Has anyone hired a taxi to go to

the stretch of coast east of Colon? Costa Arriba which is on the way to Portobelo. I want to go to a beach and have read that Colon is not safe but what about out of Colon? There is a beach called Maria Chiquita that has a tourist center with facilities.......anyone heard about that or been there?

Thanks for any and all help.

J.

J......its tough finding info on the beaches in Panama!......but we just got back and we attempted the beaches there......im not sure i would advise anyone to go there.....not that it was all that dangerous, but its just not the nicest beach in the world....the water is not calm and blue like in cozumel or grand cayman.....it looks like a beach in miami FL but with LOTS of garbage around.......we went to playa langosta which is very close to the beach you mentioned.....its almost enirely locals there.....not hardly one tourist to be found......if you do decide to go, id advise taking a cab with a driver whos on his own and not part of the cab mafia there......it will be much cheaper.....i would also have the cab driver stay with you while youre at the beach.....finding a cab back might not be so easy......price for round trip to the beach shouldnt be much....id say less than $20.....the cab mafia will want more than $50....your money goes a long way in Panama, so try and not over pay

Thank you robbyxoxo,

I really don't like organized tours but I'm sure there are a few that will be nice.

I'd really like to see the coast but don't want to worry about getting back to the pier. Thanks again, J.

if you really dont want to do the orgainzed tour thang, I dont think you'd have any problem getting an independent taxi guy to drive you where ever you wanna go and to stick with you the whole time, and still for less price than you'll pay for a structured tour.....our driver sat there on the beach and watched our stuff as we walked around and played in the ocean....you should be able to land a guy for all day for $50ish....the organized tours will want more than that just for a 3 hour tour....just some thoughts to chew on

I figured that I might be able to get a local 'guy' to tour us around and buy lunch for all, and make the tip worth while if they stay with us. I'd rather tip heavy for a trust worthy tour guide then be cheap and get stuck somewhere.

I really appreciate your input. BTW I live in Columbus. Again thank you. J.

man does not waste you time in Maria Chiquita, you will find more to see and do in Portobelo, the taxi driver can confirm it.

Keep in mind, if you do not schedule a shore excursion through the ship or local travel agency, you will not be able to get off the cruise ship until you go back through the Gatun Locks and dock at Cristobal pier around of 3 pm.

good luck,

I guess I don't understand what you mean about not being able to get off the ship until after 3pm, I am under the impression that we dock at 7 and leave at 5. Maybe you could give me more details.

Thanks

I guess I don't understand what you mean about not being able to get off the ship until after 3pm, I am under the impression that we dock at 7 and leave at 5. Maybe you could give me more details.

Thanks

My comment is for passengers of ships that pass through Gatun Locks and then anchor in Gatun Lake and may be it is not your case. Sorry for my misunderstood.:(

I posted this on the Portobello thread and I meant to post it here so here it is again:

Hi all,

We are just off the legend 1/30/2005 sailing. The itinerary was reversed for our sailing and Colon was our first port of call last Wednesday.

My wife and three of her brothers (our ages ranged from 37 to 52) decided to hire a cab for the day and see the sights. We had an excellent experience and were very glad we decided to do our own trip at our own pace.

We hired a driver with a Chrysler mini-van in good condition that looked only a year or two old. He spoke excellent English and his air-conditioning was cold. He took us to Gatun locks where we stayed about an hour until we were ready to leave. From Gatun we drove to Portobello which took about 45 minutes. We stayed there for about 1.5 hours before heading back to Colon. We then spent an hour touring the City.

For this tour the driver asked $30.00 per person. We could have probably negotiated a lower price but this seemed fair to us. We paid him $150.00 plus a tip of $10.00.

The drive to Portobello is beautiful once you are out of Colon and its suburbs. The road hugs the coastline most of the way. We passed several beaches along the way. I am sure a beach trip is doable but I would pay the driver to stay with you as getting a cab back would be quite difficult to arrange.

Our driver’s name was Enrique Wilson. He is in his late 30’s though looked younger. We found him to be very professional and personable and do highly recommend him. In chatting he told us he lived in the USA for a while which explains his excellent English. He also told us he owns two other cabs which he pays others to drive. This was no surprise either as his professionalism was readily apparent. He seems to be doing quite well with his business.

I asked if he had an e-mail address. He doesn’t but he gave me his business card with land and cell numbers. Here are the details from his card:

Team Wilson Car Service

Enrique or Yelena Wilson

Tel: 500-9316

Cel: 612-6924

Colon, Rep. Of Panama

You can call him from home of course but if you know you are going to book your own tour from the pier I would just call him on his cell phone when you arrive. Pay-phones are at the pier.

If you have any questions I would be happy to try to answer them if I can.

yst

Here is a picture of Enrique with us at Gatun locks:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-2/948766/CarnivalLegend2005Day4126.jpg