Things you need to know before you get in a cab

About To cab or Uber in Panama City?

Both cabs and Ubers are very inexpensive in Panama City, so in terms of cost, you should select whichever mode of transportation works best for you at the time. Often, depending on the time of day, Ubers might be hard to book, while there may be many taxis in your immediate area ready to drive you. But one thing to know before getting in a cab. Tell the driver where you're going and immediately ask how much they will charge you (cuánto cobrarás). Otherwise, you are at the driver's mercy to charge you whatever they want once you arrive at your destination. So negotiate the fare before you leave the curb. The second thing is there are very few street addresses in Panama, so you must provide the exact name of your destination, and the street name if you know it. This will help the driver to determine your fare. It is also helpful when in a cab you have the destination pulled up on Google maps (along with Google translator if you don't speak Spanish), because the driver may not know where your destination is. Naturally, all this information is calculated for you with Uber. Don't be surprised or offended if the cab decides they don't want to go in the direction of destination (depending on traffic or if it's raining). Also, many times cabs will pick up other passengers headed in the same direction to make more money. Depending on how far you're traveling, you shouldn't pay more than $4-6 for a cab within Panama City.