How To Get From Tocumen Airport to Panama City — ALONG DUSTY ROADS

Take the Metro from Tocumen International Airport to Panama City

Unfortunately, there’s no convenient public bus or shared airport shuttles between Tocumen Airport and Panama City, but there’s finally now a great alternative option for those simply looking for the cheapest option – the metro.

Tocumen Airport was only joined to the city’s metro line a couple of years ago, making public transport into the city much more straightforward; previously you required a couple of buses.

However, the metro is almost guaranteed not to show up when you’re looking for a route on Google Maps, which instead defaults to the convoluted series of bus connections. Much to the joy of taxi drivers, this catches a lot of people out.

This is what you need to know.

From arrivals, it’s a 5-10 minute walk to the Aeropuerto Tocumen metro station (here on Google Maps) – if you come out of Terminal Two, it’s about 200 metres to your right. Signs are scant, so you may need to ask around, but we suggest not asking taxi driver scouts, as they’ll likely tell you it’s not operating today or something like that.

A one-way fare is 85 cents (Panama uses the US dollar), and you can now just tap at the turnstile with a contactless bank car or your mobile wallet – if unsure, look for the turnstile on the right with MasterCard and Visa symbols. Just make sure you’re using a bank card that doesn’t charge for foreign usage!

Alternatively, you can buy and top-up a physical Metro Card at the station.

Once on the platform, you need to take the following route for downtown:

· Line 2 (green line) for two stops to Corredor Sur

· Transfer at Corredor Sur to another Line 2 train, southbound toward San Miguelito

· Transfer at San Miguelito to Line 1 (red line) towards 5 de Mayo, or your alternative final stop

So, that’s going to be at least two connections for most metro journeys, but it’s all quite clear once you’ve boarded.

You should allow an hour for the trip from start to end, depending on waiting times and how quickly you make the transfers.

Whilst the metro is modern, air-conditioned, and fairly luggage-friendly, as well as the cheapest and most reliable public transport option from Tocumen Airport, we believe some caveats are necessary:

· The 5 de Mayo station (Google Maps) is still a 20 to 30-minute walk from the centre of Casco Viejo, where many of you will likely be staying. It won’t be fun if you have lots of luggage or are arriving in the peak of the afternoon heat.

· The area around that station may be a bit of a jarring or hectic introduction for first-timers in Central America.

· Nobody should plan on arriving with the metro from the airport and walking after dark.

Time | About an hour from the airport to downtown stations, plus walking time to your accommodation

When | As far as we’re aware, the airport metro line runs from 5am-11pm Monday to Friday, until 10pm on Saturday, and from 7am-10pm on Sundays.

Cost | 85 cents per person – just remember to tap out with the same card on exit!

Know | A walk is still necessary from the metro, and you should only do this route during daylight hours