We stayed at Playa Caracol Resort for one week. While the beach and natural surroundings were beautiful, our overall experience was disappointing due to the location and transportation challenges.
The resort is quite remote and is best suited for guests with their own vehicle. We arrived at Panama City Airport and paid $100 for a taxi to the resort. The trip took about two hours. The final section of the drive was along a narrow road through a sparsely populated area, which felt uncomfortable, especially after dark.
Playa Caracol is more of a large residential community than a traditional resort destination. On-site amenities are limited to a small grocery store and a small cafeteria. We arrived on a Sunday and were fortunate that the administration provided a complimentary shuttle to Coronado, where we were able to purchase groceries for the week.
Transportation was our biggest challenge throughout the stay. We were initially told that transportation to Panama City could be arranged for approximately $60 per person. The following day, we were informed that the price would be $160 because there were no other passengers to share the ride. We declined and instead requested transportation to Coronado. Even then, we had to wait about 90 minutes for a taxi to arrive.
Another difficulty was the lack of transportation options. We were unable to use Uber and had to depend entirely on local taxi services. Fortunately, while visiting Coronado, we met a taxi driver and exchanged con