Yes, you can fly from Panama City to David and then take a taxi to Boquete. But, where is the fun in that? More to the point, if you are looking to try slow travel, this is a great way to learn to do it. In summary:
- $15.25 per person and 8 hrs to David. Tickets purchased at Albrook station.
- $2 per person and 45 minutes from David to Boquete. Payment when you get off the bus.
- An amazing way to view the real Panama.
- The return trip to Panama City is just as easy.
- Total time between Panama City and Boquete for two busses was approximately 9 hours.
Panama City to David by Bus
Arriving at the Grand National Transportation Terminal at Albrook, look for the window clearly marked David. There were actually two as of July 2023 with two different bus companies. We picked Terminales David Panama (TDP) for no particular reason. You can’t buy tickets in advance apparently, so on the day of, walk to the window, pick the time you want, show the agent your passport, and buy your tickets. Then have a seat in the waiting area until they board your bus.
We were the gringo’s and TDP knew it. One of the bus drivers came over to us in the seating area to tell us it was time to board. We felt that we were being looked out for, on the way to David, even if that wasn’t really the case. Our assigned seats on the top floor in the very front gave us the best seat in the house with views ahead and to the side for the entire trip.
Halfway between David and Panama City is a 30 minute stop in Santiago. Everyone gets off the bus to use restrooms and get some food or a small snack.
I won’t say it was an uncomfortable trip, but the roads in Panama are pretty bad and the seats aren’t the most comfortable over 8 hours. However, the price is very low, the views are great, and there are lots of curiosities to see on the road. We saw interesting things for sale, homes of indigenous peoples, cattle, and a random wind farm. And beautiful mountains throughout.
When we finally got to David we were relieved, but a little nervous about getting tickets for our next bus. We should not have been worried.
David to Boquete by Bus
In David, all the local buses pull up directly under a sign with their destination. There is no ticket window. Just line up and when the bus arrives you get on and pay when you get off. The bus to Boquete runs every 20 minutes. Like many local buses in Panama, our bus was a pimped out old U.S. school bus (often called a Diablo Roja or Red Devil). It cost us $2 each.
This bus isn’t as pimped as some in Panama City. They often feature elaborate paint jobs and huge chrome exhaust pipes. But, the bus to Boquete still had a customized stereo system, custom upholstery, hand rails attached to the roof, and air conditioning. An attendant rode up front standing on the entry/exit staircase to make change as riders paid and to help those in need get bags on and off the bus. And the closer we got to Boquete he seemed to be waving and making friendly gestures to seemingly everyone walking or driving the roads.
Returning by Bus from Boquete to David
It seems there is a defined arrival and departure zone for some of the more major bus routes in Panama. When you arrive at Boquete you are dropped on the west side of Domingo Medica Park. However, you will find both the bus schedule for returning to David and the bus itself on the Southeast corner. Hop on and pay when you get to David. It cost us $1.55 each for this ride.
Slow Travel from David to Panama City
The biggest difference in returning from David to Panama City was tickets. We couldn’t find a place to buy them, though partway through it became apparent some people had done so. Instead, we simply walked up to the bus and the guy loading bags said “Panama”, we said “Si”, and he tossed our bags in, gave us our claim tickets for them, and said to buy tickets on board. Halfway through a conductor did, in fact, come by to take cash from us for our fare. Still $15.25 each.
Back in Panama City
We made it! We completed our first experience in slow travel. It was a test case for when we truly reinvent ourselves in retirement and it was perfect. Busses arrive a level above the departures in Panama City. We collected our bags and, after 8 hours on this bus, plus one from Boquete to David we opted for the (ridiculously cheap) $8 Uber ride to our next Airbnb in the San Francisco neighborhood of Panama City.
Slow Travel by Bus to Boquete - What we would have liked to have known ahead of time.
We watched a number of video’s and read several blog posts in preparation for our slow travel experiment from Panama City to Boquete by way of David. I believe you will never have all the answers and at some point just need to jump in and have faith that it will work out. That said, there were a few things we wished we would have known ahead of time.
- The ride to David is longer than we anticipated. We didn’t take the Express bus option as we wanted to leave earlier in the morning. The non-express option took 8 hours to get to David.
- At the halfway point they kick everyone off the bus for 30 minutes. We thought we would just get off to use the bathrooms quick and then return to our seats in the air conditioned bus to wait for it to carry on. Nope. Everyone gets off and they lock the bus till its time to hit the road again. I presume this reduces the risk of theft or other issues on the bus. In hindsight, it’s probably a good thing.
- The bus is on a schedule and apparently has specific times for seemingly random stops along the road. At one point our bus was crawling along at 20 mph down a highway with posted speed of 50. Seems they were just killing time so they didn’t get too far ahead of schedule. That’s better than my initial worry that the bus was overheating. It also means you aren’t getting into David ahead of schedule.
- The bus will be boarded at a police checkpoint (at least as of July 2023) to check identifications. You will need to present your passports for a quick check.
- In David there is no ticket counter to buy a ticket to Boquete, so don’t bother looking for it. Just find the overhead sign for Boquete and get in line.
- The bus to and from Boquete is absolutely not non-stop. It seems to make random stops both at obvious bus stops and seemingly whenever someone waves it down.
Closing Thoughts on Slow Travel to Boquete
We’re preparing for a time in about 3 years from now when we live a slow travel, nomadic lifestyle, inspired by Earth Vagabonds. We plan on traveling across Southeast Asia (initially) where bus travel is the primary option — only flying when we must. So this was an important experience for us. It allowed us to get a feel for slow travel and build some confidence. Panama is a foreign country, yes, but at least we can speak a few words of Spanish. We don’t speak a lick of Vietnamese, Khmer, or Lao.
There was nothing about this slow travel by bus experience that caused any concern. We felt safe and had no problems at all. Would we have flown? I’d say, no. You can’t fly to Boquete anyway so we’d still need to take a bus or taxi from David to Boquete. Flying to David is many times more expensive per person. While we can certainly afford it, we also would have missed out on the new experience, traveling like a local, and seeing so much more of Panama.
