Good morning everyone, greetings from Cuzco, Peru. I’m on my way toward Machu Picchu today, but I wanted to share my experience with Uber in Panama City, Panama, and Lima, Peru. First things first, the US Dollar is one of the primary currencies of Panama and is on par with the Panamanian Balboa. This makes it easy to calculate how much things cost, including Uber.
There is free WiFi at the Panama City Airport and requesting an Uber is easy. If you are at the international terminal, have your Uber driver pick you up in the parking lot, row 5. Walk out the main terminal and you will see the parking lot in front of you. Each row is labeled and you will see even rows on one side of the sign and odd rows on the other side. There were a few Uber drivers nearby and our driver arrived in 5-6 minutes. Uber charges a flat fee of $25 from the airport to anywhere in Panama City, plus a few small toll road charges. The ride from the Panama City Airport to the Aloft Panama City hotel (3,000 SPG Points, weekend rate) was about 20 minutes and 20 kms away.
On our way back to the Panama City Airport, I asked the Aloft front desk agent to write a note to my Uber driver asking them to drive us to the Panama Canal for a few photos before going to the airport. The note was very helpful and the Uber driver knew exactly what to do. My friend used his free $30 Uber sign up credit to pay for the ride to the Panama City Airport. Even though the total ride was more than 60 kms and over an hour long, the trip cost the same amount as before, due to the $25 flat fee to the airport. I felt kind of bad that he drove 3 times as far/long and made the same amount as a direct trip to the airport.
Tip: unfortunately, without an admission ticket to see the Panama Canal or a cargo ship passing through, there is not much to see :(
To give you another idea of how cheap Uber is in Panama City, we took a 20 minute ride from the Aloft Panama City to the Colonial Town to walk around, check out the shops, and grab some lunch. Our ride there was only $4.34. We decided to walk from the Colonial Town along the boardwalk back toward our hotel. Unfortunately, there is not an easy way to get back to the hotel, so we walked to a Papa John’s Pizza, got a pizza on WiFi and requested another Uber. Minutes later, we were in the Uber and back to our hotel. That 7 minute ride cost only $2.45.
After landing in Lima, Peru, we made our way to the baggage claim area to find our bags WiFi. After connecting to WiFi, I requested an Uber to pick us up at the international terminal, door 3. Within a few minutes, our Uber driver arrived and we were on our way to the Sheraton Lima Hotel & Convention Center (7,000 SPG Points). Uber charges a flat fee of 40 Peruvian Sol from the Lima Airport to anywhere in Lima, and vice versa. Depending on your time of arrival, you may encounter a massive amount of traffic throughout Lima. I have never experienced such crazy traffic, taxi driving skills, and evasive driving maneuvers as I have in Lima. I felt like I was in a Grand Theft Auto video game as my taxi driver was trying to weave in and out of the traffic.
For the record, 40 Peruvian Sol costs about $12.
While walking around Lima, there are several currency exchange places and they are usually grouped together. Here is the one I went to that was a few blocks away from the Sheraton.
The spot rate at the time was around 3.25, so I converted $40 to around 130 Peruvian Sol. The transaction is easy and I was on my way in under 2 minutes.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
P.S. Due to the Uber and SPG partnership, I earned a few bonus SPG Points for my Uber rides in Panama City and Lima. I never turn down any free SPG Points :)
minor correction – its not a flat fee of 40 soles to/from anywhere in Lima. It varies depending on the district you’re going to. Its 50 to Miraflores for example.
And you really should have tipped the driver in Panama, regardless of Uber policy. 5 extra minutes is 1 thing but 3 times a long?
I see, thank you for correcting me on the flat fee to Miraflores. You’re definitely right, we should have tipped our Panama City Uber driver. I wish Uber had a way to tip in the app like Lyft does.
Cant wait for a full report on ur trip. Wondering how much time u spent in lima? Did you do anything there or are you planning on spending time there after Machu Picchu. Would like to know what travel agency you used to book ur trip to Machu Picchu and the cost. I have a trip for Peru in early November so this is perfectly timed for me.
Will do, Raul. As far as Lima goes, we had 1 full day and 2 half days. During our full day, we had a friend of a friend give us a tour of Lima. As far as Cusco, we will only be spending 2 half days there, and 1 day at MP and 1 day at the big city before MP, to catch the train to MP.
Hi We do not know Spanish. Will it be a problem for using uber in Panama? thanks.
No, the app is in English and as long as you know how to spell your hotel or destination, you will be fine.
Hi Grant, I wanted to see your blog on PERU Trip and how you planned and what expenses and what to book etc. Can you provide that ?
Thanks
Hi Arial, I’m sorry I haven’t written about my Peru trip yet, I always get distracted. I haven’t written any post yet. Is there any question I can answer for you right now?
hI
i wanted to know how to plan once you are in LIMA for the whole trip.
Thanks again.
Gotcha, well, you will need to get from Lima to Cusco. There are a few airlines that fly that route. If you are lucky, you can use 4,500 British Airways Avios for the short flight.
Thanks. How did you moved around in CUSCO ? Did you take some guide ?
I booked a tour package that included transportation, lodging and admission to Machu Picchu.
Thank you.
Where did you book tour package ? How much did it cost ?
Did you travel in LIMA also alone or with tour package ?
Thanks.
My friend did all the research and contacted several companies from trip advisor. Total cost was around $500/person. We had a friend in Lima give us a tour of the city.
thank you. Last quesiton. Can you recommend me that tour company. Can you provide name ?
Thanks.
I’ll have to check my emails when I get home :)
Hi
Can you check and reply ?
Thanks.
Sorry about that, my tour arranger was Bill and his email is billescapedtoperu@gmail.com. Tell him Grant and Jim stayed with him in April 2016.