Saturday, September 9, 2017

Panama Jammin 7 - A Border Runs Through it


Well that's all folks! 

We have come to the end of our 7 day Panama Jammin Tour!!
Hope you enjoyed the videos!! If you have not seen all of them you can find them all here along with all my other videos. If you subscribe, you will get videos first, as soon as I release them.

This was really a fun and informative experience -- if you are interested in taking the Panama Jammin Tour I will update you here when we are ready to launch.

Now, Let's Talk Borders --

I would like to mention to any of you Costa Rica expats or potential expats -- if you do not have Costa Rica residency you can only remain in Costa Rica for 90 days on your US passport so you will need to make an exit from the country after 90 days.

If you choose to exit to Panama by land, you can use one of 3 borders.

Most travelers use the Costa Rica southern border at Paso Canoas on the Pacific side as we did or the Sixaola border near Puerto Viejo (which I highlight in this video) and the one we used on our return.

The Pacific border is the busiest border in Costa Rica because most of the commercial traffic exits there. At the Pacific border we were sent to a "special" room where our baggage was searched.

The Caribbean border at Sixaola is crowded as well with long lines (this border is mostly used by tourists and lots of young backpackers). At this border you will need to walk across a bridge from Panama to Costa Rica (or vice versa). The good news is--the bridge isn't as scary as it used to be! Both exits were quite an experience (which is one reason I prefer flying)! LOL I am not a big fan of border crossing, however, there is no way around border crossings if you leave the country (resident or not) so it is something you will need to adjust to. I will say that it was made MUCH easier on the Panama Jammin Tour because we had a Spanish speaking tour company/driver which instructed us and helped us with all the paperwork and dealt with the border people for us.That will be a BIG plus for folks taking this tour in the future! It was very hot outside and there were several very long lines at Sixaola and we got to move to the front of the line!

There is one other border, Rio Sereno located in the mountainous range somewhat in the middle of the Pacific & Caribe borders (it is the least trafficked border with no cargo crossings) if your paperwork is in order you can breeze through in less than an hour.  On the Panama side you will find the roads paved from Sererno to David, however coming from San Vito (Costa Rica), the road is a rather rough rocky road…which is probably why this border is still not widely used and quiet. 

My advice for smooth (land) border crossings is -- Be Prepared and Go By Bus (big or smaller as we did) Much less hassle. Just Sayin!!

Big Thanks to everyone for following along!

Check out our departure and border crossing in the video below
and I will see you back here soon for my regular postings!

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