San Francisco is the cheapest neighborhood in the center and has more of a local vibe, but it’s still an upper class area and has a few expats. El Cangrejo is a working class neighborhood where numerous teachers, expats, and hookers live in harmony. I say working class, but the neighborhood is quite wealthy for Panamanian standards.
I preferred the center, but Casco Viejo is a great option as well. There are numerous bars and clubs within walking distance while in the neighborhood. Casco Viejo is the best bet for backpackers and nightlife junkies, but the center of the city is better for all else. You’ll get a better feel for the city staying near the center. The closer to Marbella and Calle Uruguay – the better your location.
Day Game
I’m not a huge day game guy, but I did do a bit of approaching in Panama City during the day.
There are three malls in Panama City that all provide ample day game opportunities. Multicentro, Multiplaza, and Albrook all offer day gamers something different. I despised Multicentro, but found the other two malls pleasant and target rich.
Multiplaza is the upscale mall in the city and you will see a number of beautiful women walking around the mall. Albrook is just as nice as Multicentro, but is visited by more locals as it is next to the bus stop. Albrook was my personal favorite mall for a day game in Panama City.
Walking around Via Espana and Via Argentina at certain times during the day provided certain opportunities to day game as well. I often did my one approach a day here. However, you’ll have to have a bit of patience in this environment. You’ll only see hot girls every so often.
However, the best day game spot in the city is Cinta Costera. This path next to the ocean features a number of people relaxing, walking, running, and biking at all times during the day. I found walking Cinta Costera for an hour or so is the best place to day game in Panama City.
While I never ventured much to Casco Viejo during the day, I’m sure you’d find some girls around the area as well, especially in the coffee shops.
Night Game
There are hundreds of bars, clubs, discos and pubs located throughout the whole city. I certainly didn’t visit all of them, but I did dig up some intelligence. The main nightlife areas are Casco Viejo, Calle Uruguay, the Causeway, and the Hard Rock hotel. I never visited the Causeway, but did spend extensive time in all the other areas.
Nightlife changes quickly in Panama City, occasionally changing on a monthly basis. Panama City is often compared to Miami in this regard. Thus, you’ll want to make sure to ask around when looking for a place to visit at night. Ask girls on Tinder, ask Couch Surfers and make local friends. That being said, I did find a number of places I really enjoyed.
Here are a few of my favorite bars in PTY:
Prive/Seis
Two small discos located in Calle Uruguay and stacked on top of each other, they often rotate music types and have special drink nights. Prive is better in my opinion and often gets packed late on a Tuesday night. You’ll find locals mixed with expats and travelers in both of these spots.
Hard Rock Hotel
Both of the nightlife spots in the Hard Rock Hotel can be good. The nightclub, Bling is decent sized and provides a number of approach opportunities. The rooftop bar, which is the highest in Latin America, can be good as well. However, the rooftop can often be filled with couples and old gringos with prostitutes. Expect bitch shields to be up, but the quality to be good.
Relic
Located in Casco Viejo, this is the one bar everyone in Panama City says to visit. And for good reason – it gets packed on the weekend and most people speak English. The bar is connected to a hostel and the crowd is quite international. This is a good starting point for any trip to Panama City during the weekends, but I’d venture away from it unless you’re having great luck here.
La Buat
Pretty local spot in Casco Viejo and potentially the best place to grab a grip of phone numbers in Panama City. The place is dark and intimate with many levels and walls giving a player room to operate. English is not great here, but if she likes you then she’ll help you work through the language barrier.
Theatro
A crazy popular spot in Casco Viejo with locals and travelers alike, this place gets packed on a Friday and Saturday. Don’t plan on doing much, but dance floor game here. It’s loud as fuck and dark. Electronic music is popular here and there are often girls in big groups. The upstairs was my favorite spot to talk with chicks.
Tantalo
This roof top bar in Casco Viejo is pretty fucking dope, but there’s one problem – it’s hard to tell which girls are hookers and which are not. From a purely egotistical standpoint, I expect every girl to react incredibly positive when I approach. Thus, if she’s a prostitute I rarely know at the jump. So I wasted an hour or so here on a couple of nights chatting to hookers by accident. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Online Game
Panama City may have been the best city in Central America for online dating. While the options were still somewhat limited, the girls were often eager to meet up. The city hasn’t been infested with too many gringos and you still have value in online PTY.
In PTY, you can use:
Tinder
OkCupid
Plenty of Fish
Latin American Cupid
Badoo
I met most of the girls I got with through online dating. I used Tinder, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, and Latin American Cupid. I forgot about Badoo in PTY. I also messed around with Instagram here. The two best sites to use are Tinder and Latin American Cupid. The chicks on OkCupid can be easy, but there are not many of them.
I recommend opening girls in Spanish if she doesn’t have any English in her profile. If she has English in her profile text, you can use whatever opener you normally would back in the Western World.
Date Spots
With bars on literally every corner, you’ll have no shortage of good date spots in Panama City. I found myself continually trying new places on each date I went on. If you’re staying in the city center, you’ll want to run your dates near Via Argentina or in the Calle Uruguay district. If you’re staying in Casco Viejo, you’ll obviously host your dates there.
In Calle Uruguay, you’ll have numerous options (depending on the night). I highly recommend staying away from the bars that are hooker establishments – you’ll notice which ones those are quickly.
Alta Bar
I enjoyed hosting dates at the roof top longue in Alta Bar. The vibe is chill and couches comfortable. However, you’ll be paying western prices. I’d typically do a max of two drinks here and then bounce her back to my place.
White
White is another upscale lounge in Calle Uruguay that has a good date vibe. Sushi here is expensive, but the place is fancy. I’d only bring a girl I’m struggling to close here. The spot gives off a “boyfriend-provider” type of vibe on a first date, but is very nice.
La Rana Dorada
In Via Argentina and pretty much every part of the city, there’s a bar chain called La Rana Dorada. It’s a chill bar with good craft beers, but only a date spot. It’s definitely not a place to pick up chicks. If a chick is westernized at all, she’ll often love this place.
Le Brassiere
Le Brassiere was my favorite date spot in all of PTY. It’s a little bar across the street from the Grand International Hotel, and it’s known for the infamous booty statue. They have a great selection of international brews and the vibe is really chill. Have a few beers here. Then bounce the chick over to the sensual booty statue to take funny photos.
Tantalo
In Casco Viejo, you have numerous date options. However, I didn’t spend much time there. Tantalo is a great roof top bar in Casco Viejo that overlooks all of PTY. I’d start there when working your date game in Casco Viejo. Just avoid going late on popular nights.
Panama City Overall
Panama City is a great city for a budding international playboy looking to meet some cuti
es. I had an incredible time here and some of the girls I met here I still keep in touch with today. While PTY isn’t super cheap, I found it worth it.
There are gorgeous girls here, great nightlife and friendly locals. I don’t have anything bad to say about Panama City. If you’re traveling Central America and care about hooking up with chicks, Panama City is a must stop.
Bocas del Toro
Positives of Bocas
Nightlife
The nightlife in Bocas is pretty good almost every night of the week, even in low season. In high season, I’d imagine the place to be a perfect spot for pulling backpacker chicks. Standard western style game works, but the only issue is the male backpacker thirst. If you hesitate, someone else will approach her.
Beach Life
Bocas is a chain of islands. As such, the place is pretty laid back. There are numerous beaches all through the archipelago. Some are good for surfing and some are better for relaxing. Enjoy the beaches during the day before resting up for the nightlife in the evening.
Negatives of Bocas
Lodging
The issue is that most of the hostels in Bocas are complete shitholes. They are cramped, crappy, and a number of them are infested with bed bugs. If the hostel was worth a shit, it was expensive as hell.
Annoying Locals
I’m not sure I met more annoying street hustlers anywhere else in Central America. These dudes were grimy. While I found the town safe, the local men will try to intimidate some travelers. I never had an issue, but a friend was pretty nervous after he got threatened one night.
Where To Stay
Lodging is absolutely shit in Bocas, but I found a couple of decent options.
If you are a budget traveler, I highly recommend Hotel Las Brisas. The place is in a perfect location with a swim off dock on the water. It’s cheap and honestly, quite shitty. However, I didn’t have any issue with the spot when I stayed there.
My friends and I booked a triple with air conditioning (a big plus on the island) and a private bath for $12 per person. While not that cheap, this was cheaper than a 12-bed hostel dorm in any decent hostel in Bocas.
While I struck out in bringing a girl back here, the place is “chica-friendly” for sure. I saw a couple German guy slaying busted backpackers while I stayed here (they were part of the “always be fucking” crowd, but eventually bagged a couple cuties).
If Brisas is a bit too shitty for your tastes then check out Casa Verde on the main island as well. I saw the place and it’s quite nice, but I doubt it’s “chica-friendly” for the most part. If you really want to party in Bocas, you’ll want to stay at Aqua Lounge. The hostel is attached to the bar. While it sucks for sleeping, you can bang chicks in the rooms or dorms on any given night.
Day Game
I never found the perfect place to run a day game in Bocas. I met a few chicks during the day here, but nothing ever came of it. You can meet chicks pretty easily during tours to the beach during the day. A Standard backpacker day game works here. No need to go for a number of anything. They probably won’t have a phone and if she is horny, she’ll be out later that night.
Healthy girls go to Bocas Blended often. Feel free to chat with any cuties you see grabbing a smoothie. On the main drag in Bocas Town, you’ll find a number of chicks walking around during the day as well. However, they may not be into your approach. The common street hustlers that compromise the local population will have already hit on and hustled them enough while walking the main street.
Night Game
The nightlife is pretty good on Bocas, and I was there in low, low season. The great thing about partying in Bocas is everything is close. You can visit all the bars on any given night while walking around, or take a $1 water taxi.
Aqua Longue
On a Wednesday and a Saturday, Aqua Lounge is the only place to go. The bar/club is a $1 water taxi ride from the main island. Hop in a taxi and go party the night away. This is the only bar to be at in Bocas on these nights. It was tame during my night there as it was low season, but tales of high season at Aqua Lounge are crazy. If you’re in Bocas, I wouldn’t miss it.
The Bookstore
The Bookstore or Bocas Bookstore or La Libreria – is often the best place to go before the bigger bars really get going. The place often features live music and can be fun. It’s located at the end of the main street in Bocas Town and is a half indoor, half outdoor type of place.
Iguana’s
Iguana’s is the main attraction on nights where the crowd doesn’t go to Aqua Lounge. The place features a dance floor, swim off docks, and good vibes. Talking to girls by the bar, on the elevated deck, and outside near the swimming areas worked well. I met the only chick I could pull a make out from in Bocas at the bar here.
The Wreck Deck
The Wreck Deck, also known as Barco Hundido is the late night, after hours spot in Bocas. The set up of this bar is incredible and a players dream. However, in low season the place sucks ass. In high season, I doubt there is any player who couldn’t pull a make out here late night.
Online Game
Non-existent, as most backpacker chicks don’t date online and the island local girls aren’t exactly hot. Give Tinder a few swipes if you’re so inclined, just don’t expect much.
Bocas del Toro Overall Impression
The only beach-party spot in Panama, Bocas del Toro is incredibly popular in the backpacking scene. I stayed four days and four nights here. I loved it, but I didn’t get laid.
Bocas is a chain of islands, but if you want to get laid then I suggest you stay on the main island, Bocas Town. The town is where a majority of the nightlife in Bocas happens. If beach life combined with partying is what you’re looking for, Bocas is by far the best spot in Panama.
*Pro Tip In Bocas
The food in Bocas was average in every which way. There are a number of nice international restaurants, but they charge out the ass. Expect to pay $12 - 14 for a good meal at one of these spots.
However, it’s easy to eat well in Bocas. There are a couple of local restaurants that charge $4 for a huge meal. They are decent, but nothing special. Search the main street until you find them. You can also walk the main street and look at specials written on chalkboards outside restaurants. I find a couple huge meals for $7 this way.
The restaurant I ate a majority of my meals at was called Bocas Blended. It’s a little shack made out of an old bus. They serve breakfast, smoothies, and wraps. If you go between 4-5 PM, you can get two big chicken wraps for $7. I’d wake up and eat breakfast with a smoothie at Bocas Blended for $7. Then I’d get two wraps at 4:45. I eat one with a smoothie. Then I’d take a nap and eat the other one before going out. $17 a day for food wasn’t bad.
San Blas Islands
San Blas Islands are incredibly beautiful. The islands are on the Atlantic side of Panama and stunning. However, this is not a place to meet women. You’d have to be lucky to get laid in San Blas.
However, the islands are a must visit while in Panama. If you want to get laid while in San Blas, you’ll want to spend a weekend on a more “party” island in the archipelago. Contact your hostel or hotel and see what their recommendations are. If not to your liking or you are staying in an apartment, check here.
You’ll want to book Franklin Island, as that is the best option to pull backpacker chicks. The food is absolutely shit, so make sure you bring granola bars to keep you full. Also, a stay of two-nights is all I would recommend, as there is no electricity. Saturdays on Franklin Island in San Blas feature a huge speaker on the beach. People dance and drink rum late into the night. It’s a great time.
My boy and I tried to run game on a couple German girls for two days. They were interested, but I couldn’t even get a make out. He got a few pecks, but couldn’t get anywhere. Loyalty to boyfriends cock-blocked us on a deserted island…
David
The premier second tier city in Panama, David is barely ok. Roughly 100,000 residents live in th
e safe city and there are a few online dating options. However, I wouldn’t recommend staying for more than 2-3 days unless you want to work online without distraction for a bit.
Panama for Playboys Page 2