Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Panama

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I spent six weeks in Panama last summer (2001): 4 weeks on Isla Colon in Bocas del Toro (and surrounding areas) and 2 weeks traveling around the rest of Panama. This book is a useful reference if you don't have anything else - especially if you don't speak Spanish. It provides a lot of valuable information on hotels, both budget hotels and very expensive ones. However, I often got the impression that Doggett is somewhat of a yuppie traveler. For instance, in the chapter on Bocas del Toro, he spends a paragraph or two trashing the bat cave found between the town of Bocas and Boca del Drago. I imagine he was so busy whining about the smell of the cave and the shriek of the bats that he did not stick around long enough to discover that there is a SECOND bat cave, very close to the first. This second cave contained an astounding variety of biodiversity, including a giant boa constrictor. Hands down, this cave was one of the most incredible natural wonders that I saw on my entire trip. If you are a traveler who is more into roughing it and seeing lush primary rainforest (even if it means tromping through rainforest with mud up to your knees), then this lonely planet guide may not be adventurous enough for you. Fortunately, in spite of the differences of opinion I had with this guidebook, I still had an amazing time in Panama. The rainforest left me speechless, the people were always friendly and helpful, everything is much less expensive than in the U.S., and there are fewer tourists in Panama than in Costa Rica. Still, I would recommend looking for a different guidebook before you settle on this one.

Lonely Planet, probably has the most up-to-date, comprehensive, practical guide for Panama, currently available. Would I recommend it? Absolutely! Unfortunately, Lonely Planet, failed to edit the author's crude, narrow-minded, self-righteous, self-serving commentary. The author also glosses over or totaly ignores pertinent information. Personal politics and self-aggrandizement have little, if any place in a travel guide, and when it exists in such a publication, it suggests a lack of empathy for, and or understanding of, other people and their cultures. The shortcomings of Lonely Planet's guide, noted above, mar an otherwise excellent publication. For the typical "Ugly American" wanting to "Do" Panama, the Lonely Planet guide should prove more than adaquate. If on the other hand, you are an open-minded traveler capable of independent thought, you might consider, also obtaining, "Getting to know PANAMA" by Michele Labrut, a former press attache to the French Embassy in Panama. Written with class, mature intelligence and a sense of respect for Panama and it's People, "Getting to know PANAMA", not only fills the gaps in the previous guide, it is also an excellent travel guide in it's own right and an outstanding source for unbiased information.

I am a big fan of LP travel guides. I always rely on them heavily when I travel. However, I was disappointed in this one. It was great for planning the trip, and it lives up to the LP standard, but barely.

This book has some inaccuracies, but given the changes in Panama I'm sure it is to be expected. I tried to call up several of the local guides that were listed in this book, but the phone numbers were out of order or they had moved on to bigger and better things.

I ended up hitting the highlights of Panama and leaving in three days for Costa Rica, instead of the week I originally planned.

Still, this book is a great source for information about the history, culture, restaurants, hotels, etc. However, my advice would be to purchase a supplemental guide book or two.

As the owner of a first and only backpackers hostel in David City,Panama (The Purple House) .... I see many people carrying this useful book around and it seems to be a great help to many. My only complaints about the book (not the writers' fault) is that 1) we are not in it yet because we weren't open at the time of his research. 2) the city of David is not made to sound attractive as a place to visit. There are lots of things to do here that aren't listed. Of course, that too is Not the writers fault, he can't possibly visit everything the way a person like me can. I have lived here for more than 3 years so I have been able to collect alot of information over that time.

As with any guidebook, it should be used as a guide and not a bible, definitely worth buying and carrying, its the best book for Panama.

I only used this book for Panama City and Bocas del Toro, but it was an invaluable asset for both. How can Doggett write knowledgably about so many hotels and restaurants, cultural issues, how to buy authentic jewelry, etc? Seems like he spent decades there. It would have been helpful if he wrote about how to bargain with taxi cab drivers for half day and full day rentals. Most one-way fares are pretty much fixed, but it is much nicer to have a driver show you the sights in P.City, which are spread out. My recommendation: Buy the book, and explore the places outside of Panama City.

As always, this Lonely Planet book is packed with information. I have used the maps and websites listed to investigate and map my route for my up coming trip to Panama. Scott put a lot of time and research in to the book and I appreciate it as it will make my trip much more rewarding.

After I bought this book I borrowed the Moon guidebook to Panama from the library. By the time I was finished with both, the Lonely Planet guide was black in the margins and index from all the stuff that was left out. The writer seems unaware of Chagres National Park, the main ferry landing to go to Bocas Islands, how to get around without a car, and so on.

I was looking for a good guidebook for Panama. It is a great guidebook, but is the 7th edition, written in 2001. Most of the information in it is way outdated, and the book is useless to me. Had I known it was an older edition, I would not have bought it.

I used this guide for Panama City, San Blas and El Valle... it was sooooooooo wrong in Panama City and outdated. got lost for two hours because our hostal address was wrong and in a sketchy part of town. we were pretty much stranded bc we relied on the lonely planet, we wished we had another source of info there... we were put in a very bad situation. the numbers we needed to call didn't work either. it did pt us to a remote island that was amazing, isla tigre, there was a small paragraph on it that for some reason attracted us. didn't bother using it in el valle as our hotel and most things to do werent really on there. i dont know the lonely planet really let me down on this one.

also i used it in thailand a few years back and the places listed aren't in thai, so if you mispronounce the word in the guide - u can't pt to it to taxi drivers or pedestrians if you get lost. so its a bit useless.

so i guess my recommendation is to use the lonely planet as a general guide as to what to do but not as your main source of information.