Topic Wiki

List of TR's:
Denverite
saw50st8
dvol
dvol Pictures
zow
CGR, CGR #2
itreu001
TripsPls
davidrotts63
yuneeq Contadora (Pearl Islands)
Something Fishy (Cuba)
Something Fishy (Honduras)
Ponash123
PBaruch
Moishes 2/5/24 Panama Extended Weekend



Kosher Food/ Restaurants:
Places to Eat:
Aria
Aroma Café
Darna Dairy/Bakery
Kava
Jeffrey’s Bakery
Pita Pan
Pita Plus
Lula by Darna
Metsuyan
Hilel Sports Bar and Grill- Closed
Darna
La Spezia
Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (including 2 at PTY)
Dr. Sandwich
Prime Grill
Forever yogurt in casco viejo- Chalav Yisroel ice cream - Closed down
NEW - Jerusalem Israeli Cuisine by Chabad in Casco Viejo
Supermarkets:
Superkosher
Supermacardo Deli K


Cholov Yisroel:
If you go onto Kosher Panama Website you can search for Cholov Yisroel by entering Jalav Israel in the search, just be aware if the site lists Jalav Israel and Lacteo in the description, the establishment may have both CY and non-CY so be aware and double check with the staff.
SuperKosher also had a nice selection of CY breakfast/snack/frozen items available.

There is a local chalav yisroel that isn't up to everyone's standards. It isn't up to Chabad as they use a lower kasherimg temperature than the alter rebbe holds.
This is what local chabad down there told me. Don't hold me to any of it please.


Synagogue:

The Jewish community in Panama is mainly in Panama City in the Punta Paitilla area.
You must bring your passport with you to enter the shuls. You can bring your passport over during the week if you are not staying in the eruv. They will make a copy of your passport.

Sinagoga Beth El – Orthodox, Ashkenazi. After Shabbat morning services, they have a full sit down Kiddush lunch.
They also serve breakfast after weekday shacharit.
Contact Asistente al Rabino secretaria@centrobethel.com - Déborah Wizel

Shevet Ahim – Sephardic. proper attire required, denied entry for shorts.

Ahavat Sion –

Chabad -  bracha Karniel goldberg  brachagold@gmail.com

Things to Do:
Panama Canal
Amador Causeway
Old City
$30 cabbie for all day
Panama John on FT cab and tour guide
San Blas islands
En Valle Market
Casco Viejo
Barefoot Panama tour company
Boquete
Biosphere
Miraflores Locks
Ancon Hill (tallest point in the City)
Anton Valley (hiking, waterfalls, horseback riding)
Panama Viejo
MultiPlaza (high-end mall)
Parque Natural Metropolitano
Partial canal transit
Monkey Island boat tour
Rainforest Gondola tour
Contadora (Pearl Islands) - whale watching, snorkeling/scuba on Chipera, Mogu Mogu, https://pearlislandsdaytours.com/
Rainbow bass fishing
Ziplining
Rent bikes along the water
Rainforest
Beach- Santa Clara and punta palmar both 1.5+ hours from Panama City
Indigenous tribes
Coffee plantations in the mountains
Whale watching
City tour (includes animals)
Chargres River Tour, hike to waterfall, visit Embrera Indian Village
Hiking Portabello road
Natural Metropolitan Park
www.therealpanamatours.com
Almiza Tours/ My friend mario http://www.bscpma.com/mfm/aboutus.htm (Website not working!)
Colon
Bocas del Toro
Old city/Casco viejo

Hotels:

Getting Around:
Uber is the best way to get around, cheap and reliable (if you go to the rainforest, there might not be any cars available going back, search before)

Notes:


Please Update the Wiki
« Last edited by moishes on February 05, 2024, 05:12:28 PM »

Author Topic: Panama Master Thread  (Read 300113 times)

Offline simplicity

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #840 on: February 09, 2022, 04:17:55 PM »
Which airline for each of you? I'm flying Copa and they seem to just say whatever each country requires - no special requirements on their end.
United round trip. Either way not a big deal

Offline Yonah

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #841 on: February 10, 2022, 08:55:11 AM »
What is the beach situation in Panama City? Do you need to take a ferry out to the islands to get to the beach, or are there beaches that are accessible to the Panama City hotel area?

Offline BBPAPA

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #842 on: February 10, 2022, 08:58:57 AM »
Need to drive or take a ferry 1 1/2-2 hr each way.

Offline Yoko

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #843 on: February 10, 2022, 11:06:03 PM »
Excited for an upcoming trip to Panama in two weeks. Would appreciate any feedback from people who just came back over yeshiva vacation. Anyone make the trip to Bocas, Pearl Islands or San Blas? Trying to finalize our itinerary. Thank you

Following. Please post. I'm going in two weeks as well and trying to come up with a good itinerary

Offline Kobe Bryant

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #844 on: February 11, 2022, 08:49:49 AM »
Excited for an upcoming trip to Panama in two weeks. Would appreciate any feedback from people who just came back over yeshiva vacation. Anyone make the trip to Bocas, Pearl Islands or San Blas? Trying to finalize our itinerary. Thank you
San Blass is absolutely amazing, albeit a long drive and (a stretch of bumpy roads) IMO was well worth it. Must be arranged in advance.

Offline ponash123

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #845 on: February 11, 2022, 09:46:19 AM »
Following. Please post. I'm going in two weeks as well and trying to come up with a good itinerary

Here you go
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=128109.msg2549187#msg2549187

Offline Yonah

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #846 on: February 11, 2022, 11:19:44 AM »
I currently have plans to go in June, we have a reservation at the Residence Inn, but thinking to potentially switch to either the Sortis or the JW Marriott. Anyone stay at any of these hotels have an opinion on them?

Offline Yonah

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #847 on: February 11, 2022, 11:21:02 AM »
San Blass is absolutely amazing, albeit a long drive and (a stretch of bumpy roads) IMO was well worth it. Must be arranged in advance.

Guide/Tour to recommend?

Offline Ellen

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #848 on: February 14, 2022, 03:05:47 PM »
Is a guide needed for the Canal?

Offline simplicity

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #849 on: February 15, 2022, 03:01:59 PM »
Is a guide needed for the Canal?
no

Offline mlight

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #850 on: February 16, 2022, 08:33:41 AM »
Are any of the dairy establishments only Chalav Yisroel?

Offline simplicity

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #851 on: February 17, 2022, 01:36:25 PM »
Are any of the dairy establishments only Chalav Yisroel?
you just have to request it when you order

Offline skyguy918

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #852 on: February 17, 2022, 03:03:14 PM »
Looking at the times listed on gokosherpanama.com, it seems like all the sefardi places have mincha maariv (currently says 6:05), while the one ashkenazi place spaces it out (6 mincha, 6:50 maariv). Can anyone confirm that? Also, do the sefardi places daven maariv before shkia (shkia is ~6:30 now, so that's a bit of a wait after a 6:05 mincha)?

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #853 on: February 18, 2022, 05:04:24 PM »
When I was last there BethEl Ashkenaz had a shiur between mincha and maariv - so yes it is well spaced out.

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #854 on: February 21, 2022, 12:21:43 PM »
I currently have plans to go in June, we have a reservation at the Residence Inn, but thinking to potentially switch to either the Sortis or the JW Marriott. Anyone stay at any of these hotels have an opinion on them?

We stayed in the JW.  As long as you do not need a kitchen, it is an awesome place.  It is very walkable to the Super K grocery and several restaurants, but located in a quieter corner of town.   Great pool area. Service was incredible.  We stayed at the Hilton second Shabbat - does not hold a candle.

Offline skyguy918

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #855 on: February 25, 2022, 04:54:21 PM »
Just got back from a very short trip to Panama. I might write up a more traditional TR at some point, but I wanted to post something about driving/renting, since it felt like there wasn't so much info on DDF about that to date.

Pretty much everyone I spoke to, including the vast majority of comments on DDF, said to just uber everywhere, combined with transportation from your tour guides. The reasons ranged from uber being so cheap, to crazy drivers, to bad traffic, to parking, etc. I personally don't do so well in cars when I'm not in the drivers seat - not bad enough that I never do it, but bad enough that it's a consideration for me. Also, we like to wander a bit in cities, and just see the sites at our own pace and make our own spur of the moment decisions. I agonized over this decision way too long, stressing myself out about it in the days leading up to the trip, but ultimately decided to rent - and for us at least it was the right decision.

Cost: If we would've replicated every drive in the car with uber or other transportation, I think it would've come out to very similar total cost, if not more than what we paid renting. I booked on Priceline with Budget, knowing that they would tack on the liability charge. It ended up being right around $100 for the 3 days (for the cheapest automatic - was a Hyundai i10). I'm guessing we used the toll roads 4 times at $1.25 each (no extra charge from Budget to use their PanaPass) for another $5, $25 in gas, and <$10 in parking in various places. Had we not rented it would've been more than 20 uber trips, which using the fare estimator in the middle of the day (which would be less than rush hour, when several trips took place) came out to >$105. Tack on the $40 our Gatun/Monkey Island tour operator wanted for transportation (hard to get ubers from Gamboa back to the city) and we're already over the cost of renting. Obviously we could've stayed closer to food/shul, or structured our days differently in order to cut the number and cost of ubers, but I think the comparison is still useful.

Parking: was not an issue in the vast majority of places:

Hotel - While the list of hotels that charge a parking fee (JWM, W, Sortis, Hilton, Bristol) includes many of the more popular options in this thread, it seems like the vast majority have free parking (Residence Inn, ICH, Le Meridien, WA, and many more).

Food - [Italics for the places we actually went to, as opposed to based on googling]
  • Aria, Kava, Coffee Bean/Pinkberry on Balboa, Dr Sandwich and Jeffrey's all have free off-street parking.
  • Paitilla Mall (Aroma, Yoss Burger), Plaza Bal Harbor (Pita Plus, Vitali, Pita Pan, Wow Cafe, La Finka), and La Spezia all appear to have similar pay per minute parking lots - ~90 minutes at Aroma was $1.64, and Pita Plus had some open spots on the street so we didn't pay.
  • Deli K and Super Kosher are in malls with parking garages - I think it's paid, but somehow we didn't have to pay at Super Kosher. Multiplaza (Cookie Jaar, Krispy Kreme, Pinkberry and more) appears to be paid parking as well.
  • Lula Casco obviously has no parking, but we paid $5 to park for the whole afternoon in Casco Viejo and stopped to eat at Lula.
  • I'm not sure about the other restaurants (Falafel & Grill House, Fonda Mi Reinita, Blame Kiki, maybe some others I didn't hear about).
Attractions
  • Amador Causeway (Burke's Bikes) - Parking lot behind Burke's Bikes. It says $1 for 4 hours. We couldn't figure out where to pay, and when we tried to leave, a lady at the gate let us through once we gave her $2.
  • Miraflores Locks Visitor Center - Free parking.
  • Canal Administration building - Was able to park on the street at the top for a few minutes to snap a few pics. Had the building itself been open to see the murals, I think there's an actual (free) visitor's parking lot I would've parked in. If you want to see the Goethals and Stevens memorials, and get the more imposing 'front' view of the building, it seemed like there were places to park on the street down there as well (or just walk up/down from the top).
  • Gamboa Public Dock - Free parking. Some random dude came over to tell me he would watch my car, and then ushered me to the car when we returned. I felt bad and gave him $1.
  • Albrook Mall - Free parking.
  • Ancon Hill - Parked at Mi Pueblito, which is as close as you can get to the stairs that mark the beginning of the hike these days. Read online that it's supposed to cost money to park, but the gate was wide open and not a soul in sight.
  • Casco Viejo - Used Casco $5 Parking lot. Or more precisely, a random dude right in front of the lot ushered me into a blocked off street spot for the same $5 - if you drive around you'll see guys doing this all over. We did see some actual open spots as we walked around that afternoon, but I don't know if I'd risk that.
Shul - Ahavat Sion has some off street parking, though I was only able to snag a spot 1 of the 5 times I was there. The rest of the time I found spots on the street, up to a few minutes walk away (helps if your car is tiny). It seemed like they had more parking behind a gate, but my nonexistent Spanish was not up to the task of finding out whether visitors can use it. Beth El has an underground lot, but the one time I went the guard just had me park on the tiny space between the entrance and exit of the garage's driveway. I didn't go to any of the other shuls.

Gas and Tolls: Gas was straight forward. We used maybe half a tank in 3 days. The place I went to on the way back to the airport was full service only. I told him to fill up with 91 (not diesel and not premium). Budget had no extra charge for the PanaPass - it's on the car already and they just pass on the toll charges to you. There's one toll road that cuts the time to/from the airport in half, another north of the city (used it on the way back from Gamboa), and another on the highway to Colon.

Other: Everyone says they're all crazy drivers - this is all relative. I didn't find it to be that bad. But even if it was so terrible, I feel like I'd rather be the one in control than be at the mercy of the driver. There are a lot of scenarios where you have to merge a few lanes over to make your turn, or other maneuvers we might consider unsafe in NY, but it really just depends on how comfortable you are with that kind of driving. I will say though the with signs being either unclear or nonexistent, I did have one ore two scenarios where I went the wrong way and took and extra minute or two to recalibrate. Road conditions are fine on the highways. The smaller streets were a mixed bag, but even at their worst you can see it clearly - especially since all the other cars on the road already know the spots to avoid (just follow their lead).

Online Something Fishy

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #856 on: February 26, 2022, 10:04:28 PM »
Any good fleishig places besides Aria these days?
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Offline skyguy918

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #857 on: February 27, 2022, 03:51:34 PM »
Any good fleishig places besides Aria these days?
Besides, Aria, we ate at Lula Casco - it was good, but probably not good enough to justify schlepping in and out of Casco Viejo. We also picked up Pita Plus on the way to the airport, but I don't think you need my input there ;D. Of the remaining options, Yoss Burger might be your best bet, I heard good things from someone that went yeshiva week.

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #858 on: February 28, 2022, 06:47:38 PM »
One other quick note/data point re Panama and Covid. First of all, they're surprisingly crazy with masks there. Like nearly everyone has them on, even outside. At Miraflores, they made me put on a surgical mask, since they said the reusable cotton one I was wearing is not good good enough - and they were constantly chastising people for not having their masks on properly. Even within the Jewish/kosher establishments, most are wearing masks. I think when we went out to Gamboa/Gatun was the only time masks weren't on all around us - maybe Ancon Hill as well.

Re vaccine/testing requirements - we're vaccinated but not boosted, so we took a regular rapid for Panama entry requirements. Copa asked to see the QR for your affidavit at the gate, and then we had to show it again at this weird little table before passport control in PTY - they looked at the test, gave us a little scrap of paper with a green check, which we handed to the border control person to go through.

For the return to US, we have Flowflex tests free from my wife's work, and for $20 a company called Azova does video observation that counts for US entry. We had to show that to the Copa gate agent leaving PTY.

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Re: Panama Master Thread
« Reply #859 on: February 28, 2022, 09:53:10 PM »
Aria was closed for construction today (supposedly they'll be open tomorrow, but I'm not sure how exactly that works).

Went to Yoss Burgers instead. Apps and fruit drinks were meh, but their teriyaki burger may just be the best burger I've ever had.
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