Panama by bus · Panama by bus
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Panama by bus
Panama by bus
You can't cross from Panama to Colombia by bus--the Darien Gap begins at Yaviza, where the Interamericana runs out.
If you're coming in from Costa Rica, however, things will be a bit easier. There are three possible entry points, the main one being Paso Canoas closing at 11PM (Panama time) or 10PM (Costa Rica time). Panaline and Ticabus, among others, can get you straight from San Jose, Costa Rica to David or Panama City. The trip from San Jose is quite cheap, but takes about 18 hours. If you want to see things in between, you can also go by local buses, although the trip will take much longer.
If you want to save time yet not pay US$280 or so for a SJO-PTY airplane ticket with COPA or TACA, you could consider taking the bus from San Jose to Changuinola and fly from there to Panama city. That flight takes about one hour and costs US$70 (Jun. 2007). Check the website of Aeroperlas.com for flight schedules.
Keep in mind that Panamanian law requires you to have a return ticket to get into Panama. The border guard may not check, but you never know. A return flight from San Jose, Bogotá or Abu Dhabi won't work. The return ticket has to originate from within Panama. If you run into this problem, you can always buy a return ticket from the bus driver. In general, if you're having a hot-tempered day, it may not be a good day to cross any borders. Some border officials in Central America seem to love being sticklers about their crazy rules if they decide they don't like you.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Panama
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Panama - updated Apr 2024
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Panama Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.