Traveling to PANAMA in 2025? You NEED to Watch This Travel Guide!

[@anniesshenanigans3815]

I went there 3 years ago for 10 days. Awesome place!! Beaches and mountains. American Expat communities in several areas. I hope to go back.

[@EzzyDT]

I am an Afro-Latina born in Panama. I am in my 60s as far as I know, the dollar has always been paper currency.

[@hilariowilson5570]

Dollars have been the paper currency since qt least 1904, not 15 years ago. Panama City also has a metro system, it is safer than Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York.

[@sallybally2390]

Correct. When I visited there with my family, I felt a WHOLE lot safer than when I visited New York and Pennsylvania. My children even went out at nights to the convenient stores. We plan on going back in the near future God willing.

[@bighand1530]

@@sallybally2390 The Watchman River has been covering all sorts of different topics.

[@fobbitguy]

@@hilariowilson5570 i totally agree with the metro being much safer than most US metros

[@vyr1017]

As a native Panamanian, this is a great video. Thank you so much for highlighting my beautiful country ❤

[@Atheria444]

I'm SO looking forward to visiting Panama City for the first time this coming Christmas.

[@KinggYT49]

I have family that lives in Panama, and I haven’t went in two years. On Saturday I am finally going again! Me and my family are planning a trip every year from here on out. ❤️ 🇵🇦

[@bedinabebe4521]

Thanks! I didn’t realize La Tapa del Coco had lunch specials. I would like to see you prepare Carimañola which I’ve only had in Panamá. Sancocho and Patacones are typical cuisines of numerous Latin cultures.

[@videoeditoranimation1714]

There is food everywhere in panama, including the sidewalks. There are these great food stands everywhere called "fondas." The food is cheap and delicious. You don't have to eat every meal at a restaurant.

[@amazing-osky2052]

Great assessment of the country and everything seems to be true.

[@adori4t9094]

Panamá use the American dollar right after separation from Colombia in 1903.

[@MAG-x3n]

Was after build the canal , because was a lot of USA citizens living in Panama in that time .

[@cecismith507]

Panama adopted the dollar as its official currency in 1904. I am a native from Panama

[@cecismith507]

Panama adopted the dollar as its official currency in 1904. The USA commenced building a canal across a 50-mile stretch of the narrow Panama Isthmus in 1904. 10 yeats to build the Canal. The Canal formally opened on 08/15/1914 with the passage of the cargo ship SS Ancon.

[@cecismith507]

The USA had to pay Colombia millions of dollars in return for Colombia’s recognition of Panama’s independence. This resolved the USA support of the separation of Panama from Colombia in 1903. Panama was a department of the country of Colombia, together they formed the New Granada.

[@Simplyme4961]

They have a great subway in Panama City!

[@ichbins-oc5wp]

I sont agree with you. I am in panama and this is not true. There are many times you have to pay in cash (more than i thought) and it is very safe. Of course you dokt walk into the poorest Areas but compared to Europa and the US its so safe...

[@sallybally2390]

I love Panama. I almost cried when we were leaving. It's so beautiful, the people are extremely friendly and we felt safe during our entire trip.

[@holistictrish]

thinking about going next month, thanks!

[@Fernando-xl2sf]

Nobody ever mentions about cell phone reception and how u can have cell use if u coming from the states?

[@esgee3829]

tmobile (free, but potentially slow depending on plan), pay us carrier for roaming (but get to use your home cell number with ease), buy a panamanian sim or e-sim at arrival. google search you'll find blog posts. airport sims will be expensive but convenient. some travelers will use their own roaming or offline maps to get to city center, then buy a much cheaper sim there. good luck.

[@ObviousFACTS-sn1xx]

Right 😂

[@sallybally2390]

I left Panama 3 days ago. I'm from Barbados. When we first got there, our taxi driver took us to buy sim cards (which is very cheap. We bought 2 sim cards with unlimited 7 day data for around $14). The calls, reception, connectivity to the internet etc was seamless.

[@raydavies3278]

Its excellent, im here.

[@couldubeloved1]

Just get an eSIM card

[@ericlamberson3174]

On a USA passport, you can stay in Panama 180 days.

[@LibertarianShaman]

Visa for an American Passport tourist visa is 180 days...

[@romantico345]

Is there some footage?

[@melissamiles1614]

panama beautiful cant wait to go visit.. any suggestions

[@Ouzoadventures]

You forgot Gamboa Island to feed the monkeys! Beautiful experience!

[@GREGGXYZ]

Please spell the name of that Panamanian restaurant in Panama City that has the word Fonda in it and serves typical dishes.

[@StephWalker-qu3nx]

Fonda Lo Que Hay

[@BirdNParadise13]

Great information. Thanks 😊

[@AnotherGringo]

So what would a nice apartment rent for in the Panama City area (I think they call it the finance district that is the most modern)? Is Panama cheaper than Costa Rica?

[@raydavies3278]

Yes almost half.

[@pablobernaschina154]

I really enjoyed some of your video. I am Panamanian born and I speak Spanish so I wanna know what is Panamanian Spanish never heard of it???

[@truthseeker9454]

"Panama is pretty expensive." Well, it can be if you're doing all the tourist things in the tourist places, paying gringo prices. But if you go off the beaten path it can be quite affordable. If you look at several sources you can see that the average salary in Panama ranges from $1,700 to just over $2,000. That's the *average.* That means many Panamanians live on less than $1,700 / month. Try doing that in the US. 😆

[@raydavies3278]

NO, its 250-300 per week for 90% ,im here and its cheap. Transport is plentiful, and cheap as almost everything. lts a great place to retire.

[@bill12803]

Great video. Very informative. When it rains in the rainy season does it rain or day or just for a few hours? Which hotel in PC has the best swimming pool?

[@jminor318]

Thank you.

[@sweetsillysauce]

Time Code 9:40 What's the restaurant called written? 🙂

[@adolfomalave1938]

"Fonda Lo Que Hay"

[@miker5631]

Really nice job. Best video about Panama that I've seen. Thanks.

[@Jogi187]

0:45 Costa Rica to it's West, Colombia to it's East 😜

[@BO_Riddle]

All Blacks originated from Africa. There are no blacks that originated from the Caribbean. They were brought there same as they were brought to USA, Brazil and the rest of the Caribbean and South America. The reason of the Caribbean food influence is because a lot of Caribbean nationals' ancestors went to help build the Panama Canal and eventually settled there.

[@dalecribbs4037]

Very nice

[@GabrielC-o8k]

what's the name of the 1st restaurant?

[@dunnowy123]

Did you spend time in any of the resort towns? And would Panama City be somewhat safer than other Central American cities?

[@JuanMoreno-wo5yb]

They will have crime but no cartel! They have investors and high crimen. ❤

[@roberto-morrison]

Have you ever been to Panama because most of the stuff you talk about is so wrong

[@jeannettegordon8064]

Really wow

[@Fuckus]

so make it better

[@TourGuidePanama]

I am sorry, but as a local tour guide in Panama, I have to say that this video has too many inaccuracies. Not sure if you had a chance to visit Panama before filming the video.

[@robinmalik4528]

they speak english there?

[@woodywood3388]

So why not tell us what is inaccurate? Just saying “this is wrong” is not constructive.

[@sallybally2390]

@@robinmalik4528 They speak Spanish there. You will find some of the locals speak English.

[@TourGuidePanama]

@@woodywood3388 1. the first map, there is no road between Panama and Columbia 2. the indigenous groups he mentioned they were not on the lend of Panama before conquistadors came, they came in the 17th and 18th centuries 3. Panama make good money from the canal but not ‘the most’ 4. the tourists from US and Canada can stay 180 without visa, not 90 days 5. Panama use Balboas but in fact all paper money are US dollars, Balboas you can find only in coins 6.Panama use US dollar since 1904. not in the last 10-15 years 7. Panama is in general safe country and there is no problem if you have your camera (you won’t go to really poor areas of the city, there is nothing tou can do there) 8.the most of the people don’t speak English 9. the lot of the African descendants came to Panama to work on the projects of the railroad and the canal from the Caribbean island when the slavery was already over 10. “real Panamanian food you won’t find in Fonda Lo Que Hay (but food there is amazing and inspired with local traditional food and it is the 51th best restaurant in Latin America at the moment, if you want “real Panamanian foodl” one of the options is El Trapiche 11. Fonda Lo Que Hay doesn’t have 2 locations (it was moved already 2 times to bigger spaces) and they don’t make traditional dishes; reservations is accepted for up to 30% of the tables 13. Panama city had china town but now the most of the Chinese descendants live in the area El Dorado 14. Bocas del Toro is not thr National Park but one part of the region Bocas del tore is the national park (Isla Bastimentos) the exhibition part of Miraflores Visitor’s center at the moment is closed due to renovation the museum of Panama Canal is in Casco Vieno, not on the canal Feel free to contact me when you will plane to visit Panama, greetings

[@allyons5970]

It doesn't have that many inaccuracies, and no glaring inaccuracies as to say. Recurring ideas of the country being expensive or the city not being walkable, may be what stands out mostly as inaccurate. There were a few instances of the image not corresponding to what he was talking about, or delayed change of image when changing the subject of talk to another place. He also only started being more innacurate in the last part of the video, when talking about other regions, like mixing up stuff from different regions that are near to each other. But overall he did give mostly correct information, at least on the more relevant topics.

[@esgee3829]

2:20 credibility lost. Neither Panama as a country nor the government of Panama specifically "makes most of its money" from the Panama Canal, even before most recent droughts reducing revenue. For the last few years, revenue from the Canal has been $3B-$4B, whereas government revenues have been ~$13-14B. Also, this idiot hasn't mentioned how amazing the metro is to use in Panama City. If you're arriving at Tocumen Airport between 5am and 10pm, consider walking to the metro station just next door and use the metro. Easy to use, fairly fast, and about 1/10th the price of uber/taxi (or less). There are also pre-paid shared shuttles from the airport which are 1/2 the price of uber (about 10 usd) and will go door to door. With lots of bags, this may be your best option. The metro has opened a new line recently and gets you lots of places (though certainly not everywhere) in the City. The only part of the video which is closer to accurate and worth watching for his perspective is the food part starting at 8:10. Skip everything else.

[@TalesFromTheRoad]

You seem like a kind, warmhearted person

[@esgee3829]

@@TalesFromTheRoad kind i am not. nor claiming to be. but also not posting subpar videos which NEED clickbait titles and fail to deliver.

[@jeannettegordon8064]

Wow ,,why inaccurac😅

[@adolfomalave1938]

@@esgee3829 Puedes hacer las aclaraciones (y está bien que las hagas) sin llegar al insulto. ¿Qué te pasó? ¿por qué tanto odio? ¿tus padres no te quisieron?

[@SheriffAmi-pz4fc]

America need panama 🇵🇦

[@StephWalker-qu3nx]

Panama is in Central, not South America

[@crygil]

50% right bro, I live here and moved from San Francisco, California. Tell your tour operators to tell the truth please. Is very sad that you said Bocas del Toro its a National Park.

[@ecrea4050]

Panama Costa Rica is to the WEST Colombia is to the EAST

[@omeemo7003]

Everyone will not have the same experience😂

[@edwardwall502]

Panama is a 3rd world country, charming-somewhat, but still 3rd world. I found a lot of retirees from US & Canada retiring there. Everyone of the expats I spoke with said they moved to Panama because of a cheaper cost of living. Sure Panama could be somewhat cheaper, but it's still 3rd world. Bottom line... 3rd World and everything that goes with that, it's not fun. Cheaper cost of living means cheap products, etc.

[@markglidden8512]

It's Central America not South America and because of the way it's oriented Columbia is actually more to the East and Costa Rica is more to the West

[@ykohenzltdr8562]

Traffic is Horrible!

[@cecismith507]

Traffic + Traffic =. traffic Sonetimes you can use back roads that are faster, like from El Dorado to Albrook Mall, other than that I see it as a chaos.

[@jamesbennett905]

Costa Rica is to the west, Colombia is to the east.

[@LifeSoulutions]

IS Panama Canal open, or is it going to be closed?

[@pizcomar]

The Panama Canal has not been closed but once since its opening and that was because of heavy rain that brought much debris and floating wood that for a few hours became a risk for vessels navigation.

[@ykohenzltdr8562]

Why is so stupidly expensive in Panama City than in Colombia. Give me a break!

[@cecismith507]

Well, more people moving there to retired and driving prices high, and I heard that certain restaurants in Coronado don’t want local people there only foreigns. That one was a new one.

[@BMWGarage77]

This guy needs to do a bit more research before speaking about a country he has no clue about.

[@martae.423]

At least he did his best👍🏻 👍🏻

[@UwizeyimanaClarisse-j2t]

Nahajyera gute

[@grasia]

Panama is not South American

[@soulfulme62]

He made a slight error because first he did say CENTRAL American and then changed up to SOUTH American...😞

[@brianevans3634]

@@grasia he corrected it

[@LuisAlvarez-tk1xl]

He is Right ✅️ on that Nuevo Granada, Colombia 🇨🇴, and Bolivarian State. Plus Braniff International base, Mainland USA 🇺🇸 , Hawaii, Mexico and SOUTH AMERICA. No mention ever of Anything Central. Same for British Airways, Sabena, TAP Air Portugal, TURKISH, Lan Chile, LAB Lloyd Aero Boliviana, Aero Peru', ECUATORIANA, Aero Mexico,and VARIG Brazilian Airlines.

[@ykohenzltdr8562]

No way this school buses?

[@ray7288]

Only a few of the former US school buses (called diablos rojos) remain, in the city there is a metro and bus system using modern buses, both incredibly cheap and safe

[@cecismith507]

I am not sure about every Metro being safe. You always have to use caution in Panama. Is better to be safe than sorry. I am a native of Panama.

[@land_of_beauty_5073]

No hay mejores fotos de la gente? Pura foto de gente de bajos recursos!

[@Fuckus]

no se puede incluir todo en un solo video

[@cecismith507]

Y ahora porq tienen que salir solo los de altos recursos. Hahaha

[@colemanwt]

Panama is in North America!

[@RayRay-xt2qh]

Garbage thrown all over the place in the city and all over the countryside too. Horrible

[@reneesanchezmiranda8588]

Yeah maybe, but not as much like in the needlepark in Philadelphia, or LA homeless people...

[@ray7288]

I live in Panama and the one thing I despair of (and which I think would put off tourists) is the attitude to rubbish. There's something in the Panama character it seems to make them unable or unwilling to use bins or take their rubbish home and dispose of properly! I was recently in Merida, Mexico and one thing that was a real contrast was the lack of the litter and mess on the streets I'd expect in many parts of Panama City.

[@marieobrien7051]

@@ray7288 I live in center city Philadelphia, PA. I also find it frustrating that people don't use trash bins. I find the city does an excellent job of keeping our area clean. The problem we have is the homeless population. People who are city people understand the problems and it will not deter them from visiting. I hope to visit for the coming month of February and I am researching where to stay. I'm 80 yrs old, travelling by myself and want it to be convenient. I understand that Panama is not a good walking city whereas Philadelphia was voted #1 walking city in the US. And it is.

[@ray7288]

@@marieobrien7051 Being British I like to walk rather than drive, and Panama City is far from the best place to walk - except Casco Viejo and the Cinta Costera waterfront. The combination of heat and humidity, poorly maintained sidewalks, and the heavy traffic all mitigate against walking. That said, I still walk everywhere when I can, and we live outside the city centre, so it's a 20 minute walk to the centre. One thing is good, and that is even in the city you never know what you'll see - iguanas and other lizards of all sizes, parrots, parakeets and other fancy birds including hummingbirds, butterflies, racoons and even crocodiles in the city centre river!

[@cecismith507]

I see the problem of the trash worst in the last 3 years. Some said that they don’t have enough garbage truck to pick up frequently, with a government that has a lot of money and they don’t pay attention to that, it i sad, very sad. Maybe they don’t see it but that is important for tourism.