Its the same with Spirit and Costa Rica; it arrives and departs at very inconvenient hours. Never fear: Taxis wait outside airport terminals anytime there's a flight coming in. They're not going to miss a fare.

If you go to your hotel and check in 3 a.m., you're going to pay for that whole night there. They're not going to prorate the daily rate for you. Same with departure. If you want to keep the room and check out, say at 11 p.m. You'll pay for the whole night. If you use this option, you kind of have to stay at a larger place where the front desk is staffed all night. A little B&B isn't going to want to check you in and out at those hours.

The alternative is checking out at regular checkout time, say noon, but then you have to kill 12 hours.

That's the inconvenience. You'll have to decide if it's worth saving $1,000.

plenty of cabs fly www.spirit.com a lot

worth it for me to save...

www.adventure-inn.com very close to the airport nice

When Last there paid $50/nt got free cab ride there very close

www.casabellarita.com will do a pickup also for more upscale

free pickups www.thealtahotel.com www.mybeaconescazu.com

Have fun,

Have you checked into driving two or three hours to save airfare on one with better times? We saved over $1000 on 3 people doing just that. Even paid off airport park lot. It felt much better than worry of place to stay being open. In Panama and nearby Islands private owned places close office early. Good Luck

Hi there,
I'm an American that lives in Panama, and have taken the Spirit flight in the middle of the night many times because it is much cheaper. It is very important to get a ride with a reputable driver when you arrive at this time of day to Panama City. (Safe driver, fair prices. If you've done any traveling in developing countries I shouldn't need to tell you the precautions you should take) If you decide you would like to go to Panama I will give you the name and contact info of the driver that picks me up from the airport whenever I fly through Panama City--and you can schedule the pickup If he is not available he will set you up with another reputable driver. If you decide you're going to Panama to visit Bocas del Toro--you can fly in at 2:00 am--hang out at the international airport in Panama City (Tocumen) for a couple of hours--then have the driver pick you up to take you to the national airport (Albrook) as that airport doesn't open until like 5:30 in the morning. (Takes 30 minutes between airports.) I only travel through Panama City but if you have questions about Bocas I'm happy to answer them. Keep in mind that Spirit nickels and dimes you now for baggage and seat selection--so in the end it sometimes doesn't end up being that much cheaper for a flight.
Enjoy your trip wherever you go! There's a big, beautiful world to explore!
PanamaGirl1

So much to think about... Everyone has raised some great points and maybe it is not worth the savings after all. We live near Buffalo so perhaps we will look into flights out of Toronto.

Hello.... We did this trip last year and arrived in the wee hours. We rented a car, so even though we confirmed that it was open the hour we were arriving, we were a bit nervous that it might be closed. It was open. We hired the car and were on the road to our hotel by 3:00am. We stayed at the Marriott in downtown PC (gorgeous property with wonderful rooms) and the desk clerk that night was kind enough to offer us a 3:00PM checkout. What a treat!

I agree with PanamaGirl's recommendation above regarding taking a cab with a reputable driver. When we left the airport, we briefly got turned around and found ourselves amidst some neon-advertised brothels that seemed to be set back off the road behind shrubbery. While it was a major thoroughfare, and was probably NOT dangerous, it seemed very dark and rather seedy. We'd avoid that area in the wee hours if in the area again.

We drove from PC to Santa Catalina (recommended ONLY if you are a die-hard surfer) to Almirante where we picked up a water taxi across to Bocas Del Toro.

But in short - Is Spirit worth it? Yes. That's how we take our family of five on such wonderful trips.

Let us know where you're headed and we're happy to assist!