around to be honest. Depending on season the road can be a little hairy And by hairy, I mean, “flooded” and “break-an-axle-rutted” and “4-wheel-drive-required”.
Defiitely recommend surfing on the pacific coast if you ever wanted to try it. Conditions are incredibly consistent and welcoming for beginners. (we honeymooned at Safari Surf School in Nosara). On the carribean coast there’s snorkeling but the water’s murky on the pacific side and people tend to surf and fish rather than dive.
Thanks, guys - I will have to do some reading. We may just need to bite the bullet and rent a car. One of the attorneys I work with is married to a lovely Panamanian lady, so of course he is rooting for Panama.
Panama has more rainforest that is easily accessible, more cultural diversity, better roads, and I think in general you get more bang for your buck here than in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is favored as a destination more because it does a better job of PR than Panama rather than having any real advantages.
There is good long-distance air-conditioned bus service between Panama City and David in western Panama, and smaller buses can take you to many tourist destinations in the highlands like El Valle, Boquete, and Volcan/Cerro Punta.
Thanks - my co-worker usually rents a car because it’s easier for them to haul around with 2 little kids. But I might be up for taking the bus. How easy is it to get around on foot/taxi/local bus once one gets to one’s destination outside Panama City? I imagine not every Panamanian owns a car. (My co-worker says his father-in-law takes buses, or used to, but he’s now getting pretty elderly and isn’t getting around as well.) He also offered to put me in touch with his sister-in-law, who still lives there.
I did a prepaid tour to both Panama and Costa Rica on the same trip. The Panama Canal was interesting, and there were also a few other interesting things in Panama, but I enjoyed Costa Rica MUCH more.
There were places in Panama that we were taken to that I wouldn’t have felt safe in, if we hadn’t been with a guide. There were a few times when I thought we were being looked at with bad intent. Costa Rica, on the other hand, felt very safe to me. And whether it was true or not, Costa Rica felt a lot more scenic.
The worst thing I experienced in Costa Rica were the robber monkeys on the beach. Don’t leave any food out unprotected! They’ll get to it!
There are usually minibuses that travel regular local routes that are quite cheap. You can also usually hire a local taxi either for the day (which may be cheaper than car rental), or have the guy drop you off somewhere and pick you up later (of course, you don’t pay until he comes back).
Crime is actually considerably lower in Panama than in Costa Rica by almost any measure. Panama also has a violent crime rate much lower than New York City. I was a bit shocked when I went to Costa Rica a few years ago and found that my friends were concerned about their cars being broken into or being robbed in the kinds of areas that would have been perfectly safe in Panama. I have few concerns about walking around at night in most parts of Panama City, and none at all in most of the countryside. Of course there are bad neighborhoods in Panama and especially Colon, but most areas are safe. Normally the worst thing to be worried about is your car being broken into.
Panama is one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America, and has had a growth rate of near 10% for quite a few years in a row.
I can assure you that you think that only because you haven’t visited the right parts of Panama.
Panama has a much more interesting history, with colonial forts and an increasingly gentrified old quarter of Panama City, as well as the Panama Canal. Panama City also is far more cosmopolitan than San Jose.
I don’t do it much myself, but there are good places to snorkel in Bocas del Toro and Isla Iguana off the Azuero Peninsula, and I think near Portobelo in central Panama. Guna Yala (or Kuna Yala) is a fascinating cultural experience that offers great snorkeling, but accomodations may be rustic. Isla Coiba is also good but more difficult to get to.
This is true, but considering we were on a schedule and the places we wanted to see, a bus wouldn’t have been as easy. Certainly there are buses between the big cities, we passed them in our little rented car.
FTR, we went to Portobelo (as a cocola/salsera, I had to), then on the way back stopped at a local beach to rest in the Caribbean waters. We both like happy local beaches, so it was good for us, and we felt safe leaving our belongings while both of us went to the water. Also, Portobelo region has some old Spanish fortifications which were quite nice to explore and see.
Then we drove all through the Panamerican road to Las Lajas, in the Pacific side, were we stayed at a nice hostel/shack place my companion had been to previously. Awesome place.
Then we drove all the way to Boquete, where we stayed not too much, just the start of the flower festival. We did do a small trek to some thermal waters, a river, and a waterfall.
By that time, we had to do the return trip to Panama and enjoy the metro, window shopping, and a walk at night by the Cinta Costera (broadwalk).
Costa Rica has some truly wild, untamed places. You absolutely must visit the cloud forest reserve in Monteverde. You might even see a qetzal bird there (I photographed one, which was extremely lucky). Manuel Antonio state park is amazing, but really crowded. I’ve not been to Arenal volcano, but it apparently has some breathtaking views.
If you’re willing to ride the buses, they can take you anywhere you want to go there, and you’ll save several hundred bucks over renting a car. There are some good ecotourism tours these days there, although I just bum around when I’m there, seeing the sights on my own timetable.
If you’re going for just a week, I’d recommend only visiting 2 or 3 places, and really doing everything you can at each one. Don’t overschedule. They’re not shutting down the country anytime soon, so you can go back later, if you enjoy yourself.
This is true for both countries. They do have a lot to offer and see, and now next time I want to try Bocas del Toro and Kuna Yala (yay opposite sides of Panama!).
The place I really like isFt. San Lorenzo, because it’s surrounded by jungle, but it’s harder to get to without a car.
Quetzals are quite common in the cloud forests of western Panama around Boquete and Cerro Punta. One of my favorite places to see them is the Los Quetzales Cabins near Cerro Punta. The first time I stayed there, three quetzals flew in and perched next to the patio while I drank my morning coffee. I usually see a few when I visit in the right season, and have seen up to a dozen in the same tree.
If you want wild and untamed, you can’t beat Darien Province in Panama, but that would be ambitious for a short trip.
Good to know. I’ve been trying to decide whether to buy a half-pound, it’s on sale like one day a year, coming up in a couple weeks, I believe. Do most people agree with you, that you know who’ve tasted it?
