I might go to the US at Panama game and am clueless.

[asdf2]

It looks like I'll be in Central America in June and may be able to make it to Panama for our qualifier there. Has anyone been there before? Is Panama City and the stadium safe?

To be honest I know very little about the country other than the canal, Manuel Noriega and basic stats. I'll be with my wife and 2 little kids so safety and logistics are especially important to me. The atmosphere looked nuts on TV for the qualifiers in the last round.

[Thomas Flannigan]

I have been to Panama but not for a game. The city is safe if you take relatively normal precautions. I have not been to a game there but I think it is OK. We have taken our kids to national team games and it was fine, really.
Panama City has a lovely old French quarter. Shoot some more questions if you like. There was a thread about this 7 months ago and there was a guy who knew a lot of about it.

Shopping is good in Panama City. Tell you wife about that!

[denver_mugwamp]

It looks like I'll be in Central America in June and may be able to make it to Panama for our qualifier there. Has anyone been there before? Is Panama City and the stadium safe?

To be honest I know very little about the country other than the canal, Manuel Noriega and basic stats. I'll be with my wife and 2 little kids so safety and logistics are especially important to me. The atmosphere looked nuts on TV for the qualifiers in the last round.

Panama is the undiscovered gem of Central America. The best book to get is the Lonely Planet guide. Panama City has many nice areas and will remind you of a US city. It's possible to find great hotel rooms for $25 or $30. Food is inexpensive and very good, especially if you like seafood. PC is very cosmopolitan and there everything from Indian to Sushi. I haven't been to the stadium but all the people I met were overwhelmingly friendly and helpful. One more interesting thing--they use US paper money although they mint their own coins.

Panama is worth a few extra days to travel around. There's lots of interesting day trips by cab--not too expensive but you'll have to bargain. It might be the only CA country where you can drink water out of the tap nearly everywhere. The only real place to avoid is Colon. There's a lot of crime there. PM me if you need more info.