jimcoddington

I am flying into PTY and I have read a number of ideas on how to get to the downtown area, they are as follows:

1. Take a cab outside of baggage claim, $30
2. Walk up to the Departure area in PTY, cab only costs $15
3. Bus, only cost $1 but not much information

Any other suggestions? Anyone have any information on the bus?

SJOGuy

The public bus doesn't come into the airport itself. You'd have to walk out to the main road to catch it. It will likely be crowded and slow and difficult to negotiate if you have bags. Splurge for a taxi. The fares might sound high, but PTY is quite far outside the city.

EmailKid

As a dedicated public transport kind of guy I broke down and took the taxi from PTY (took the bus in the city a few times including to the canal locks).

It's a long way from the airport and Panama City is pretty toasty to walk to the bus @:-)

Tiki

We had a rental car as we went to Soberania National Park, but after dropping the car off the day before the flight we had to get back to the Marriott Courtyard. The walk to the bus isn't that far, but they don't take cash for the fare. We did find kindly locals who swiped their passes to get us on board and we offered double the cost-around $1. The buses are crowded and we had to stand until someone got off vacating some seats but we weren't going to pay $30 rip-off for a taxi!

The next morning, we did the same thing in reverse to catch our flight from PTY-LAS with carry-on backpacks. We never did find out where to buy bus passes but it was no trouble to offer the locals double bus fare in exchange for swiping their pass. If the bus had been late or too full we would have tried bargaining with a taxi for around $5 from Metromall/Courtyard to the airport and willing to hop off on the street outside the airport and walk in, in case the taxi had to pay a fee to enter the airport but buses were arriving promptly.

susaninnyc

Is it customary to negotiate with taxi for rates from PTY to downtown? Thanks!

marcuswelby

No. It's a fixed price of 25USD I believe to anywhere in the city. Set by the taxi union.

copaflyer

$5 would not have worked. I doubt even $10 would with the current traffic. The same distance elsewhere in the city would be $3.

donron

Another possibility to try is to request a "Collectivo" ... a shared Taxi that will drop each person off at their individual locations. Ask for this just outside the doors from the Arrivals Lobby to the Taxi Stand. There will be a guy coordinating all the Taxis... ask him, or go to the Taxi booth just to the right as you come out the door. If you are not in a group already you may need to wait a little as they will usually want at least 3 people. (you can speed things up by asking other arriving tourists (backpackers?) who might be interested and see if they want to share the ride) This only works to the city that I know of. The Collectivo cost $12 per person when I was there end of last year.
Returning to the airport has gotten much more expensive over the last few years. What I do is ask various Taxi drivers during my stay (that seem to be good drivers & have good cars w/ A/C) how much they would charge. Some will be willing to bargain a little, but not too much less than the standard $25 fare anymore. Most Taxi Drivers will have cards so you can call them to pre-arrange rides & pickup times.

Ron

UAPremierGuy

So, it sounds like the best bet is to just go ahead and take the taxi in arrivals. Are they all the same, or is one company better than another? Are they all $30? And, lastly, are they safe? Thanks.

SJOGuy

Only one company is permitted to pick up passengers at the airport and it has fixed rates. $30 would be the taxi fare to Albrook in the former Canal Zone. Panama City would be $25.

http://www.tocumenpanama.aero/index....sporte_publico

Yes, the taxis are safe.

frudd38

So I just got back from PTY and the Uber flat rate was $27.50 each trip Airport to City both ways.. I was thinking to save a little cash one could walk to the Crowne Plaza or some other hotel and catch an Uber there and it looks to be about half the cost or more.. thoughts on this?

Long Train Runnin

The Crowne Plaza isn't as close to the Airport as it looks. Google Maps shows it being right out side the airport, but its actually down the road quite a bit. There is no sidewalk, and its a kind of a tough walk with luggage. The taxis will all slow down and bother you for a ride. I wouldn't do that again. Although I would stay at the hotel again its brand new, and pretty nice.

Julian

I'm staying there in a few weeks. Can someone please tell me where to catch the Crowne Plaza shuttle at the airport? Thanks.

Long Train Runnin

I would make sure you contact them in advance. The arrivals area really isn' that big, so it shouldn't be to hard to find them. Of course the "shuttle" I took from the hotel to the airport was just a plain unmarked white car.

Julian

Thanks.