October 17th, 2011
Panama City, Panama

This is just as much for us (a record of events packed with useful information) as it is for those reading....

Here's what we've learned from our trip back to Panama.
Some Do's & Don'ts.

1- Day of departure:
Pack a sandwich in your carry on, bring a book and $2 CDN (toonie) for the cart.

2- Leaving T.O. International, arriving Panama, first stop-over Newark Liberty International, NJ, USA:
Don't arrive at the required 3 hours ahead as suggested by the airlines. After collecting your ticket, you directly enter US Customs. Once you've done that, you sit & wait. Eat the sandwich here or next stop (we took ours all the way to Newark and ate a late lunch).

3- Plane to Newark (50 minutes): Refreshments only.

4- Newark airport:
Don't buy duty-free liquor. Everything is cheaper in Panama City but in the San Blas you can only get rum, beer, box wine called Clos and sometimes vodka (buy Scotch for Steve).

5- Upon arrival to Panama City:
Follow the crowd through the airport (no-one seems to direct you) and line up for Immigration.. "Tourist" (don't mention the boat); just put down the name of your hotel in Panama and the complete time frame of your stay.
Next, you collect your bags and line up for Panama Customs. Your bags get scanned one more time. Once done, walk through to the street.

6- Getting a ride to your hotel:
The guys at the airport (with the vests on) will direct you to a van type cab. There are plenty of yellow cabs and other cars dropping people off and they will try to get you to go with them. We don't think that's a problem but I believe they are not supposed too. The guys with the vests are very adamant that you go with whom they suggest. We did, and cab fare $28US ($25-30 is normal). No tip.

7- Your hotel:
We arrived late. Don't be surprised if Panama looks like it's sleeping. When you arrive to your hotel, the baggage guy will take you to your room and do the regular routine..tip $1US is normal.

8- Stay at the Hotel Milan:
Just trust us! This is the best for your buck, safe and clean.
We've checked out Las Vegas & El Parador (we stayed here this trip) all on the same street, all ~$65.
The Costa Hotel is closer to the Albrook Airport (Air Panama) and we have stayed here too. It's a good location to get to Air Panama (next day, 6 am flight to the San blas). It was okay (carpet floors and an old, deteriorated bathroom) but it's not near the down town area and it's hard to find a place to eat. We ate at the hotel.. the free breakfast was top notch for Panama/US standard hotel breakfast fare but we did not like the dinner menu. The staff are great.

9- Getting next morning flight from Albrook Airport to the San Blas Islands:
Taxi should cost $2 to $5US. The Costa Hotel has free shuttle but only at certain times. Getting a taxi is easy, but if you want help the staff will call you one. Make arrangements the night before.

10- Air Panama:
~$39/person to get to the San Blas Islands. Bags: 25 lb. bag limit plus a purse and/or knapsack carry-on. The flight ~1 hour.
Sit back and enjoy the ride. We have only taken Air Panama from Bocas del Toro to Panama City (and we had a short stop in Costa Rica..unannounced). It's beautiful countryside views for a while and then clouds as you pass over the mountains.

*I would like to take the opportunity to thank Mum for getting out the bread in the morning and suggesting that we make ourselves a sandwich. Our plane was delayed and we enjoyed eating our sandwiches at 2:30 pm in Newark (after arriving at T.O. International at 10 am to fly for an hour). However, our connecting flight was also late, so our stop-over was reduced (our stay in Newark was only 2 hours instead of the original 4 hours).

So far, our trip to Panama has been great.
The weather sucks but rain is to be expected this time of year and it is living up to expectations. However, as you all know, Steve and I are not made of sugar and we are happy to be back in temperatures of 26 °C.