colon free zone

A friend just returned form a week in panama--he advised against trips to Colon or the free trade zone. he went with someone they met in Church --a Panamanian--but found it very dangerous! I'll stick with shoppoing at Cristobol pier & my ship's excursion...

A friend just returned form a week in panama--he advised against trips to Colon or the free trade zone. he went with someone they met in Church --a Panamanian--but found it very dangerous! I'll stick with shoppoing at Cristobol pier & my ship's excursion...

Perhaps you could elaberate; what did your friend witness that was unsafe? I went to the free trade zone with my wife, (who I met in a bowling alley) and my brother-in-law, (who I met at my wife's parents house) and felt perfectly safe. I guess I'm not sure how where I met them figures into the equation?

Anyhow, to each his own.

ok the free zone open from 8:00 AM TO 5:00 PM FROM MONDAY TO FRIDAY

, excelent place to buy perfume, jewelry and a lot of ladys stuff and for men there is a lot of things from music devices to cloth, inside the free zone is not that clean and beutiful like your big malls in the USA, but is very fun to buy there if you have a good guide or a person who knows the place , some stores are only for wholesale. And yes i have to admit that if you dont have a guide you can trust to take you to the free zone it cant be a little danger not to freakout. As you must know from my previous messages my family have a little store and i know who to prevent you from a theft and things like that , so keep asking i like to help :)

Could you tell me what the taxi prices are like and are they licensed by the government. We'd like to just visit the Panama Canal and the Duty Free Zone for shopping. Thanks.

Ok The Common Taxi In The Colon Area It Can Be From 2 To 3 Dolars But When They Notice That Your Are A Tourist They Will Claim 10 To 15 Dolars And This Taxi Service I Consider It Not Safe For You Is Better To Pay The Expensive Service Provided From Approved Goverment Service Must Of The Time Is By A Tourist Bus Probably You Will Never See A Cab For This Kind Of Service In The Port :0 Anything Else Just Ask :)

I'm sorry, I didn't really understand your answer. Where would we be able to get a tourist bus as, from what I understand, you are saying there will be no Government approved taxis at the port to take us to the canal.

No exist route available from any Colon docks to Colon Free zone

The taxi are safety and the rate is $2 from Cristobal to Free zone the only problem is the free zone is closed the Saturday.

You can hire a regular taxi (not SET) outside of Cristobal port and the price to go to Gatun locks going between $30-$50 all depends about your abilities of negociation.

From Cristobal docks you can hire taxi (SET or regular) from Gatun Yatch Club you can not get off the ship without shore excursion with the cruiser or local tour operator.

SET: Turism special service cab.

No exist bus route available from any Colon docks to Free zone, the only way is taxi or walking. In my opinion the taxi are safety and the rate is $2 from Cristobal to Free zone the only problem is the free zone is closed the Saturday.

You can hire a regular taxi (not SET) outside of Cristobal port and the price to go to Gatun locks going between $30-$50 all depends about your abilities of negociation.

From Cristobal docks you can hire taxi (SET or regular) from Gatun Yatch Club you can not get off the ship without shore excursion with the cruiser or local tour operator.

SET: Turism special service cab.

Hello - I spent three years in Panama when I was very young and my ex-husband was stationed there. We went lived outside of Colon and we did go shopping at the free zone one time. On that occasion we had a purse stole - which at the time was a common problem. As I said I was very young and today, I wouldn't take a purse with me!! Would have avoided that whole problem! The "danger" that we had encountered in both Colon and the free zone were similar. When I went to Colon I never took a purse with me, just put my money and id in my pocket. Not sure why we didn't do that in the free zone though! Hmm, again, VERY young at the time!!

I am wondering if Ramseslee can tell me if I took a cruise to Colon if there is a way to get on the old military bases? I lived on both Fort Gulick and Fort Davis and if I return, would like to show my children where they lived (and one was born). I wonder if they housing is even still there. We were there in the late 80's before the canal zone was turned over.

Thanks!

Jennifer

Check out the website: http://www.colonfreezone.com/

Plenty of information for those who would like to check out the great deals.

The Free Zone and the terminal internet shop is CLOSED on weekends.

We Will Be In Colon In Jan And Would Like To Visit The Tax Free Zone

Any Sugestions On Or Advice Would Be Apretiated

The Tax free zone in Colon is a rip off! the prices are 10 15 % over retail in the US Same time stay away!:mad:

Our port is Puerto Limon - Costa Rica. Is free zone within walking distance of pier or is this a reference to Cristobol port?

Our port is Puerto Limon - Costa Rica. Is free zone within walking distance of pier or is this a reference to Cristobol port?

This is a really ancient thread and I have not gone back to any of the previous posts to see the context of any of the conversation.

Regarding your post... many of the ports will have "duty free" shopping areas, I really don't remember what may be available in Puerto Limon. As to the Colon Free Zone... it is near the Colon 2000 pier, this pier now serves the ships calling at Colon, Cristobal pier is no longer used for cruise ships. I would not recommend you leave the shopping area that is connected to the pier unless you are on an excursion. The Colon Free Zone is not really set up for a shopper to browse around and pick up a few items. It primarily is intended for large scale commercial transactions where goods, machinery, medicines etc. can be landed without taxes or duty and then be sold and distributed to other countries.

Thank you for this update. It was the Free Zone I was wanting to see. Years ago I went there from the Cristobal port and get some great deals. Wasn't sure if it was walking distance from Colon 2000 pier. Looks like it may not be feasible after all. Thanks again.

I'm not sure why a 9-year-old thread was resurrected, but my eyes read the thread title as someone asking about a zone without an intestine. :)