Review: Moon Panama Guidebook

Unlike some of the more touristed Latin American countries, there are only a handful of travel guidebooks on Panama, and they are all pretty much from the "big guys." We had first-hand experience with two guidebooks (Moon Panama and National Geographic Panama) and I have second-hand notes from a third (Lonely Planet Panama). The one we relied on most for our travels was the ...

Moon Panama Guide (from Moon Handbooks)

We purchased the 2008 edition and used it to help plan our (2009) trip a bit, but mostly found it to be very useful while in the country. The author is Panamanian, but he grew up in the Canal Zone. This means he has intimate first-hand knowledge of the country, from hotels to polite customs, but he is also completely fluent in English.

This guidebook is thorough, there wasn't a region, city, or touristy site that was unaccounted for. But, what really made this book stand out was the author's willingness to put his opinions out there. He didn't simply state the facts, he included personal commentary and recommendations where appropriate. This really saved us a lot of time and headache on more than one occasion. Of course, opinions can differ, and there were a couple of points in which we ended up not seeing eye to eye, but for the most part, he is subjective and descriptive enough that you can easily decide what will work best for you.

What We Found Most Helpful:

Prices - As long as you don't rely on them, I found the fact that the author was brave enough to include prices (for attractions, restaurants, hotels, etc.) extremely helpful. During these economic times, the prices are swinging, but his quotes were usually close enough or spot on, even though the data was probably gathered two years before our trip (we went in March 2009). This really helped us in planning, and prevented us from wasting time in going to attractions that were obviously overpriced or out of our budget. I do feel for him though, as this will probably mean more frequent updates of the guide.

Restaurants - Since many of the restaurants appear much more rustic than what you might find in North America or Europe, we relied heavily on his restaurant recommendations, and he never let us down. His comments and suggestions were invaluable.

Culture Advice - His notes on tipping kept us at ease, and also kept us alert for the fact that some restaurants automatically add the tip. His notes on attire and cultural politeness were also very helpful. For the most part, we had no troubles at all in interacting with the Panamanians and reading this book on the plane ride over had a lot to do with it.

What we Found Useful, More or Less:

Hours of Operation - For touristy sites (canal, museums, refuges, etc.), this was very helpful, and largely still accurate. For restaurants in Panama City, this was also helpful for our nmeal planning. However, if you are traveling in other parts of the country, don't count on the restaurant hours of operation in this book. Many will simply close up shop if there aren't enough customers (which seemed to be happening a lot), or may just choose to not open that day.

Recommended Sites - In some ways, this book was invaluable. From the guide, we chose some things to see that we may have passed up, and they turned out well worth it. That said, there are some spots he becomes very critical of. It is hard to tell if they really suck or if he just doesn't personally like them. In a couple of cases, we opted to check out a couple of touristy attractions that he said could be passed up (because they were convenient), and we were glad we did. Also, there were a couple we were disappointed in, but no big loss.

Hotels - Actually, this section is quite useful, but we combined it with Trip Advisor as our main resource to picking hotels. We were not disappointed, every place we stayed was wonderful and a great value.

What It is Missing:

Pictures - I hate to say it, as I never downgrade a book for not having pictures, but when trying to decide between the many towns to visit, we really needed some visuals. Unfortunately, finding travel info online leads you to numerous sales pitch pages, so we invested in a second book ... National Geographic Traveler: Panama.

Overall, we were extremely pleased with Moon Panama, and would purchase it again if we were to do it over. I do hope that the current author, William Friar, continues with future editions. I think he is a benefit to this guidebook series.