joining a yacht in Panama and Tahiti

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Little Five

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I am joining a friend's yacht at Panama in 10 days time and have discovered that immigration in Panama require you produce an airline ticket home. We are cruising through the canal and across the Pacific to Australia via lots of the wonderful islands over a 10 month period. The problem arises again when other crew join in Tahiti. Has anyone come across this problem and got a solution?
Thanks
 
I think tcm of this forum has previously suggested buying a fully refundable return ticket and simply cancelling it ( and hence getting your money back ) once you have been admitted.
 
Visit noonsite, if EU passport no problem either Panama or French Polynesia (they need ticket/bond for non-eu). We are in Panama awaiting transit, much more advice possible, (such as airport to Shelterbay for $30) pm if needed.

Dratsea
 
I did this trip a couple of years ago. Not having your foresight I didn't check immigration problems so was not aware that there were any! None the less I mocked up a letter from the yacht owner (ie my friend) confirming that I was joining the vessel as First Mate and confirming the expected date of departure from Panama. This, together with a commercially endorsed YM cert, got me through immigration without question. What I didn't anticipate was that I was carrying some spares for the boat (sorry, can't recall which) that technically needed an import licence, which I only discovered on the customs card on the local flight from Cancun into Panama City. However going through red channel and declaring them was met with a shrug and a wave through, I suspect no one could be bothered with the paper work.
I can't help on Tahiti as that was my exit point back to Europe.
It's a great trip and I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Assuming you're routing via Galapagos, try to get a visa for as long as you can. What was then the normal permitted stay of fourteen days would not have been long enough. We had, ahem, an "engine problem" and were granted a one month permit by the Port Captain which the immigration police matched with a visa. They also managed only to charge us a tourist tax for the boat, rather than per person on board which saved us a few, well, a lot, of dollars. I enjoyed every minute on these very friendly and fascinating islands and would love to go back, to see what I missed
 
In 2011 I was fortunate enough to take a boat from Antigua to Australia for a friend. At both Panama, Tahiti and New Caledonia we had crew changes. In all cases I had given the joining crew a letter beforehand made up on a fake letterhead saying they were joining a delivery trip as crew and would not have a return ticket. None of them had any problems coming through immigration.

French Polynesia is very easy if you have a European passport, but in our case neither myself or the crew joining in Tahiti had a European passport. On arrival I paid for an agent to handle all the bond for myself and the crew arriving from Australia. As I remember this cost about US$80. While I was waiting for my crew I spoke to some Americans at Papeete Yacht Quay who had paid their own bond in the Marquesas and that was a real hassle for them trying to draw bits out each day to meet the bond amount. As they wanted to transit through Bora Bora they were also concerned about getting their bond back. But they told me that their bond was returned by the immigration people in Papeete before they left on the understanding that they would not spend the rest of their life on Bora Bora.

Overall despite the bureacracy in both Panama and Tahiti, both were relatively easy to deal with and no-one got too upset if you were not able to do what they wanted immediately. Appointing an agent for both our transit of the Panama Canal and for French Polynesia certainly made things much smoother.

New Caledonia [which I know you didn't ask about] didn't require a bond but was a real hassle for us as President Sarkozy was visiting at the time for the opening of the South Pacific Games and the local customs official decided that as the boat had sailed past Venezuela and Colombia and actually visited Chile [Easter Island] we must have weapons on board. They spent a good eight hours ripping the boat apart looking for a secret compartment. They were not satisfied until they brought on a dog who was unable to find anything. New Caledonia has one of the most delightful lagoons for sailing that I have ever come across.
 
Little Five said:
I am joining a friend's yacht at Panama in 10 days time and have discovered that immigration in Panama require you produce an airline ticket home. We are cruising through the canal and across the Pacific to Australia via lots of the wonderful islands over a 10 month period. The problem arises again when other crew join in Tahiti. Has anyone come across this problem and got a solution?
Thanks
Click to expand...

We flew back to Panama on 29th Dec to rejoin our boat at Shelter Bay Marina. You do not need an airline ticket out and we were only asked how long we wanted our visa for Panama - 90 days. We did not say we were joining a boat and on the landing card put down the name of the airport hotel we were staying at for the first night (flight in at 2150). We have flown in and out of Panama on 3 round trips in 2012 ( two to UK and one to Peru) and all have been the same.

There is a hotel at Shelter Bay Marina.

The cost of a taxi from the airport to Shelter Bay is $100-120. The cheapest way is to take a bus or taxi to the main bus depot in Panama City at Allbrook Mall, then the Express bus to Quattro Altos, Colon (rather than Colon Bus station), then a taxi to Shelter Bay at Fort Sherman. Although we have not had any problems at the bus station in Colon it is dangerous.

Maybe we will see you - what boat are you joining?
 
PhilipH said:
We flew back to Panama on 29th Dec to rejoin our boat at Shelter Bay Marina. You do not need an airline ticket out and we were only asked how long we wanted our visa for Panama - 90 days. We did not say we were joining a boat and on the landing card put down the name of the airport hotel we were staying at for the first night (flight in at 2150). We have flown in and out of Panama on 3 round trips in 2012 ( two to UK and one to Peru) and all have been the same.

There is a hotel at Shelter Bay Marina.

The cost of a taxi from the airport to Shelter Bay is $100-120. The cheapest way is to take a bus or taxi to the main bus depot in Panama City at Allbrook Mall, then the Express bus to Quattro Altos, Colon (rather than Colon Bus station), then a taxi to Shelter Bay at Fort Sherman. Although we have not had any problems at the bus station in Colon it is dangerous.

Maybe we will see you - what boat are you joining?
Click to expand...

PM sent.
 
PhilipH said:
The cost of a taxi from the airport to Shelter Bay is $100-120. The cheapest way is to take a bus or taxi to the main bus depot in Panama City at Allbrook Mall, then the Express bus to Quattro Altos, Colon (rather than Colon Bus station), then a taxi to Shelter Bay at Fort Sherman. Although we have not had any problems at the bus station in Colon it is dangerous.
Click to expand...

The train journey from Panama City to Colon is one of the great rail journeys of the world [US$20+]. Unfortunately it only runs once a day in each direction. And Panama City to Colon train leaves about 0700. Really well air conditioned 1950s scenic cars, free coffee, free wifi and the cutest hostesses dressed in old conductor uniforms you will ever see. The journey takes about 40 minutes and must be the shortest trans continental rail journey in the world.

In 2011 in Colon a taxi from the station [very safe area] to Shelter Bay Marina cost US$40 but you will need to negotiate. Taxis in Panama City itself are as cheap as chips, but always get an agreed price beforehand. US$7 from the centre of the City to the station.
 
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