Central America - driving in Panama City?

Anyone ever done it? There seem to be many horror stories -- I don't know whether to believe them (I found driving in Costa Rica to be OK, plenty of horror stories there, too).

What most concerns me is that I'm arriving at PTY after dark and headed to a hotel in Amador. I have directions, but I don't yet have a good map. Will the directions work: like will I see a sign that actually says "South Corridor Highway"?

The reason we want to get the car at the airport is because we will be leaving Panama City shortly after our overnight stay.

Any tips and suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Uh-oh. While leaving the airport & finding the corredor should not be a problem (IIRC the signs say 'Panama Cuota'), once the freeway ends in Panama City it's not straightforward to navigate your way to Amador. Worse still, if you make a wrong turn you will end up in what qualifies as a slum - and due to the lack of signs you probably WILL make a wrong turn.

What I would do to avoid problems is once you're off the corredor/freeway and probably on Avenida Balboa (the large coastal avenue), hire a cab to lead you from there to Amador. Should not be expensive.

Uh-oh. While leaving the airport & finding the corredor should not be a problem (IIRC the signs say 'Panama Cuota'), once the freeway ends in Panama City it's not straightforward to navigate your way to Amador. Worse still, if you make a wrong turn you will end up in what qualifies as a slum - and due to the lack of signs you probably WILL make a wrong turn.

What I would do to avoid problems is once you're off the corredor/freeway and probably on Avenida Balboa (the large coastal avenue), hire a cab to lead you from there to Amador. Should not be expensive.

Thanks, yeah, that's exactly what I'm afraid of.

The directions I have are to exit the airport to Jose Domingo Diaz Ave, and then take the South Corridor Highway to Balboa. Is that all relatively straightforward?

From Balboa, I'm supposed to get on November 3rd Street. Would that be the problem?

If I want to be a coward and take a taxi, about how much would it cost to get to Amador? And would there be an easy way to pick up the car the next day without going back to the airport? Thanks.

The above information is correct. It is easy to get on the toll highway but darkness makes it infinitely tougher.

I stayed at the Riande Airport hotel approximately 1 mile from the airport and located adjacent to the toll road after arriving fairly late on the Delta flight from ATL. It took me 1 hour and 3 trips to the airport to find the hotel. In fairness, the entrance to the hotel is hidden, the sign is always off and one must go through the Payless Rental lot to get to the hotel. Note: the hotel is somewhat of a pit, but the best and only option near the airport.

Once the toll road ends, there are no signs visible in the daylight and certainly none at night because Panama City has no street signs. The neighborhood that you will end up wandering is near the Bridge of Americas is pretty much like Bedford Stuyvesant in the 60's where one conceivably could fear for one's life. It is squalid at best. The streets wander in many directions and even if one can see the bridge, which I did, one will wander for a considerable time often passing the same corner multiple times. Finally after 1.5 hours in the daylight with the bridge in view, I got on the bridge after making a u-turn in heavy traffic.

If it were me, I would either:

1. Stay at the Riande, poor as it may be (I did arriving and departing)-have them pick you up and take you back to the airport after the stay, it is free.
2. Hire a taxi from and back to the airport and do the trip in the daylight. You will probably get lost anyway. If you are going North, there are only 2 ways across the Canal, if you are going to Colon (why?) there is only one and it is the one to the other bridge.

Locals have informed me that the taxi drivers have difficulty finding addresses (even hotels) unless you tell them 3 landmarks, one of which often was demolished years ago. I believed them when they told me this. I guarantee you that you will not see any street signs and very, very few useful directionals.

In daylight, friendly locals will tell you that you are on the right road to the airport (if you happen to be lucky enough to be on it). Not much use if you are coming from the airport.

Very poor maps are available from the tourist desk at PTY. They have some street names and only cover South of the Canal. They are better than nothing.

Obviously after saying all this, I survived to get on an airplane home.

Also do not be fooled by the very low rental rates from companies like Budget, they do not include the obligatory insurance charge which was, as I remember, $8 per day last summer.

Enjoy your adventure.

Thanks. I'm a brave and intrepid driver (I'm guessing I've driven in 30 countries, on several continents), but it sounds really dumb to arrive in Panama for the first time and do this drive at night.

As I look at my flight schedule, I think I can even save a day's car rental by picking the car up the next day at the hotel. That can be about my taxi fare, so it won't even cost me much money. BTW, from what little I've gathered so far, it looks like the major car rental companies routinely deliver cars to the hotels. Rates seem pretty cheap, even with the mandatory insurance.

If anyone has any more advice regarding these topics, I would greatly appreciate it.

I'm probably, humbly stated, more brave and intrepid (or maybe stupid) than you, but if I had to do it again. You certainly got my point and that of the other responder.;)

If they indeed deliver to the hotel, either

1. have the deliverer direct you by sitting in the passenger seat or driving you out of the city. Pay him to do this plus the cost of getting back to the agency. I successfully did this in Quito which is tough but not as tough as Panama City. Quito has street and directional signs and comprehensive maps of the much of city which I stupidly did not buy when I had the chance. Panama City has none other than a couple of poor tourist maps.

2. hire a local taxi to lead you out of town. I had to do this also in Quito when I became hopelessly lost thanks to worthless directions from a hotel. Do not make the mistake of sticking one of your passengers in the taxi unless you both have cells and each others number.

The directions I have are to exit the airport to Jose Domingo Diaz Ave, and then take the South Corridor Highway to Balboa. Is that all relatively straightforward?
Yes, that should not be difficult, and there are signs. The corredor was built by a Mexican company, so the signs look like the standard in Mexico (that was the first thing I noticed, including the word 'cuota' for 'toll').

From Balboa, I'm supposed to get on November 3rd Street. Would that be the problem?
This is where it gets tricky. What you could do is follow all the buses (tho I don't know how many there would be at night). You need to make a right on what looks like a small, local street, right by an overpass, then navigate through a busy intersection, and end up on the couple of lanes that will take you onto the overpass towards the bridge. There are few signs that guide you through this, and it's all in the middle of an 'undesirable neighborhood for tourist purposes'. Then after you're on the correct road to the bridge, you need to find your way to the Amador causeway without ending up in said neighborhood, and without crossing the bridge, of course. Impossible? No. Confusing? Yes. Dangerous? Everybody, including locals, says so. We made a few wrong turns, saw real life in Panama up close, ended up where we wanted to go after a few risky maneuvers, and survived unscathed. But it was all in daylight.

If I want to be a coward and take a taxi, about how much would it cost to get to Amador? And would there be an easy way to pick up the car the next day without going back to the airport? Thanks.From the financial district around Av Balboa to the old town center, the fare was $3. Amador is not that much farther, so figure about $6? I would say certainly not more than $10 total. But beware of gringo vs. Spanish-speaker prices.

All of this said, the people in Panama are the friendliest Latin Americans I have met (right up there with Fijians in terms of friendliness). Maybe not the rough types, but everyone else is very friendly and very approachable.

Add: the major hotels have car rental company outlets, and e.g. picking up a car in the city and returning it at the airport is not a problem.

The guy at Budget gave me the directions that once I reached the end of the toll just to follow the buses. Easy until we got to a large intersection with a cop directing traffic and the buses headed off in five different directions. I turned right and followed one, the wrong one, noting the one sign to the bridge in my mirror. One way street impossible to turn. You know the rest of the story.

The alternative route directions were even more interesting as one had to turn before a building, I think it was a cultural center.

Lots of good advice. The part of Panama City nearest Amador (Ancon, El Chorillo, ...) is the oldest part of a very old city, so the roads are twisty, narrow, and barely marked. And, as people have noted, the area is NOT where you want to be at night as a tourist (or even as a native). You should not have much trouble finding the Corredor Sur (South Corridor), but god help you when you get off it on to Avenida Balboa and hope to navigate to Amador in the dark without knowing the area.

BTW, the drive from Avenida Balboa through El Chorillo will definitely take you face to face with utter poverty and squallor. Not quite Slumdog Millionaire level squallor, but you can see it from there.

In general, Panama City requires a very aggressive (defensive) driving style, but if you've driven in a lot of other third world countries, it shouldn't be anything too out of the ordinary. Simple rule of thumb: buses always have the right of way (or will TAKE the right of way), taxis only back down to buses, and for everybody else it is a game of chicken.

Just came back from PTY. We got a navigation with the car rental ($11.00 per day). It helped but not always 100% accurate. Panama is not too bad to drive........just watch out for all the potholes.

Thanks for all the tips. Can I assume that it's a reasonable idea to rent a car to drive to the Miraflores locks and other attractions along the Canal? We were thinking of doing this for a day before heading out of town.

Thanks.

Thanks for all the tips. Can I assume that it's a reasonable idea to rent a car to drive to the Miraflores locks and other attractions along the Canal? We were thinking of doing this for a day before heading out of town.

Thanks.


Yes, very easy drive (not too many potholes :) ). The locks are under attractions if you decide to get a navi unit.

You can also take a taxi from your Amador hotel to the Albrook/Gelabert Airport. You can rent a car there, and it’s a short, simple hop to the Miraflores Visitor Center. (You'll probably have to pay a small drop-off fee if you return the car at Tocumen.)

It seems risky to depend on a rental car company rep showing up at your hotel on time (or not bringing you a lemon). If you want to see ships passing through the Miraflores Locks, you need to check the Canal Authority’s schedule. When I visited in October, the Atlantic-bound ships went through the locks until about 1 pm.

If you plan to cross the canal when leaving Panama City (heading toward El Valle, David, et al.), you can take a left when exiting the visitors center. Avenue Gaillard goes along the canal and connects to the Pan-American Highway and the Centennial Bridge at Paraiso. This is a longer route, but it’s more scenic and straightforward than heading back into the fray and trying to find the access ramp to the Bridge of the Americas.

Thanks, Y_Me.

Are the English language skills pretty good at the car rental offices? The websites are a bit cryptic about pick up and drop off options, so I think I've got to call down there. There's no way I can confidently arrange these details en espanol, however. There wouldn't happen to be a Panamanian reading this forum who'd like to help, would there? :p

My experience during my week in Panama was that English skills in the parts of the country that I visited are excellent. There was a great deal of influence from our ownership of the canal as well as our large military presence. Although I speak poor Spanish, it was rare that I needed it.

Thanks, Y_Me.

Are the English language skills pretty good at the car rental offices? The websites are a bit cryptic about pick up and drop off options, so I think I've got to call down there. . . . :p

The gentleman at the Hertz counter at Albrook spoke enough English to do his job. When we began discussing my desire to decline LDW/CDW (aka CPD, or Cobertura Parcial de Daños), he had to call a rep at the central office who was fluent. That was understandable, given the various (and confusing) insurance coverages available.

SLI (third-party liability) is mandatory for rentals in Panama, but LDW can be declined if your credit card provides coverage in Panama. After reading travelers' tales about some rental agencies refusing to accept their cards for the LDW (only to discover later that their cards did include LDW coverage in Panama), I had confirmed with Hertz Panama (http://www.rentacarpanama.com/general/default.aspx) before making a reservation that I could decline LDW by using my Amex card. The counterman was confused by the print-out of my correspondence (in English) with the central office on this issue, but the guy in the central office cleared up the matter to everyone's satisfaction.

I don't recall having any problems communicating in Panama using English and my very limited Spanish.

I got a good rate using the Hertz discount code on continental.com. I think AA and UAL discount codes provided similar savings.

Thanks. I'm a brave and intrepid driver (I'm guessing I've driven in 30 countries, on several continents), but it sounds really dumb to arrive in Panama for the first time and do this drive at night.

As I look at my flight schedule, I think I can even save a day's car rental by picking the car up the next day at the hotel. That can be about my taxi fare, so it won't even cost me much money. BTW, from what little I've gathered so far, it looks like the major car rental companies routinely deliver cars to the hotels. Rates seem pretty cheap, even with the mandatory insurance.

If anyone has any more advice regarding these topics, I would greatly appreciate it.

My vote is no.

I've driven in Panama and every other country in Central America. The actual driving conditions aren't horrible in Panama with decent roads and less aggressive drivers compared to most 3rd world nations.

You will likely get lost though. The roads are confusing and the signage lousy. It might look easy to just get on 'Corridor Sur' but one wrong turn and you'll be circling for an hour. I think it would be very dumb to arrive at night and drive away. Fair amount of one way roads in the city to make things even more confusing if you take a wrong turn.

Depending where you're staying in Panama City it's very easy to take a wrong turn into some dangerous areas - a very bad idea at night.

I love to drive in Panama. I wouldn't have it any other way. Yes you will get lost. I did but that is part of the fun.

Your biggest challenge will be to avoid the LDW. That is the only place on earth I had to pay it. It came down to pay it or walk.

OK, I've driven in Panama and can live to tell about it.

First, thanks for all the tips. They were a huge help! Just knowing to look for "cuota" helped considerably. :)

A few observations. First, outside the city, driving in Panama is not particularly difficult. I'd peg the signage and road conditions as slightly better than Costa Rica. No place for a rookie driver, though. And unless you're good with maps (we are) and have an innate "sense of direction," I would definitely try to get a GPS.

Driving in the city itself is bad, and very bad during rush hour. The lack of signage is quite problematic. To get myself to the Marriott hotel, for example, I stayed on the highway as long as possible (in this case the Corridor Norte) and then basically steered in the right direction until I saw the sign on the 20-story building. Since there are very few street signs, it would be very helpful to know the names of the tallest buildings near your destination.

Driving in the former canal zone is significantly easier, as it is less congested, has more logical routings, and is better sign-posted. I would try to avoid having a car while staying in downtown Panama City. Instead, you could stay at one of the hotels in the former Canal Zone -- like the Country Inn or the new Holiday Inn City of Knowledge. A car would be desirable to have at these locations, and you could pick one up at the nearby Albrook domestic airport (which is what I did).

A car would be desirable to have at these locations, and you could pick one up at the nearby Albrook domestic airport (which is what I did).

Did you return the car to Albrook too or PTY?

Did you return the car to Albrook too or PTY?

I returned it to PTY -- which is easy, once you get on the toll road. You then pretty much drive up to the terminal (they even have a sign!), park outside and walk to the counter.

BTW, they are building a new elevated highway that looks like it will connect the toll road to the Bridge of the Americas, making things considerably easier to drive across the Canal from PTY.

I returned it to PTY -- which is easy, once you get on the toll road.

How complicated would it be to find your way onto the toll road coming from Gamboa? Thanks!

How complicated would it be to find your way onto the toll road coming from Gamboa? Thanks!

You will come first to the other bridge somewhere in the Canal Zone. If you take this expressway toward Panama City, it will end and become a regular boulevard. Once you reach the first major intersection, turn left and it goes to the airport. There will be no signs, I repeat, there will be no signs to help you. Just trust your luck. Going all the way to the causeway will probably result in your wandering in the very dodgy neighborhood mentioned upthread. If you have trepidation or seem to be lost, hire a cab to lead you to the airport. Expect 45 minutes to 1 hour from the final turn to reach the airport-traffic is heavy.

Ignore all signs pointing toward the cuota, toll road randomly posted on the right of the road after you make the final turn. Ignore the one partial sign that takes you off the main street (the missing part shows that the airport is straight on the main boulevard, not off to the right). Eventually you will get there.

If all else fails, roll down the window and ask the person next to you in the traffic jam if the road is the correct one to the airport.

If I recall correctly, do not take Corridor Norte as it does not connect to the Corridor Sur, if it did, it would make it much easier.

If I recall correctly, do not take Corridor Norte as it does not connect to the Corridor Sur, if it did, it would make it much easier.

Yeah, the problem coming from the north, or the west, is that there's no direct connection to the Corridor Sur. Once you're on the Corridor Sur, it's a cake walk!

I used this google map to get a "feel" for the route. The thing you have going for you is that the Corridor Sur starts along the water, so there's a natural "dead end" to the highway. I'd recommend the Corridor Norte to Martin Sosa, and then pray. :) You'll ultimately make it!

http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS275US275&q=gamboa+panama+map&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=us&ei=WBjDSY7rGpTsnQfsuuGYDg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=image

Just trust your luck.

I'd recommend the Corridor Norte to Martin Sosa, and then pray. :)

OK this isn't giving me the most comfortable feeling :D

If I return the car to Albrook and take a cab from there to PTY, is that easy enough? Thanks to you both!