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3 weeks....Colombia. It's just a whole lot bigger, more cities to see.
I'd be interested to see Panama City in Panama though. I think the next biggest city, is actually very small. I've also heard it wasn't all that safe either - the second biggest city which is small, I mean. Panama City sounds safer than most, and very international-looking, wich sounds interesting to me.
That being said, if I only have 5-6 days, I'd just solely go to Panama City and check it out. Three weeks though, you could see some decent amount of Colombia!
I have read many good things on this message board about Panama and Columbia. I'm looking for a lot of chill beach time & Caribbean waters but also some other activities. I also need to have a decent Internet connection wherever I go so I can check in with work M-F and have to figure out what I can do in the way of a phone connection. Maybe Skype? Weekends I could be totally disconnected from net or phone. Panama has some interesting islands off the Coast that look like they would be fun to check out too.
3 weeks....Colombia. It's just a whole lot bigger, more cities to see.
I'd be interested to see Panama City in Panama though. I think the next biggest city, is actually very small. I've also heard it wasn't all that safe either - the second biggest city which is small, I mean. Panama City sounds safer than most, and very international-looking, wich sounds interesting to me.
That being said, if I only have 5-6 days, I'd just solely go to Panama City and check it out. Three weeks though, you could see some decent amount of Colombia!
Agreed. You can do a whole lot more in Colombia, and 3 weeks is a long time. Check out Bogota, Cali, Cartagena, Medellin, even Barranquilla. If you can, go out to Santa Marta and enjoy the beaches.
Honestly, you can probably throw 3-4 days for Panama in there too-- Panama City (Casco Viejo, Amador Causeway, the canal, Gamboa) has tons to offer, as does the interior (Boquete, Bocas del Toro, Contadora, San Blas). I'm biased towards Panama as it was my home for a couple years, but 3 weeks is a lot for such a small country. Colombia has more to offer.
Why not do 2 weeks in Colombia and a week in Panama?
Hi LaFemme thanks for the input...how are the Internet connections and phone service in Panama and Colombia? Unfortunately being a small business owner I have to stay in touch while on vacation, I can't just cut it off completely. Do the hotels have reliable wifi in the rooms? I guess I could try Skype for the phone. I'm sure some type of cell phone connectivity would be too high a cost.
I may just want to chill in one area since during the week I have to stay in contact with work, and it would be hard to check in with work while doing a lot of inter-county travel. But weekends I could venture out. Where would be a good place to set up my base in Panama?
Hi LaFemme thanks for the input...how are the Internet connections and phone service in Panama and Colombia? Unfortunately being a small business owner I have to stay in touch while on vacation, I can't just cut it off completely. Do the hotels have reliable wifi in the rooms? I guess I could try Skype for the phone. I'm sure some type of cell phone connectivity would be too high a cost.
I may just want to chill in one area since during the week I have to stay in contact with work, and it would be hard to check in with work while doing a lot of inter-county travel. But weekends I could venture out. Where would be a good place to set up my base in Panama?
You should be fine with internet and phones. Of course the remote beaches and stuff will have limited reception/ no internet, but in the main cities, you won't have an issue finding it. I'd recommend you get a 'pay as you go' plan from Movistar for your cellphone, and it should cover you just fine.
In Panama, I'd say Panama City itself. Any area is fine-- Casco viejo is the 'old town' and is one of my favorite spots in the cities. There are a few small boutique type hotels there, as well as a hostel. Many foreignors also stay in El Cangrejo, which is deeper 'in' the city (mind you, this means like a 7 minute drive from Casco-- Panama is very small). Either way, I wouldn't neccesarily say only the weekends are to venture out-- keep weekends for beach trips (San Blas, Contadora, etc) or to check out the other areas in Panama (Boquete, Bocas del Toro). Panama City itself, the restaurants, bars, different areas, the canal, and even Gamboa can be done during the week without venturing far from 'home'.
3 weeks....Colombia. It's just a whole lot bigger, more cities to see.
I'd be interested to see Panama City in Panama though. I think the next biggest city, is actually very small. I've also heard it wasn't all that safe either - the second biggest city which is small, I mean. Panama City sounds safer than most, and very international-looking, wich sounds interesting to me.
That being said, if I only have 5-6 days, I'd just solely go to Panama City and check it out. Three weeks though, you could see some decent amount of Colombia!
I'm curious which area you are saying is 'not safe'? Do you remember the name? Was it Colon? If so, I wouldn't imagine why anyone would go to Colon unless they were in the import/export business, wanted to check out the free trade zone (which is a gated area within Colon, so it's fine really), or to pass through to go to the beaches. But yes, Colon itself is considered more unsafe that Panama City in general.
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