The route that emerged during my Panama trip was as follows;
The border from Costa Rica to the Caribbean side I crossed overland to Panama using. Since Turkish citizens do not require a visa, they want to see your return ticket even if the entrance is trouble-free.. Whichever way you come, make sure to have a sample return ticket with you.. Of course I wasn’t. They said you can’t pass, go back, buy a plane ticket or a bus ticket and come like that. Try again, no meat, I’m traveling the world, look at the passport, my credit card, etc.. But they brought back an Australian girl the day before me. Don’t risk the business.
They charge 4 usd entry tax when crossing the border. From here you’ll probably go to Bocas Del Toro like everyone else.. There was locals action as I passed and the road was closed to traffic for several days.. So it’s been a bit of a rough transition.. First, we hired a taxi by agreement of 4 people to the area where the action took place.. Then we got off at the place of the action and walked 2 km with backpacks.. We passed that area and got on a bus.. Taxi was 3 usd per person and 1 usd to the bus.. By bus, we got off at the ferry that goes directly to Bocas Del Toro island and bought our ticket for the first ferry.. 6 usd per person. After that, I did not stay in Bocas and went directly to the island of Bastimentos.. Access to the island is 2-3 usd.
1- Bastimentos Island
A Caribbean island inhabited by blacks. Although they speak Spanish, they speak Caribbean English among themselves.. Since the island is not overly touristic, there are not many accommodation alternatives.. The cheapest of several hostels, I stayed at Bastimentos Hostel for 1 week from 7.5 usd per night. I hope I don’t remember your name wrong. Even though it’s great in terms of location and scenery, stay away from it as it is invaded by insects and mice at night.. If you are not afraid of such things, this is the cheapest hostel on the island.. Especially considering that Panama is an expensive country, 7.5 USD is quite affordable.
No matter how much I try to mingle with the people on the island, they are extremely cold towards foreigners.. Even beyond the cold they almost hate. On the other hand, you are the target of black people who are constantly trying to sell cocaine.. Because to them, if you’re a foreigner, you have money and you’re looking for cocaine.. Lots of things like this make you hate the beautiful island.
The island also has a beautiful beach with crystal water and white sand. But if you want to go here by walking, they say don’t take anything valuable with you.. Because you are passing through the forest on your way and there is a possibility that you will be robbed when there are 1-2 thousand people on the island.. camera vs.. If you want to take it, you can pay and go by boat.. Not being able to wander around the tiny island is another question mark.
There is also a natural park next to this beach I mentioned.. Even though those who went said it was beautiful, I skipped this place because I went to too many natural parks in Costa Rica.
In terms of food, if you are not going to cook your own food at the hostel, the situation is a bit troublesome.. Not many places to eat cheap out. In fact, there are places like a local restaurant, but they open at 6 in the evening and close at 9. There are so many foreigners to their owners, they are looking for a place to eat cheap, I said why don’t you open during the day. They said we are working for 4-5 hours, what’s more, we can’t open it during the day.. For the Chinese who run the markets on the island, they say they are hard workers.. The only reason they say hardworking is because men open markets in the morning and close in the evening.. So working full time means being “hardworking” for those on this island.
In short, an island that I would not recommend. The reason I stayed for 1 week was because I had to take care of my social media and website.
I returned to Bocas Del Toro, which I can call the central island, by boat.. Ticket is 3 usd.
2- Bocas Del Toro
Hoping to find a decent hostel after 6 days with lots of bugs and mice. I settled in a hostel with air conditioning for usd. Everything was fine but this time I noticed bed bugs and went to Selina Hostel the next day.. At the same time, tours were organized for touristic trips in the surrounding area.. They wanted to give me a free room when I told the officer that I was traveling like this, that I had social media channels and that I was shooting videos.. In return, they would take me to the island of Zapatilla once or twice, and I would shoot a video for them.. Of course I accepted. After a difficult week, staying in a private room for 3 days felt like a dream.. This hostel is said to be the largest hostel in Latin America.. They are already extreme professionals and their service was also very good. You don’t need a private room. $14 per night in shared room with good breakfast. In case you come to this island, I think this is the best alternative to stay as a hostel.
Here, just like in Bastimentos island, you are dealing with people who are constantly trying to sell cocaine.. Sometimes they are so annoying that you can even get into a fight.. The best is to ignore it and move on.
I think the most beautiful attraction in and around this island is Zapatilla island. If you buy the tour from Selina Hostel (25-30 USD), you can even go to a small island where sloth animals live and take them on your lap.. What provides this; It’s not Selina Hostel, the captain is too good with these animals. The man climbs the tree, hugs the animal and goes down. You have to spend tens of dollars to see sloths in Costa Rica, but here you get it for free.. You can check out the videos and photos for the island of Zapatilla below.
Although there are other attractions around except Zapatilla island, it didn’t interest me much.. There are beautiful beaches within walking distance or by minibus.. But the biggest problem here is the snatching incidents on the beach.. I don’t understand why they don’t put a policeman or two in such touristic places.. In case you go to the beach, be careful. Even though I say that the nightlife is lively, I was a little excluded from this event as there were not many local people and everywhere was full of backpackers in their 20s.. So we can actually call Bocas Del Toro the party island.. If you’re coming from Costa Rica or going to Costa Rica like me, you can stop by here.. Other than that, there are not many privileged places.. Especially if you are going to the San Blas Islands, you can completely cancel your sea and shore excursions around Bocas Del Toro.
After staying on this island for 4 nights, I first went to Almirande by boat. Ticket 6 USD. After getting off the boat, I went to the terminal by taxi for 1 USD.. From there, I went to the city of David by minibus for 9 USD.
3- David
On the way here, a natural park an hour before the city. there is. Again, this is the place frequented by travelers.. There are also hostel facilities in and around it.. But, as I said above, I missed this place as I saw too many natural parks in Costa Rica.
I went to the city at noon.. I said I’d leave the bag with the custodian and wander around a bit, if I like it, I’ll stay.. The center is already a small place.. After spending 4-5 hours like this, I realized that; nothing to tempt me here I took the direct night bus to Panama City. The ticket is $19.
4- Panama Citty
I went to the city quite early in the morning.. After taking a breather and drinking coffee at the terminal, I changed two buses with public transport and went to the hostel in the old city.. You can think of Panama City as being divided into new and old cities.. While the new side is full of skyscrapers and shopping malls, the other side has an old and slightly historical feel.. But the bad side of this old city; side streets other than main streets are extremely dangerous. They say never to enter, even during the day.. As I was passing by a similar street, I looked at it, it’s just a photograph.. I don’t want to go inside, but at the same time the devil is poking. Controlling left and right, I slowly walked in.. I took the camera out of the bag, before I took two pictures, a white car pulled up next to me.. The two plainclothes inside showed their IDs and said, what are you doing here?. I’ll take a picture and be right back. They said don’t pull, you’ll get everything stolen. So I scrambled back and continued on my way.
As I said, Panama is very affordable Unfortunately, hostels are not affordable because there is no place.. I stayed in a 4 person room for 15 USD per night. There are many luxury malls in the city.. If you need shopping, you can find it here. There is also the famous Panama Canal.. Although there are special tours to go here, you can also go on your own.. If you are 3-4 people, take a taxi without thinking.. If you are single, there is also a city bus that goes directly to the Panama Canal, you can use it.. 15 USD to enter the region where the canal is. You have a student card 10 USD. Sometimes there are no ships passing through the canal.. I don’t know how to learn beforehand, but I don’t think it would make much sense to leave without seeing the ship pass.. Luckily, there were 3-4 ship crossings.. You can also watch the documentary about the construction of the canal at the same place.
The city’s nightlife is pretty good. a movable. Since it is not a small city, you can find entertainment places in 3-4 different regions according to your head and purse.. Since it is not a cheap country in general, I cannot say that the nightlife is very affordable.. It is useful to be careful in the same way at night.. Do not prefer to walk in unfamiliar places.. Although I don’t call it dangerous for an easy place, there were some troublesome places when I was going to this old city, where I also stayed, you need to be careful.. But as I always say, if you follow these rules and don’t have anything to do with illegal things, it is very difficult for you to get hurt.
As I ask local people, I find that the real natives in Panama live in the Darien region. I learned. I learned, but unfortunately it is quite complicated to go there.. Places you can’t go to without a guide. Anyway, because I like this kind of stuff, I found a way and went to the Darien region.
5-Darien
For Bura, that is, Embera natives I have shared a detailed article about. You can follow the link for my articles, photos and videos about the Embera natives, who have an important place for me in all my trips.
Embera Natives
6- Back in Panama City
Back in Panama City after visiting Embera natives. I could only recover in a week because I was invaded by bed bugs in the village houses I stayed in.. Although the itching still continues a little, even after 1 month without exaggeration, what I suffered in the first week was very bad.
After recovering a little, I went to San Blas, my last stop in Panama. i set off. I set out on the road, but unfortunately you cannot go here according to your mind.. You will either have a private 4×4 vehicle or you will have to participate in a tour.. Since joining the tour is not for me, I only took transportation service to the San Blas region instead.. In addition to the tour buyers, you can also come to the area where the boats depart with the same vehicle.. Afterwards, you will go to whichever island you want by boat.
7-San Blas
Perhaps the most fantastic islands in the world You can continue my article about the San Blas Islands, which are the community of San Blas Islands;
Panama San Blas Islands
Panama City again
I flew to Medellin city as there is no land crossing to Colombia. My flight ticket was met by Nil Travel, which sells discounted tickets between Turkey and America.. Thanks again.
Another alternative to go to Colombia, you can take a catamaran from the Caribbean Sea.. 5-6-day tour fee should also stop by San Blas Islands It starts from 500 USD. I didn’t choose it because the price is high and I don’t want to be in the sea for 5-6 days.
Note: If you are going to go to Colombia, have a ticket sample showing that you will leave the country.. They didn’t ask me, but there are many people who have been asked before.