Visitors that have only tourist card should leave the country every 90 days. Most of the people are on a budget travel to Panama’s border towns and cross over to Costa Rica for the compsory72 hour exit. It is amongst the cheapest way to readjust your stay here in Panama.
Common method by which the visitors arrive to Panama immigration department is either by bus or car, in the Paso Canoas’ town. Paso Canoas is amongst the busiest Costa Rica-Panama borders. When you plan to leave Panama you must get Panama’s exit visa. After getting the Panama’s exit visa you are only left with 72 hours to return.
Costa Rica immigration office is 5000 meters away from Panama’s immigration office. From Costa Rica immigration office you can get the entry stamp. From here things start getting weird. If your budget is very small and you have to think twice before spending anything then you don’t even have to leave the bounds of the border towns to wait out 72- hours. A few small accommodations that can be found between the Panama and Costa Rica border where you can wait out your 72 hours in any of these $8 hotels, till you have your Costa Rica entrance stamp and Panama exit stamp. You can sit back in the “twilight zone”.
There is a fence on the Costa Rica side but there is no at the Panama’s side to get in to or out of Panama. The area that is a no man’s between both the countries is about 500m in size. The major hub at this area is for the misguided or lost tourists and includes hustlers, backpackers, sketchy characters and duty free shops. One amazing thing you will find here is abundance of Ticos and Panamanians that will be ready to help you always “quicken” your wait. There are unofficial assistants that may approach you to quicken the process which would cost you anywhere between $40 and $80. By this “not-quite-legal” route in a matter of hours you will be able to leave Panama, enter Costa Rica, leave Costa Rica and re-enter Panama. Since this is not legal system, you will have to be cautious as higher officials have a hint of this illegal system. They know that some employees facilitate a speedy re-entrance by taking money under the table.
The unofficial assistants help in a great way as the immigration employees are replaced very often that it is hard to know which employee to go for. Passing money through the window on the Costa Rica side can be dangerous as they have their offices equipped with camera’s that has their employees as the focus.
The Paso Canoas border is a wild and weird place. It lies between Panama and Costa Rica and many interesting things can be seen there. The locals know the area better and they know that the area is crawling with unassuming tourists, so you have to be little careful.