Panama City lessons learned

Here are some things I learned about Panama City.

1. Do make hotel reservations. The city itself is a popular destination place year round and it can be very difficult to find a room. Plan ahead.


2. Ask for a room toward the interior of the hotel. Like any city, it comes alive at night and you'll suffer with the noise till the wee hours of the morning unless you request an interior room (and even then there's no guarantee).


3. Panama drivers do not use blinkers. And you using them only gives away your foreigner status.


4. Panama drivers use the shoulder to pass.


5. Cars stop anywhere they please, even in the middle of a lane, to pick people up and drop them off.


6. Sometimes there are lines painted on the road indicating lanes, sometimes there are not.


7. One-way streets are not always marked. Keep your eyes peeled for traffic going in all one direction as that may be your only indication of a one-way street.


8. The horn is a beloved form of communication for these drivers. They use it constantly and it can mean everything and anything from "Get out of my way!" to "How are you?" to "Do you need a taxi?" to "Don't cross the street because I'm coming through!"

My husband has driven in many large cities: Washington, D.C., New York, L.A., Minneapolis, London, Miami, San Francisco … and he insists there is nothing worse than Panama City. Several people we spoke with agreed.

This following video is from YouTube by jonoanzalone, but it is representative of our experiences.