Returning to a dollar based economy took some getting used to! That, along with added transportation costs and our desire to eat quite a few meals out, led to an even more expensive month in Panama than we experienced in Cartagena! Keep reading to find out all about our Panama travel expenses.
We spent the majority of our month long stay in Panama on the islands of Bocas del Toro. This archipelago is a gorgeous section of Panama and near where we served as Peace Corps volunteers when we were younger. We chose this part of Panama for the beaches and easy access to visit our host family.
Lodging in Panama City and Bocas del Toro
Total: $2,474
- $ 211 – Airbnb in Panama City – Feb 3-6 ($70/night)
- $2,190 – Airbnb in Bocas del Toro – Feb 6- Mar 6 ($78/night)
- $ 73 – Hotel in Panama City – Mar 6-7 ($73/night)
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Round-Trip Transportation
Total: $1,202
- $581 – Flights from Cartagena to Panama City ($835 before some credits)
- $140 – Uber, Bus, Taxi, Water Taxi, and 2nd Water Taxi to Airbnb in Bocas
- $471 – Flights from Bocas del Toro to Panama City
- $ 10 – Uber to Airport
Day-to-Day Costs
Total: $2,803
- Groceries, supplies, taxis, and dining out
- We ate out a fair bit while we were staying in Bocas del Toro. Our nearest grocery store was limited as far as options and traveling to the main island for groceries added up due to the cost of the boat taxi.
Touristy Excursions
Total: $899
- $143 – Red Frog Beach
- $170 – Private Fishing Trip
- $133 – Playa Bluff
- $176 – Chiriquí Grande
- $180 – Isla Zapatilla
- $ 97 – Miraflores Locks
Total: $7,378
Takeaways…
Lodging
We found some great lodging with good prices during our few days in Panama City. Our spot in Bocas was well located for us, but did not offer quite what we expected. It was quite rustic. Access to the beach was farther away than we thought. (I was really hoping to be able to just jump off the dock in front of our place. Nope! ☹️) There was no real protection against mosquitos, chitre, and ants either. Additionally, having no air conditioning in one of the hottest and muggiest places we’ve stayed thus far caused us to seek refuge elsewhere at times. You win some and you lose some…
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Day-to-Day Costs
Much of the “refuge” was sought by going to air conditioned restaurants on the island we stayed in as well as the neighboring island. These restaurants were good, but not as high quality as Cartagena or Medellin. Still SO much better than cooking in a sweltering wood hut.😃 We also paid up for groceries at the one tienda that provided some more traditional American options.
Extra Transportation Costs
Another subtle culprit of higher expenses was the required use of boat taxis any time we left our island. We often walked 15 minutes to get to a dock where the taxi cost $1/person. With 4 of us that cost was $4 to go across the channel. Then on the way home we usually had groceries or it would be after dark, and we wanted the convenience of getting dropped off at a dock close to our Airbnb. This ran $2/person, so $8 for the family. So, while $1 and $2 costs sound trivial, this usually ended up adding $12 to our tab every time we went anywhere. That starts to add up.
Touristy Excursions
None of the excursions we lined up were super expensive, but they still stack up. We wouldn’t change anything about those. You can cut costs here by going on large group tours, but we opted for private tours to get a better experience. They were pretty reasonable for private tours and this gave us the ability to stay at the beaches or snorkeling sites we wanted to visit for as long as we wanted and not have to follow a tour schedule.
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Summary
All in all we spent nearly $7,400 during our month in Panama. The fact that we spent almost $1,000 more in Panama than we did in Cartagena was surprising. There is zero doubt that we enjoyed our time in Cartagena SO MUCH MORE than our time in Panama. We continue to realize a lot as we reflect on how we feel and how we spend in each location.
Looking ahead, we transition from Latin America up to Miami. Lots of shopping occurred as we prepared to jump on a cruise and travel to Europe. We had to address the fact that we were heading to chillier temps, had run down the level of our supplies, and a number of our clothes were getting pretty tired. The money just seems to bleed out more quickly in the US, and we expect the same will be true in Europe. Stay tuned…
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