Finally, a place for Overlanders in Panama City, Panama, Central America!

[Christian P.]

Panama Passage Opens Overlander Resource Center in Panama City

Overland travelers now have a great place to stay and organize shipping and other logistics in Panama City.

Panama City, Panama, March 19, 2011 – Finally, overlanders can get help in arranging their crossing of the Darien Gap and/or shipping of their vehicles to other destinations.
Panama Passage is now welcoming guests to its comfortable and convenient lodging and resource center in Panama City.

According to Panama Passage founder, Christian Pelletier, “For decades, overlanders have been struggling with the crossing of the Darien Gap. Thousands of people ship across every year in motorcycles, cars and 4x4s. Yet until this day there was no permanent infrastructure in place to assist them with this process. Instead, overlanders had to start from scratch facing ever-changing, inconsistent local agents/shippers. Furthermore, Panama City was lacking overlander lodging with a place to fix and prepare their vehicles, exchange information and stories, and find others with whom to share shipping containers. Not any more.”

Panama Passage is now open and welcoming all overlanders in Panama – whether on bicycle, motorcycle, car, 4x4, large truck or foot. On site you will find a full range of accommodations, a workspace area, contacts, free Wi-Fi, a shipping matchmaking service as well as general shipping advice/assistance and more.

Contact:
Shaun, Christian (2aroundtheworld) and Persephone
www.panamapassage.com
507.6108.4245
GPS Coordinates: 08°57.767′N, 079°32.767′W (8.961045, -79.543762)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v189/snohobo/panamapassage2.jpg

Panama Passage Day 1

[haven]

Good luck with your new business venture, Christian! What's the address of the Panama Passage facility?

Is it true that "Thousands of people cross [the Darien Gap] every year..." ? I think you mean that thousands have to make arrangements to travel around the impassable Darien region each year.

[Rallyroo]

Two motorcyclists shipped their bikes back to the USA from Panama City a month ago. The original quote was $500 per bike, a good deal to crate back to the US. Once the bikes were in route – the owner was asked to pay $1,000 more per bike, or they wouldnt release the bikes to his person.

I'm curious, so what happened in the end to the two BMW motorcycles?

[snohobo]

Good luck with your new business venture, Christian! What's the address of the Panama Passage facility?



The address is

Panama Passage
Barrio Ancon
Calle Parita, Numero 503
Panama, Repubic de Panama

We're located behind the PTJ in Cerro Ancon. The PTJ is the main Police Station in Panama City. I'll provide you all with a map shortly.

In the meantime - give me a call if you need anything.

507-6108-4245

[Trail Monkey]

This is good news. From my recolection the main police station was were we needed to process some of our export documents. Quite frankly it was a very rough area. Having local help will be welcome to all. I really enjoyed panama..

[Christian P.]

I'm curious, so what happened in the end to the two BMW motorcycles?

As far as I know, they paid the extra $1000 and got their bikes delivered in Miami.

But it just shows how inconsistent service is in Panama. Some people have a good experience, some people have a bad one, but pretty much everyone restart the process from scratch every time.

We hope that by having someone local (Shaun) who is permanently there, we can find the best shipping companies/agents, work with them and streamline the process.
And help getting the best price possible.
We have already been talking with some people and have had feedback from current overlanders.

We are obviously very excited to open this place and we are hoping that this will become the "rendez-vous" location in Panama City. As some of you may have guessed, this was the reason we did this quick trip with the Land Cruiser over Christmas. I did not want to announce it before we had everything sorted...

:)

[LaOutbackTrail]

Very nice accommodations there Christian. I hope to enjoy them one day!

[Christian P.]

Very nice accommodations there Christian. I hope to enjoy them one day!

Thanks - we will have a room for you if you need one.

Actually, we have 6 rooms for those who prefer not to camp and are named appropriately...the KTM room, the BMW room, the Land Rover room, etc...

:)

[Martyn]

Great news mate, Je vous souhaite la meilleure des chances

[1leglance]

Not sure if you have spread the word yet but I would think a post on HUBB, Advrider and a few other forums would be welcomed...

I will go check out the website to get more info

[dzzz]

Wonderful idea. I know from my searching there's definitely a need here. As a suggestion a "Driving Central America" FAQ/resource might attract your target group.

[vanderpooch]

named appropriately...the KTM room, the BMW room, the Land Rover room, etc...

Eh hem...Syncro room??:littlefriend:

Congrats! :beer:

lol... At first glance I thought, why the hell would there be overlanders in Florida and especially the Redneck Riviera??

[Rallyroo]

We are obviously very excited to open this place and we are hoping that this will become the "rendez-vous" location in Panama City.

Welp, when I get the chance, I will need to pick up from Panama City, which is where I left off, and continue on south pass the Darien Gap.

[4x4x4doors]

lol... At first glance I thought, why the hell would there be overlanders in Florida and especially the Redneck Riviera??

Yep, me too. The newer Panama City.

[Christian P.]

Not sure if you have spread the word yet but I would think a post on HUBB, Advrider and a few other forums would be welcomed...

I will go check out the website to get more info

Yes we will do that for sure. Just wanted to announce it here first...

:)

[MattScott]

So this was the business you were keeping secret!

[Mr. Leary]

Congratulations, Cristian!

This is wonderful news. Thank you for your dedication to our community and your hard work in making this long needed base of operations a reality.

[Scott Brady]

A great resource for the Panamerican traveler!

[Christian P.]

Looks like 3 bikers just arrived at PP...our third customers now - this is getting really exciting.

:)

thanks everyone for your support. It is a bit stressful at time but I really believe that this will become an awesome place over the next few months!

[snohobo]

And here are those treads for anyone on the other boards.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/south-and-central-america-mexico/moto-4x4-guesthouse-overland-resource-56468#post331076


http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=673654

Guest vehicles so far:

KTM 950SE
DR650/DR650/Versys
Westfalia
Xterra
F650GS
KIA truck thingy!

[Ruined Adventures]

How did I miss this??? Looks like now I have to keep an eye in the "Expedition News" section also...great.

Great to meet you at the OV Expo Christian, if you didn't give me a heads up about this in person who knows if I would have ever found out about it here.
By the way, the Christian who I thought I had you confused with was actually the correct one...I just had the Expo "handle" mixed up.
:coffeedrink:

-Brenton & Shannon

[Christian P.]

How did I miss this??? Looks like now I have to keep an eye in the "Expedition News" section also...great.

Great to meet you at the OV Expo Christian, if you didn't give me a heads up about this in person who knows if I would have ever found out about it here.
By the way, the Christian who I thought I had you confused with was actually the correct one...I just had the Expo "handle" mixed up.
:coffeedrink:

-Brenton & Shannon

Nice to meet you also!

here's the thread for all updates regarding Panama Passage:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59666&highlight=panama+passage

[DiploStrat]

Hope all goes well.

Your venture brings memories of the old days when I had at least one person per week wandering into the office looking for the "ferry to Colombia" or a "cheap boat to Colombia." In those days the overlanders parked at the hippodrome and complained about the Zone police who chased them out of the Zone.

Hopefully, you can establish some reliable contacts to the South so that you can pick up business going the other way. (As some on this forum have discovered, there are still lots of sharks in the trade.)

Your map link made me try to find my old house. Got the neighborhood, but I'm not sure I have found the street. :)

All the very best!

[haven]

Using Christian's map coordinates, here are two maps of the area, with the marker showing where the Panama Passage house is located.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z241/expeditioncampers/passagepanama1.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z241/expeditioncampers/panamapassage2.jpg


Cerro Ancon and Metropolitan Park are great places to go for birders who are just learning the tropical species.

The airport in the first map is Albrook Airport, also called Marcos A. Gelabert airport. This is a former US Air Force facility. Flights from this airport serve Panama and Costa Rica. The true international airport is Tocumen, located a few miles to the east of Panama City along the Panamerican Highway.

Here's a web page that has photos from the top of Cerro Ancon / Ancon Hill.
http://www.panama-guide.com/article.php/20060521214809589

[GaryMc]

Very nice! We will likely be paying you a visit this fall. :sombrero:

[RMP&O]

This is a great contribution to the community on a world wide scale since people from all over the world use PP. Coming up on a year anniversary and it has got to be hundreds if not thousands of people who have benefited from this resource.

Job well done Christian and crew! ;)