Panama Travel Guide

Panama has everything you look forward to in a preliminary study of Central America: sun beaches, mountain hiking and rainforest exploration, low prices and a relatively stable living environment, and even a month of learning Spanish is worth it. Traveling in Panama, thinking about the story of a city that has passed away, going to the Panama Canal to watch the spectacle of cargo ships being lifted up and down, going to Boquete to taste authentic coffee and then going deep into the rainforest to find green barreans, and going to the western province of Darién to explore more pristine forests and streams. Panama will be a travel destination beyond the imagination of poor travelers.

Best travel time The best travel time in Panama is from December to April of the following year. Because Panama is close to the equator, it has a tropical maritime climate, with humid days and cool nights, with an average annual temperature of 23-27 degrees Celsius. Due to the influence of the northeastern monsoon, the eastern and northern central Panama have a hot and humid climate; the western and southwestern regions face the Pacific Ocean, with high rainfall and high humidity. The average annual precipitation along the Atlantic coast and mountains is 1,500 - 3,500 mm, and the average annual precipitation along the Pacific coast and mountains is 1,500 - 2,000 mm. The national average annual humidity is 80%, and the year can be roughly divided into two seasons: drought and rain; the dry season is from December to April of the following year, with the temperature of 21-31 degrees Celsius and relatively little rainfall. The rainy season is from May to November, with heavy rains and temperatures ranging from 23 to 32 degrees Celsius.

Visa Notes Given that there are currently no direct flights from China to Panama, it has often occurred that people are intercepted and prevented from boarding at third-country airports because they do not have a Panamanian (tourist) visa. The person concerned can choose to leave the country directly or apply for a one-time entry visa.

The materials required for visa processing are as follows: 1. Fill out one application form in English or Spanish; 2. Post a two-inch ID photo on a color white background in the blank space on the front page of the form; 3. Original passport, with a validity period of at least three months, and a copy thereof.

4. The visa fee is US$50.

Note: Holding an EU or Schengen visa is not covered by the Panamanian visa exemption.

Conditional visa-free stay time: Up to 30 days According to Executive Order No. 591 of December 28, 2016, all China citizens who hold multiple round-trip visas for more than one year or stay (valid for more than one year at the time of entry) from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom that have been used and are still valid can enter Panama visa-free.

Entry Instructions To enter Panama, you must fill in an entry card printed by the Panama Immigration Service. The Panamanian Immigration Bureau strictly vets passengers holding my country's passports. Generally, they need to take the passports to their offices for careful verification and release them before confirming that they are correct. Sometimes they need to wait for a long time. For those who have no problems with their passports or visas but have doubts about the purpose of visiting Panama, the Panamanian Immigration Bureau has the right to temporarily detain their passports while releasing them, issue them a green entry card, and require them to go to the headquarters of the Immigration Bureau within the specified time. collect it.

Vaccination If you enter Panama through Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyane française, Guyana, Suriname, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and other Central and South American countries, you must present a valid certificate of yellow fever vaccination (Yellow Book), otherwise you will be refused entry.

The customs stipulates that Panamanian Customs is subordinate to the Ministry of Finance and Economics. Passengers must fill in the "Passenger Carrying Goods Declaration Form" when entering the country. In addition to personal information, the content includes the proposed time of stay in Panama, the address and contact methods of residence in Panama, the purpose of travel, and whether to carry fruits and plants with them., food, meat, live animals, etc. It is stipulated that each passenger can carry items worth no more than US$2000 duty-free, and if it exceeds, customs duties must be paid; it is stipulated that each passenger can carry less than US$10,000 in cash and other valuable securities, otherwise they must declare and explain their source. Those who fail to declare or make false declarations may face confiscation or other severe penalties.

Transportation Notice Panama's domestic transportation mainly relies on roads and aviation. There are no direct flights with our country, and generally, when going to Panama, you have to transit through the United States or Europe.

Currency and consumption The balboa, Panama's local currency, is equivalent to the U.S. dollar, and only coins are issued, and the U.S. dollar can be used directly for consumption. However, Panama does not accept one-dollar coins. Currently, all ATMs in Panama can use UnionPay cards to withdraw US dollar cash, with an acceptance rate of 100%. Most ATMs have both Spanish and English interfaces. However, it should be noted that bank cards with only the UnionPay logo are currently not available in Panama.

Due to factors such as population, land area, and the Panama Canal, Panama's consumer goods market is almost all imported goods, especially made in China. Food prices in Panama are relatively low. One pound (about 9 taels) of beef is US$1.x, milk is US$1 L, and fruits and vegetables are basically US$1 per pound. However, pork is more expensive, and Chinese seasonings are ridiculously expensive. 500ml of Lee Kum Kee soy sauce can be sold for US$8. Food purchases are exempt from consumption tax, but alcohol requires a 10% tax. The prices of consumer goods such as clothing and shoes are slightly higher than those in the United States, but the prices in Outlets are similar. Consumer electronics are expensive and have few varieties.

GSM850 is available for

communication and Internet mobile phones. China mobile phones must support this frequency band and the number has GSM function before they can be used in Pakistan. Pakistan's communications are relatively developed. Buying a US$5 phone card can call China for 100 minutes. There are three large communication operators in Panama, namely +movil, claro, and digicel. Various communication plans are provided, but free calls and text messages are basically limited to within the operator. Digicel is recommended for Chinese tourists. International long-distance live broadcasts in China only cost 6 cents a minute.

3g/4g services can be opened directly by sending instructions. Data services are charged based on time and have unlimited traffic. Taking digitel as an example, data services for one month only cost less than US$20 (the specific fee will change at any time).

Additional note: Instructions are sent through the telephone function, not text message, which is completely different from domestic. Panama costs about US$20 per month for 2 megabytes of broadband. Some hotels have WIFI.

There were 5106 hotel rooms in Panama (end of 2003). The main hotels in the capital city of Panama City are Cesar Park, MiraMar, Mariot (five-star) and Granada (four-star), etc. The main hotel in Cologne City is Melia. Panama's unique seaside hotel is built of wood on the beach, with the sea breeze blowing, fish swimming in the sea, people resting in wooden houses on the sea, and people and nature are integrated.

站图片位置Dietary Instructions Panamanians eat rice and corn as their staple foods. The food they make is well-known for its five flavors. The more famous ones are rice and meat boiled red beans. Panamanians like a food called Sankcho very much, and locals often entertain guests with this. Panamanians also like sweets and are accustomed to using desserts after meals. Western food mainly consists of beef or fish and shrimp. Dining at noon is simple, at 12:30. Dinner is more formal, at 20:00. You can drink raw from tap water in Panama. There are about 10 large-scale China restaurants in the capital of Panama, with informal banquets costing about US$8 per person. There is a 24-hour supermarket in the city center that serves fruits, vegetables, milk, etc.

Shopping Tips Panama is known as the "Butterfly Kingdom". Lake Gatun in central Panama is said to have swarms of butterflies long ago, with bright colors and beautiful shapes. When traveling here, I don't hesitate to bring a few gorgeous butterfly specimens home. In addition, local specialty products include indigenous embroidery, decorations, specialty fruits, handicrafts, etc.

Panama's local tropical rainforest also contains an ancient and unique art of basket weaving. "The weave is tight enough to hold water, and the design is so unique that it is almost impossible to find a duplicate sample." This is a classic comment from the European and American collectors on the increasingly popular Panamanian rainforest basket. The makers of these baskets were the Wounaan and Embera people known as "One Foot is still in the Stone Age." These are two ancient and extremely artistic peoples. Since ancient times, weaving skills have been passed down through mother and daughter, and all those engaged in basket weaving are women.

Tips (1) Panamanians have driving habits such as running red lights, changing lanes at will, and not turning on turn signals, so car accidents occur from time to time. You must be very careful when driving, especially taxis and buses.

(2) Panama's political situation is stable, social security is fair, and the possibility of terrorist attacks is very small. There are no epidemics such as SARS, avian influenza, mad cow disease, foot and mouth disease, and the incidence of malaria and AIDS is high in some areas.

(3) Panama prohibits alcohol consumption on Martyrs 'Day (January 9), Easter Day (April) and Qingming Festival (November 2) every year, and also forbids red meat during Easter.

(4) A tip of 10%-15% is required in better restaurants. Prepare some one-dollar changes as tips to the waiter.

(5) Power sockets:

A voltage:

110V

Frequency:

60Hz

(6) Medical instructions: Common diseases include malaria, hemorrhagic dengue fever, conjunctivitis and other infectious diseases. Vaccination and anti-mosquito work are required in advance. In addition, due to the hot climate, adults have eczema and skin diseases. Panama City's health and medical standards are acceptable. Except for emergency departments, general medical treatment requires advance appointment, which leads to long waiting times and high diagnosis and treatment costs. The registration fee for private hospitals is US$30 -40. General hospitals do not sell drugs, and must go to pharmacies to purchase drugs based on a diagnosis form issued by a doctor. Local people with formal jobs can join Pakistan's social insurance system, with large preferential space, and foreigners are not covered by social security.