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Five Things To Know About Visiting Panama

Our own Brendan Spiegel has wrapped up his trip in Panama and here's a parting gift on all that he's learned. If you have still have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Not that we're exactly experts after two weeks in the country, but here's a couple of field tips we wish we knew beforehand…

1. No Need To Change Currency: The money thing is super-easy here. Panama has their own currency, the Balboa, but it's tied to the dollar, which is accepted literally everywhere. They don't even print their own bills, so there's no need to change any money if you're coming from the States. You'll get Balboa coins as change, which are the same size and color as their American counterparts. Just make sure to get rid of them before you leave, as I've learned New York shopkeepers are not so happy when you accidently try to pay for the newspaper in Balboa quarters.

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Oh Yeah, About That Canal…

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Hopefully, our two weeks of raving about this Caribbean-Pacific paradise have led you to think of Panama as more than just a man, a plan and a canal.

But when you come back from Panama, all anyone ever asks about anyway is the canal, so you still kind of have to go. And even given all the hype, it is pretty awe-inspiring to see. Even just viewed from the plane, the sight of all those giant ocean liners queuing up to get through is something else.

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Panama's Other Paradise Islands

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

While Bocas Del Toro is Panama's first obvious stop for a beach bum, drop-out-of-life vacation, those with a few extra days in the country shouldn't miss Panama's other Caribbean beach archipelago, the Kuna Yala Islands.

Not far from the southern border with Colombia, these tiny isles are even more cartoonishly idyllic than Bocas, and we swore multiple times we must be on the set of Lost (the beautiful beach paradise part, not the scary smoke monster part).

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Panama Still Waiting on That Building of the Future

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Flip open any guidebook to Panama and you'll read that the country's biggest project since the canal is getting set to open "next year." The attraction in question is the Bridge of Life Museum, a celebration of natural biodiversity housed in a futuristic building designed by starchitect Frank Gehry. (You can check out the crazy design online).

The museum's backers hope the Bridge of Life will do for Panama City what Gehry's Guggenheim did for Bilbao, namely, give it a permanent spot on the global cultural map. And Panama seems to have all the tools in place.

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Panama Hotel Has Old World Setting, New World Style

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Considering how built-up and cosmopolitan much of Panama City is, we've found that to our tastes, the accommodations game is surprisingly lacking.

You've got a bunch of very high-end places like The Bristol, which are pretty clearly outside our price range; there's a whole slew of cheap, dimly-lit pensions that strike us as just a tad too sketchy; and there are only one or two backpacker hostels to even speak of.

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The Five Best Beaches in Bocas Del Toro

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

As we mentioned earlier in the week, Bocas Del Toro is home to the best island living Panama has on offer—this tiny strip of islands has a laid-back, good times beach vibe that is so relaxed you'll inevitably feel the pull to stay indefinitely (and many people do).

But the only problem with Bocas Town (where most of the hotels and restaurants are), is that it's gotten so built up there's barely any beachfront to speak of. You can have your morning espresso and then leap right off the coffee shop's deck into the Caribbean, but serious beach time—sand, waves, long walks and all that—requires a bit more of a trek. So we've spent this week hard at work scouring Bocas in search of its best true beaches (try not to feel too bad for us). After the jump, our take on Bocas' most idyllic beach spots.

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Panama Street Food Is Worth Bringing the Cipro

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

When traveling in less developed countries, we're of mixed opinion about street food. The pros are obvious: genuine, not-for-tourist grub at prices often cheaper than a stateside pack of gum. The cons are also obvious, and evident when you spend a significant portion of vacation in the bathroom.

So we don't recommend partaking in street food everywhere you visit, but we're definitely declaring that Panama falls in the category of "bring some back-up stomach meds and pig out."

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Paris Meets Port-au-Prince in Panama

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Much of the recent James Bond flick Quantum of Solace was set in Haiti, but the producers weren't actually all that excited about the hurricane-strewn, poverty-stricken isle; they filmed the Haiti scenes in Panama instead, in what by all appearances is set to become Latin America's "next" neighborhood

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This is Panama's Version of 'Pura Vida'

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Panama has its fair share of high-end beach resorts, with more coming soon from folks like Nikki Beach and Trump. But for those seeking beachcomber's paradise without the fat expense account, the clear answer is Bocas Del Toro.

This idyllic Caribbean archipelago is the closest thing Panama has to a Costa Rican-style pura vida backpacking scene. It's the kind of place where you run in to everyone from five-year-old Panamanians hawking homemade jewelry to ex-pat American yoga instructors to rowdy spring breakers who maybe were looking for the other Panama City. But whoever you are, the only requirement is a solid "chill out" vibe.

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Where to Find WiFi in Panama

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Jaunted is checking out the wild shores of Panama this week, and as you might expect, our first question upon arriving is, where can we find some WiFi?

The answer, quite surprisingly, is just about everywhere. Cosmopolitan Panama City is a telecommunications hub, with tech businesses like Dell, MCI and Swisscom basing much of their Latin American operations here, creating a mini-Silicon Valley along the isthmus. Consequentially, the Internet infrastructure across the country is years ahead of the rest of Central America.

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