Paso Canoas: Border With Panama Overview

Sprawling out from the immigration offices at the Costa Rica-Panama border, Paso Canoas is hardly scenic. Though shoppers mosey from one side to the other without hassle, the fairly painless passport and tourist card process is necessary for those advancing further into either country. Most travelers with proper papers have no problem passing through easily.

Transportation. To get to the border from the Costa Rican side, take a bus to Ciudad Neily and transfer onto one of the buses that run regularly to Paso Canoas (30min., every 30min., 6am-6pm, ¢300). They will drop you at the main intersection. Taxis travel between Ciudad Neily and Paso Canoas for ¢3000 (US$6). Paso Canoas is 50km from the Panamanian town of David, with Padafront (☎2727 7230) buses running between them nearly every other hour. (US$1.75). Padafront buses also run to Panama City at the same times (7½ hr.; US$15). Bus terminals are located 100m from the border on the Panamanian side. On either side, TRACOPA (☎2732 2119 or 2786 3227), 100m west and east of the intersection, sells tickets to San José (8hr.; 4, 7:30, 9am, 3pm; US$11) and one-way tickets from San José to David (9hr.,US$15, valid for 3 months). You’ll have to pay even if you have no intention of visiting either city, unless you have a plane ticket out of Panama, which is the only other proof of exit accepted.

Orientation And Practical Information. Costa Rica is west; Panama is east. Three main streets run north to south along the border. All establishments take US$, and almost all the Panamanian stores accept colónes. The Interamericana Highway from Neily and San José cuts straight through town toward David and Panama City.

Though the border process doesn’t usually take more than 45min., timing depends completely on lines. To cross the border, go to the Costa Rican General de Migración, located in the large blue complex 175m west of the main intersection, and get your passport stamped. (☎2732 2150. Open daily 6am-10pm.) Customs is next door. (☎2732 2801. Open daily 6am-10pm.) Then head to the large white complex at the border that houses the Panamanian migration offices. Entering Panama, travelers need a passport, a tourist card (available at the border checkpoint; lasts 30 days; US$5), proof of economic solvency, and a return ticket with a bus line. Entering Costa Rica has the same requirements. For more information visit www.ipat.gob.pa. Tourist cards are sold at Instituto Panameño de Turismo in the Panamanian complex. (☎2727 6524. Open daily 6am-11pm.) Both sides have additional checkpoints 1km down the Interamericana, so keep your passport handy. Money changers abound, especially near the crossing, and are easily identified by the stiff leather packs slung across their chests. Bolsijeros on the Panamanian side give the best exchange rate, but check the rate before you approach them to avoid getting hustled. In Panama, the Banco Nacional de Panamá is 300m south down the main shopping stretch and has a 24hr. ATM (☎2727 6522. Open M-F 8am-3pm, Sa 9am-noon.V.) Police are 50m from both borders. (Costa Rica ☎2732 2402, for emergencies 911 in Costa Rica and 104 in Panama.) Buses arriving from Neily drop off in front of the post office in Costa Rica. (☎2732 2029. Open M-F 8am-noon and 1-5:30pm.) A Panamanian post office is located on the second floor of the white migration complex. (☎2727 6592. Open M-F 7am-6pm, Sa 7am-5pm.) Internet is available at Libreria Viviana about 300m south down the Costa Rican strip closest to the border (☎2732 2515. Open M-Tu and Th-Su 7:30am-8pm, W 10am-7pm. ¢500 per hr.) or at Intercall, across the border on the Panamanian side (☎2727 7727. Open daily 9am-10pm. US$0.80 per hr. International calls US$0.15 per min.)

Accommodations And Food. Though it might lack major points of interest, Paso Canoas certainly won’t leave you hungry. Cabinas/Bar/Restaurante Interamericana ( cabina ), 200m south of the Highway Interamericana, has an excellent restaurant that can also deliver a variety of entrees (seafood dishes ¢4000-7000, appetizers ¢500-1000) to its relatively cheap and well-kept rooms. (☎2732 2041 or 2732 2196. Restaurant open daily 6am-11:30pm. Singles with bath US$12, US$6 for each additional person. V/US$/¢.) Cabinas Hilda , just 50m past Interamericana offers slightly newer rooms at a variety of prices. Simple rooms with cement floors and fans are located on the first floor, and more pleasant, tiled rooms with A/C and TV are located on the second level. Single with fan ¢6000, double ¢7000/¢10,000. Midway between Migración and TRACOPA and across the street, Cabinas/Restaurante/Bar Antares , offers some of the cheapest rooms in town. Small rooms with bath are fairly worn, but fulfill all basic needs. (☎2732 2123. Singles US$8; doubles US$12; triples US$18.) More luxurious accommodations are available at Cabinas Romy just next door. Spacious new rooms have clean tile floors as well as hot-water baths, A/C, and TV. (☎2732 1930. Singles US$20; doubles US$28; triples US$35.)

Expect the same fast food from either side of the border: everything will be fast, filling, and fried. Soda Los Comales has clean tables and fast food. (☎2732 1075. Combo meals ¢2250-2950. Open daily 10am-11pm. MC/V.) Super El Ahorro sells any basic groceries you might need. (☎2732 2083. Open daily 6:30am-9pm.)