Panama City (Dec 13 - 18)
All,
Just providing an overview from my Panama City trip Dec 13 (Tue) – Dec 18th (Sun). I plan to post this in a few different forums I frequent so some of you may have already seen. Also, much of this will not be new, but I think it's good to confirm the going rate for old timers and provide the lay of the land for newbies. My overall take is that without multiple nonstop connections to USA Cities, Habano's café, and the convenience of quality hotels, Panama City would not be worth a second thought, but it does have those attributes so worth the read. Here goes.
Transportation.
Uber, download it now! I regularly use it in the states and here it is a godsend so you don't need to mess with cabbies. Airport to town is $20-$35 vs $35 for cabs and I didn't have a single ride around town that was more than $5 and some took 20 minutes plus. Tip - Walk to a busy street for quicker pick up. There are many one-ways and it can be a major issue for many of them.
Hotels.
Hyatt Place was where I stayed and a great deal. Cost was $75/ nt for a larger than average room with 2 Queen's, hot breakfast, and free wi-fi. The place also had a nice gym, laundry, and pool on the roof (saw a few cuties up there when I stayed). Girl friendly, but since it's also a family and business hotel I was generally respectful and didn't come back with a girl until later at night (past 11 pm).
Massage Parlors.
Golden Times: Went on Wednesday night around 8 pm. 12-15 girls that were 6. 5's to 8's. Open 7 pm to 3 or 4 am. Cost is 120+tip. I took a curvy Colombian spinner who was great. Nice massage back and front and then FS. The rooms are what you'the expect, but they also had these kind of gymnastic bars hanging from the ceiling (at least in room #6). We made full use of those ha ha.
Pick Up Joints.
Venetos: Went 10:30 pm on Tuesday and there were 10-15 girls, mostly 5's and 6's. Talked to a few and they were Cubans and Dominicans. Cost was $100. Didn't like the quality and didn't barter any further. Swung through Thursday and Saturday nights around 10 pm and it wasn't any better.
Habanos Café: Went most nights around 10:30 pm. Girls really roll in around 11 pm. And peaks around 11:30 pm. The best nights seemed to be Wednesday and Thursday vs Friday and Saturday, but it may have been influenced by the holidays. Colombians, Venezuelans, and some Panamanians. Usually 30 to 50 girls who were mostly 7's and 8's with a few 9's. I'm a very picky guy who likes blonde Latinas and even found a couple of those who were quite stunning. Most of the girls try to start at $150 to $200 for short time, with the ability to work the majority down to $80 to $100 for short time. The hotter 4 or 5 seemed to have a basement of $120 to $150, but this was usually around midnight and they may have gotten cheaper later on. One of the cool things about Habano's is the ability to take the girls to the second floor bar to better inspect the goods and have a conversation. Downside is you generally need to buy them a drink, but the upside is I was usually able to get the girls down to $80 once away from the chica 'union'. If they did hold to $120 then I tried to negotiate a massage and shower. The dynamic was also interesting as the ratio was usually 2:1, but 65% of the guys were local Panamanians who would just string the girls along so they had some cute eye candy sitting with them, but rarely took anyone. Beers and mixed drinks were $5.
Ashe: More of a dance club type set up with girls that seemed to be Panamanian and Colombian. Within a few blocks of Hyatt and Habano's Café. I went on a Friday and there was a $10 cover. It seemed liked 3:1 guys to girls (bad! Not sure why the guys were hanging out there. Hard to talk with girls there since it was loud, but if you like to dance it's the place to go.
Day Game.
Bocatorena: Locals joint south of the Seafood Market. Two rooms full of 40 to 60 4's to 6's and it was $15-$20 for 15 minutes. Only place I could find for during the day. Not of the faint of heart. And it smells horrible! In a sketchy part of town so if you're solo I'the go during the day. I went there a couple times in the late afternoon through early evening and was the only gringo. I never did grab a girl. $2 beers.
La Mayor: Strip club next to Bocatorena. Quality wasn't any better, but for a $3 cover it had A / see and plenty of places to sit. The girls were not attractive. 5's and 6's maybe. I believe cost was $25 or $30 for 30 minutes during the day and then went up to $50 for 30 minutes in the evening.
Tinder.
Definitely some girls on here, but I think there were a lot of fakes as well. I found two Venezuelans on there for $40/$50 for a 'full massage'. I had heard Badoo was a good app, but I didn't fine any quality on there. Mostly girls looking for friends. Overall not sure it's worth the effort unless you have a week or so as many of the girls live outside the main city and you end up texting back and forth forever.
Restaurants.
I was impressed by the quality of decently priced food. Recommendations close to the action include Beirut, Costa Azul, and Manalos (sp)? Also, there was a nice little outdoor coffee and lunch place called Caffe Max next to Habano's Café. It's run by some really nice Venezuelans and work checking out.