Page 29 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

GettinG around BASICS 27
along most regional bus routes from Panama City, passengers generally ply the urban routes, while
transport runs from 5.30/6am until 9/10pm, whereas smaller puddle-hoppers operate in the darién and
the first buses heading into the capital from the Guna Yala to suit the shorter runways – sometimes
provinces may leave from 1 to 4am to ensure only as long as the island they’re on.
passengers arrive for the start of the commercial day. Prices remain constant irrespective of the season,
Local transport in the provinces usually peters out with the maximum one-way domestic fare
around 6.30 or 7pm. unless stated otherwise, all the currently around $105 (including taxes) and many
bus services we list throughout this Guide are daily – much cheaper. Luggage allowances are 12kg plus
but note that departures are often less frequent at 2.3kg carry-on, but full-size surfboards incur an
weekends and in very rural areas, the last bus may extra charge of $20.
not leave at all. the timetables for many routes can Compared with the long-distance buses, plane
be consulted online at Wthebusschedule.com/pa, timetables are fairly sketchily adhered to, especially
which is kept reasonably up to date. in Guna Yala and the darién. Flights to david, Bocas
the Interamericana is punctuated with official and Guna Yala are booked up quickly in advance of
and unofficial (generally at a major intersection) bus a holiday weekend.
stops where you can flag down transport. Bear in
mind that on Friday and Sunday afternoons, and at By car
either end of a holiday period, when buses are
jam-packed, you might be left stranded for hours. away from the traffic hell that is Panama City, driving
Ticket prices range from $5–6 for a two-hour in Panama is generally fairly straightforward, with very
ride in moderate comfort to $15 for a relaxing good, well-signposted roads connecting the main
seven-hour recline from Panama City all the way to urban centres, though it can be a different story in
david. there are set prices for every route, often some of the more remote or mountainous areas.
posted on the bus window, and tourists are rarely the Interamericana (also called the Carretera
overcharged – if in doubt about a fare ask a local on Panamericana in Panama), Panama’s main thorough-
the bus. Luggage generally goes for free, either on fare – part of the Pan-american Highway that travels
the roof or in the luggage compartment, although almost 48,000km from alaska to Chile – runs 486km
surfboards sometimes incur extra charges. Security from the Costa rican border at Paso Canoas in the
is not usually an issue. west, skirting several major cities, crossing the canal
Booking ahead for busy holiday periods and inter- and bludgeoning its way through the capital before
national journeys is a must, though it is only possible continuing another 282km and grinding to an
for international and some long-haul domestic routes. abrupt halt in Yaviza in the eastern darién.
You’ll need to go in person to the travel company traffic for the azuero Peninsula peels off onto the
ticket office, usually in the bus terminal, in Panama Carretera Nacional at divisa, 34km east of Santiago,
City, david or Changuinola, to buy the ticket in cash. and branches off north across the Cordillera Central
at Chiriquí for the sinuous journey across the conti-
By plane nental divide down to the islands of Bocas del toro
on western Panama’s only transisthmian route.
Flying within Panama is a convenient and safe though an excellent paved road, it is sometimes
experience, though you might have your heart in blocked by landslides during the wettest months of
your mouth landing in the more flimsy twin-props the rainy season (roughly May to mid-dec).
at some of the more remote airstrips of Guna Yala the only other routes across the isthmus lie east
and the darién. all internal flights depart from or of the canal. the frequently log-jammed Transíst-
arrive at Marcos a. Gelabert airport (T238 2700), mica links the capital with the country’s second city
more commonly known as Albrook Airport (after of Colón; the faster Autopista Panamá–Colón, a
the former uS air Force base it occupies), which lies toll road aimed at improving commercial traffic,
3km northwest of Panama City centre. runs parallel. an hour east of Panama City, beyond
Air Panama (Wairpanama.com), the country’s Chepo, a roller coaster of a road heads north from
one domestic airline, operates out of albrook, and the interamericana at el Llano, heading 40km over
serves around twenty destinations: the major urban the mountains to Cartí, providing the only road link
areas, several locations along the largely inacces- with Guna Yala. it’s accessible most of the year, but
sible Comarca de Guna Yala and currently two although it’s paved, only 4Wd vehicles are granted
destinations in the darién, which are impossible to access. Further east, the final stretch of the inter-
reach by road. Propeller planes seating forty to fifty americana as far as Yaviza is completely paved, but

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