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Panama Canal/Costa Rica travel tips question
In the Packing Tips narrative for this trip, it says "comfortable walking shoes with ankle support are a must." In the list, only comfortable walking shoes are specified. I have sturdy, comfortable walking shoes, which I would hike in, but they do not have ankle support, i.e., the shoes do not rise above the ankle. Are these going to be O.K. for the Panama Canal/Costa Rica trip? Otherwise, I will have to bring hiking boots. Thanks for your reply. It might save me taking unneeded footwear when space is at a premium.
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We did this fabulous trip last year and I was just fine wearing shoes without ankle support...I wore crocs and tennis shoes with good tread and did great. Can't recall that I saw anyone wearing shoes that came to or above the ankle.
We're thinking of doing the Costa Rica & Panama Canal trip in early 2026 on Ponant's "Le Champlain." Is it better to go from the Panama Canal to San Jose, or go from San Jose to the Panama Canal? I like ending a trip on a "wow."
Thanks.
We took the tour that started in Panama. We had been to Costa Rica several times and that part of the tour was a disappointment partly because of things like the coffee plantation which was inferior to the one we had been to with Tauck before and also a long drive to a place where they displayed ox carts and a really poor quality gift shop. . It may have changed since. The other factor is that the hotel in Costa Rica is opposite a poor shopping center not near any sights. Whereas, the Panama hotel has amazing of the sea views and you can get to several of the sights along a ‘broadwalk’ by the sea. So I would say end in Panama.
Your shoes will be just fine. I often feel an “ankle support” for shoes make me feel very constricted and uncomfortable.
We were at the other hotel in Costa Rica and we started there. The Marriott is quite nice, and no junky shopping plaza. Very country … not much of anything but a nice hotel. We never left the hotel and enjoyed all the amenities. I even got a nice haircut … both of them.
This thread started in 2013, so I guess the ankle is fine by now😀
We stayed at the Marriot in San Jose. It was nice but not near much. The building was historic and the grounds were nice. The welcoming dinner was set up beautifully and made a nice start to the trip.
We did not like the Marriott in Panama City. The rooms were dated, not well maintained and the shower and a tub sat in the bedroom. I could list a lot of other nitpicking things. The balcony was concrete with BS on it, and an angled view so you had to lean over to see the water. You did get a view into the rooms of building right next door. Most rooms had this design, likely due to the fact it was on a narrow lot and they could advertise some ocean view! I heard the Hilton was better.
Although Panama was near the end of the trip and we arrived after check in time, the hotel kept several of us waiting over 2 hours to get in. It was like they never had a group before. One of the TDs tried to resolve it but to no avail. I did not feel safe walking the streets near there. There was an excellent Italian restaurant at the rear of the hotel.
We like Ponant and overall the trip was fine but we came away with the feeling it is better to see Costa Rica by land. We are returning on our own next winter.
Just found this photo of our view in Panama, I guess we must have stayed at the Hilton. January 2019
Yes. That was the Hilton.
There was a British American on our tour who worked in banking there and remembers there were only two sky scrapers back then.