Unlike many Latin American countries, the drinking water throughout Panama (rural and city) is crystal clear and safe to drink ... or at least it was still during the time of our visit in 2009. In fact, in my experience, it was better than the bottled water. Beyond guzzling, this made us feel assured about showering and brushing our teeth without fear.
Many restaurants will ask you if you want bottled water, but just ask them if the regular water is okay rather than paying for the pricey upgrade. I drank tap water at every restaurant we went to, and only drank bottled when were out, and my stomach didn't act up in the slightest. In fact, I was amazed at how relaxed my stomach was the entire trip. Neither of us had so much as a stomachache the entire time.
You might be wondering what makes Panama so special when it comes to water ... the Canal. I am not sure of the exact reason, but with the Canal and the U.S. occupation came clean drinking water for the country. A definite plus in my book.
Of course, when you arrive, check with the locals to make sure that nothing has changed and that the drinking water is still safe in the areas you visit.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Quick Summary: About Us and Where We Went
It helps to know who, in general, the recommenations and commentary are coming from, so I thought I would start by letting you know our demographic, and in general the types of people we ran across and chatted with while traveling.
At the time of travel (March, 2009), we were a mid-thirties couple from the Western United States / Canada. The English-speaking tourists we ran into were mostly couples in their late 20's to early 40's from the United States and Germany. The commonwealth countries seemed to be under-represented on the tourist beat. We also chatted with some younger backpackers on a few occasions, but since we stayed in hotels rather than hostels, we didn't get the full feel for how busy the backpacker scene was. In terms of locals, the Panamaniams made up the bulk of the populatin (a diverse group in their own right), but there were also many retiree Ex-Pats from the United States and Britain. Most from the United States seemed to be from the South East, or they were actually Panamanians with dual citizenship who had grown up in the Canal Zone during U.S. occupation.
Since we had read (and later confirmed accurate) that the mainland beaches are less than stellar in Panama, we opted to do a city / mountain type vacation. If you like beaches, there are many gorgeous islands just off the coast of the mainland that come highly recommended for their beautiful beaches, I will touch on these in another post based on the feedback I got from other travelers. If you really want a dense jungle experience, consider adding the Darien region to your vacation.
Our trip was during the dry season. I kept reading that the dry season is really the "less wet" season, but we didn't find this to be true. In the entire two weeks, we came across just a couple of brief sprinkles, but no real rain. This was surprising since a good portion of the trip was in the mountains. However, for those who went to Bocas del Toro, it was definitely much more wet there, as to be expected. Of course, we purposely picked the drier side of Panama for our entire vacation. Though we love Caribbean beaches, we wanted to avoid the very high humidity and high level of mosquitos that accompany them in Panama. We were glad we did, though we would have added a Pacific island to our trip were we to plan it over again. More on that later though.
Our Itinerary (2 weeks total):
Days 1-2 - Arrival in Panama City, stayed in the Canal Zone (Cerro Ancon)
Days 2-6 - Boquete
Days 6-8 - Cerro Punta
Days 8-11- El Valle de Anton
Days 11-15- Panama City
See the labels at left to read about our experiences in each town.
At the time of travel (March, 2009), we were a mid-thirties couple from the Western United States / Canada. The English-speaking tourists we ran into were mostly couples in their late 20's to early 40's from the United States and Germany. The commonwealth countries seemed to be under-represented on the tourist beat. We also chatted with some younger backpackers on a few occasions, but since we stayed in hotels rather than hostels, we didn't get the full feel for how busy the backpacker scene was. In terms of locals, the Panamaniams made up the bulk of the populatin (a diverse group in their own right), but there were also many retiree Ex-Pats from the United States and Britain. Most from the United States seemed to be from the South East, or they were actually Panamanians with dual citizenship who had grown up in the Canal Zone during U.S. occupation.
Since we had read (and later confirmed accurate) that the mainland beaches are less than stellar in Panama, we opted to do a city / mountain type vacation. If you like beaches, there are many gorgeous islands just off the coast of the mainland that come highly recommended for their beautiful beaches, I will touch on these in another post based on the feedback I got from other travelers. If you really want a dense jungle experience, consider adding the Darien region to your vacation.
Our trip was during the dry season. I kept reading that the dry season is really the "less wet" season, but we didn't find this to be true. In the entire two weeks, we came across just a couple of brief sprinkles, but no real rain. This was surprising since a good portion of the trip was in the mountains. However, for those who went to Bocas del Toro, it was definitely much more wet there, as to be expected. Of course, we purposely picked the drier side of Panama for our entire vacation. Though we love Caribbean beaches, we wanted to avoid the very high humidity and high level of mosquitos that accompany them in Panama. We were glad we did, though we would have added a Pacific island to our trip were we to plan it over again. More on that later though.
Our Itinerary (2 weeks total):
Days 1-2 - Arrival in Panama City, stayed in the Canal Zone (Cerro Ancon)
Days 2-6 - Boquete
Days 6-8 - Cerro Punta
Days 8-11- El Valle de Anton
Days 11-15- Panama City
See the labels at left to read about our experiences in each town.
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.
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.
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