Discussions started by Blogob

For an upcoming trip to Panama, we contacted the Tout Panama network, which requires a (real) credit card for the rental companies it acts as an intermediary for—something that’s rare and apparently not so easy to get in France. I’ve posted another question about where to find a credit card in France, but that’s a different topic.

Usually, we do our research directly on forums and especially Google Maps. We scan all the listed rental agencies and scrutinize the reviews. Very often, we come across local agencies with excellent ratings. So we avoid the big brands, which always find a way to scam you.

But for the first time, I can’t find anything that inspires confidence. On the contrary, in Panama City, all of them have terrible ratings (scams, delayed charges, etc.).

My question: are there any travelers who can recommend reliable agencies (possibly with contact details if they’re companies) that might accept debit cards?

Thanks so much in advance,

Hi, I’m planning a trip to Panama and have a general question, because it seems that debit cards are systematically refused there.

Are there any credit cards available in France that I can use for travel without restrictions, especially for renting cars abroad?

I’d appreciate any useful info: bank names, how to sign up, specific requirements, guarantees, how much to put in the account, etc.

Thanks in advance!

Hi there, we're heading to Panama.

We're looking for up-to-date info on day trips to: 1-Coiba (from Santa Catalina). I’ve seen prices like: $65 per person + 20 € for the national park entrance, and also a "package" price of $225... Has anyone got recent info? Are these prices to be shared, or is it really a minimum of 85 € per person (even for a 6-year-old kid)?

2-Escudo de Veraguas From Bocas del Toro, I’ve seen prices around 150 € with a 2-hour lancha ride. Or from Calovébora (no info on price or trip duration).

Has anyone been to this island recently and have any up-to-date tips?

Thanks in advance,

Hi there,

After a lot of hesitation about our Central America destination (trip in July), we finally decided on Panama.

For this country, we're looking for info to fine-tune our itinerary.

To avoid spending entire days in the car, does anyone have any firsthand experiences or suggestions for towns or villages to stop at: Between Panama City and Valle de Anton? Between Valle de Anton and Pedasí (Santiago, Parita, Chitré)? Between Pedasí (or another nearby village) and Santa Catalina? Is Isla Cébaco worth the detour? (How do you get there?) Is there another departure point for Coiba (other than Santa Catalina)? Between Santa Catalina and David (is Boca Chica worth the detour?) Between David and Boquete? Between Boquete and Bocas del Toro?

Also, we’ve seen that Panama is known for its waterfalls, some of which look stunning—like Cascada Macho de Monte and La Silampa.

Do you know of any waterfalls that are easy to access (we’re traveling with a child) and don’t require hours of hiking?

Thanks in advance if you can help! (Of course, we’re researching everywhere, but nothing beats real-life experiences.) :)

Hi there,

We’re planning a trip to Central America and South America, but we’re still unsure about the destination. It’s for a trip in July 2025, so weather is definitely a factor. For Ecuador, the weather seems favorable, but my wife knows an Ecuadorian woman who told her that the security situation has really deteriorated, especially on the west side (beaches, etc.).

Has anyone traveled to Ecuador recently (in 2025) and could share their experience? (security situation, recommended itineraries)

In terms of things to see (typical villages, landscapes), weather, and prices, Ecuador seems more appealing to us than Costa Rica or Panama, which we’re also considering.

I posted a few questions recently about Costa Rica and Panama, since we're still hesitating between the two for a trip in July.

Our plan would be to drive up through Panama to Bocas del Toro, then fly back (a classic loop).

We have tons of questions, since travel blogs and sites are often so glowing, which is why we'd love to hear real firsthand experiences.

1-We're really drawn to small colonial-style villages. Are there any similar to Casco Viejo in Panama City elsewhere in the country? 2-Which island is worth the detour, and are there any paradise-like beaches (clear water, snorkeling right from the beach) outside of Bocas del Toro and San Blas? 3-Which coast is better between Panama City and Bocas del Toro?

We're traveling with a child, so we'll avoid anything like treks or waterfalls that are hard to access.

Thanks in advance if you can help us out! 🙁

Hi there, we're looking into Costa Rica for a short trip in July (10 days).

From what we've read here and there: - Most travelers head to the Pacific coast. - For a July trip, the Caribbean coast is less prone to heavy rains.

Is that correct?

Question: When it comes to beaches, parks, and driving distances, is the Caribbean coast worth it compared to the Pacific coast?

Especially for the beaches—I’ve seen tons of blogs and sites with photos of Caribbean beaches vs. Pacific ones, and it seems like the Pacific side is way more paradise-like. Is that accurate? (It looks like, regardless of season or weather, the sea on the Caribbean side is darker and choppier.)

Thanks in advance if anyone can share their experience (Caribbean vs. Pacific, pros, cons, etc.)

Hi there,

I have a few questions about Panama. I’ve heard that it’s possible to travel from Panama to the San Blas Islands.

1- Does anyone have information about small plane transport to the islands? I understand it’s possible to fly to one of the main islands, but there might also be other drop-off points for visiting more remote islands. We’re traveling with kids and would prefer to avoid a 5 AM wake-up and a mountain car ride if possible.

2- Regarding our route through the country: we’ve noted the issues with renting a car. We’ve seen that a common itinerary is to fly directly to Bocas del Toro afterward, then return in stages by bus or rental car.

We imagine taking the bus would be really long and tiring (especially with a child). If we rent a car all the way to the west of the country, do you have any recommendations? (e.g., options to rent there and drop it off at the airport or in Panama City, names of local agencies?)

Thanks in advance!

“Slow travel” is a concept that some tout as a philosophical revolution in travel. But on closer inspection, it’s nothing more than a marketing repackaging of an age-old practice.

This term is wrapped in an aura of intellectualism. It promises to reinvent the experience of travel by valuing slowness, contemplation, and cultural immersion.

The term “slow travel” claims to bring depth to travel, but it often relies on clichés.

Taking your time, meeting locals, avoiding quick visits—these practices have always existed and are nothing revolutionary.

Before the era of airplanes, high-speed trains, and express stays, traveling necessarily meant taking your time. Pilgrims, merchants, and explorers already practiced a form of “slow travel,” without hashtags or self-proclaimed spiritual guides.

Crossing lands on foot or by horse required total immersion in the landscapes, cultures, and unpredictability of the journey. Yet, no one attributed philosophical intentions to them: it was a necessity.

Slow travel, in its current version, may be less a philosophy than a reflection of the contradictions of an affluent class searching for meaning in a world they help overload.

So-called “slow” travel is presented as a privileged way to understand a culture, but this claim is debatable. A region never represents an entire country.

Immersing yourself in a community doesn’t guarantee a complete or more authentic understanding than any other way of traveling.

Slowness in itself doesn’t guarantee depth or ethics. You can immerse yourself in a place over a weekend, just as you can spend months in a country without grasping its subtleties.

By positioning itself as an antidote to “fast” tourism, slow travel fetishizes a temporality that only makes sense if it’s accompanied by real openness and an effort to integrate.

But this over-intellectualization often masks a desire to belong to a trend or a need to stand out socially.

Behind this posture sometimes lies a whim: the urge to reinvent one’s life elsewhere in an idealized form. But this quest for elsewhere remains fundamentally a way to escape or respond to unease, rather than a true commitment to the cultures visited.

When we talk about “encounters” while traveling, we often forget that these exchanges are facilitated by biased contexts. As a traveler, you’re seen as a temporary visitor, unattached, and that changes the dynamic.

Locals, whether curious or used to tourists, adopt a different stance than they would with a neighbor they see daily.

This interaction is also tinged with asymmetry: the traveler has the luxury of time and availability, while in daily life, personal concerns often take precedence over the desire to connect.

The flip side is that the openness displayed while traveling is often a facade. We boast about chatting with a fisherman or sharing a meal with a local family, but how many of these encounters lead to a real understanding of cultural differences or sincere reflection?

Once home, these moments become anecdotes, social trophies to show off, without fundamentally changing our relationship with others in our daily lives.

By imposing a definition, we push people to adapt their practices to fit an idealized model. This can lead to a paradoxical standardization: “slow travel” becomes a checklist of behaviors (meetings, immersion, slowness).

The “bobos” (bourgeois-bohemians), often in search of meaning in a world saturated with options, believe that giving a name to a practice grants it legitimacy or moral value. But this obsession with framing and theorizing travel only drains it of its spontaneity.

Someone who grew up at the crossroads of multiple cultures, on the other hand, doesn’t feel this need. For them, traveling isn’t a philosophical project but an intrinsic part of their life.

The very concept of “slow travel” can seem absurd: why glorify what’s simply natural?

Why try to turn into an ideology what should be a personal, intimate experience, free from semantic constraints?

Ultimately, this need for labeling, this frantic quest to name every gesture, reveals a society craving simplicity.

Travel, in its purest form, doesn’t need justification or slogans. It doesn’t need slowness or speed: it’s simply lived.

Perhaps the real challenge is to unlearn this Western habit of conceptualizing everything that should simply be felt.

For many, travel is a parenthesis, a temporary break from daily life. But if we reject this distinction between “home” and “elsewhere,” every human life becomes a continuous journey through varied environments.

From this perspective, “slow travel” loses all meaning, because living somewhere—whether for a week or five years—is part of the same experience of adaptation.

So, we ask the fans of marketing slogans: is travel a parenthesis or a journey?

“Slow travel” is often driven by a Western eco-bobo ideology, tinged with post-colonial guilt. This discourse promotes a supposedly virtuous way of traveling while forgetting that these practices remain a privilege.

Far from deconstructing power dynamics, it sometimes reinforces them by glorifying a different kind of consumption, still centered on comfort.

There’s also a condescending side to this rhetoric. By idealizing slowness, slow travel advocates imply that those who travel quickly or on a budget are less “authentic” in their approach.

Yet, isn’t that a form of contempt? Do those who leave for a well-deserved week after months of hard work deserve less consideration?

Concepts like “slow travel” or “sustainable tourism” seem hollow when reduced to marketing slogans or standardized behaviors. They confine travel to preconceived frameworks, stripping it of its spontaneous and unpredictable dimension.

Instead of categorizing, it would be more relevant to recognize the plurality of human experiences without trying to define them.

Slow travel doesn’t invent anything. It simply puts into words—and often slogans—what travel has always been for those who practice it with intention.

Maybe we should stop trying to theorize every movement and simply rediscover travel for what it is: a human experience, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, but always personal.

More info on our site

Bonjour à tous! voici une (enième) vidéo sur New York, de belles images de la ville, de jour comme de nuit. Les séquences ont été tournées surtout à Manhattan ( Midtown, Soho, Grennwich village, chinatown et little italy, high line à chelsea, pont de brooklyn etc) et représentent 4 jours de balades dans la ville. video

La vallée de Cocora, près de Salento en Colombie. Il existe plusieurs endroits comme celui-ci en Colombie. Cocora est le plus connu, mais pas le plus vaste..

video

Bonjour à tous

voici une petite vidéo sur New York de la chaine film Spektakel qui m'a littéralement scotché, la première fois que je l'ai vue..J'ai rarement vu une vidéo aussi technique et si poussée... est ce que quelqu'un connait d'autres vidéos ou chaîne de ce genre ?? De mon point de vue j'ai l'impression que c'est largement au dessus techniquement que des chaînes comme beautiful destination, Nainoa Langer, timestorm film, MrBrynnorth, Antoine Janssens, Brandon Li, Leonardo Dalessandri, littleBigWorld, Kold et tous ceux qui filment en voyage en faisant des films bourrés d'effet cinématographiques..

, Si jamais vous avez d'autres exemples, je suis preneur! 😉 n'oubliez pas de cliquer sur la petite molette pour mettre en 1080p

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRAZ_mSLXrA

Bonjour à tous

Voici un petit clin d'oeil à Lisbonne, une ville réputée et tellement charmante ! Pour aider les voyageurs à préparer leur week-end à Lisbonne, on a condensé des informations pratiques, quelques images sur cette page, avec une idée d'itinéraire pour montrer tout ce qu'il est possible de voir à Lisbonne en deux jours ! Video

Bonjour à tous

Comme les informations ne sont pas toujours évidentes à trouver pour préparer son itinéraire en Colombie, et que les sites des compagnies de bus sont parfois capricieux, on donne ici une liste des horaires et tarifs des trajets entre certaines villes et villages touristiques de Colombie ! D'après ce qu'on a vu, les tarifs augmentent chaque année de 500 à 2000 cop. Ces tarifs sont donc à jour fin 2018. 10 000 cop = 2.77 euro Vous trouverez plus d'infos sur notre site

Bogota - Pereira les bus partent très fréquemment de 6h30 à 23h 30 (presque toutes les demi-heure), le trajet dure environ 10 heures. Tarif: 60 000 à 70 000 COP selon la compagnie

Bogota - Armenia Les bus partent aux horaires suivants, en fonction des compagnies : 07h00, 08h00, 09h15, 19h00, 20h00,21h15, 22h00 , le trajet dure environ 09 heures. Tarif: 55 000 à 64 000 COP selon la compagnie

Armenia - Salento Des départs ont lieu toutes les 40 minutes de 5h30 à 20h et le trajet dure environ 1 heure. Le ticket coûte 4500 COP

Pereira- salento Le trajet dure environ 1 heure et les bus partent à 5h30, 6h30, 8h40, 9h40, 11h30, 13h30, 16h30 et 18h30. Le week-end, c’est toutes les heures de 6 à 20h. Le trajet coûte 7500 COP

Filandia - Salento tarif : 5500 COP tous les jours de la semaine. 8:30 9:30 11:30 14:00 16:00 18:00

Jardin -salento Un premier bus pour Riosucio: horaires: 8h ou 14h le trajet dure environ 4 heures. tarif : environ 20 000 COP. Un deuxième bus jusqu’à Pereira départs réguliers pour un trajet d’environ 3h30. tarif : environ 20 000 COP. Un troisième bus jusqu’à Salento Le trajet dure environ 1 heure et les bus partent à 5h30, 6h30, 8h40, 9h40, 11h30, 13h30, 16h30 et 18h30. Le week-end, c’est toutes les heures de 6 à 20h. tarif: 7500 COP.

Salento - Pereira 7:00 7:50 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:50 13:50 14:50 16:00 17:50 19:00 20:00 Tarif: 7500 COP

Salento - Filandia tarif : 5500 COP tous les jours de la semaine. 8:40 9:40 11:40 14:10 16:10 18:00

Salento - Cocora valley Il y a des jeep tous les jours et chaque heure de 5h30 à 17h30. Le trajet coûte 4000 COP par personne.

Medellin - Salento Horaires : 8h00, 9h00, 11h00, 13h00, 14h00, le trajet dure entre 6 et 8 heures. Le billet coûte 47 000 COP environ

Salento - Medellin Des bus partent directement du petit terminal de bus de Salento vers Medellin, en passant par Pereira, Rosucio, Felisa (2 pauses). Il faut acheter son billet la veille avant 16h ou venir dès l’ouverture à 7h30. Ce trajet dure entre 6 et 8 heures. Horaires : 8h00, 10h00, 11h00, 12h00, 13h30, 16h00. Tarif : 47 000 COP environ.

Baranquilla - Medellin Depuis Baranquilla, les trajets durent 11h environ. Les bus Expresso Brasilia partent à 06:30, 09:00, 14:00, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00. Tarif 132 000 – 142 000. Les bus Rapido Ochoa partent à 10:00, 15:00, 17:30, 19:00, 21:00, 23:00. Tarif 109 000 – 120 000.

Bucaramanga - Medellin Depuis Bucaramanga, les trajets durent 8h30 environ. Les bus Copetran partent à 01:30, 05:00, 08:00, 10:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00, 21:00, 22:30, 23:45. Tarif: 70 000 – 90 000. Expreso brasilia partent à 22:30. Tarif: 92 000. Transportes Omega partent à 21:30. Tarif: 70 000.

Pereira - Medellin Les trajet durent 6-7h. Les bus Empresa Arauca partent à 00:15, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 18:00, 23:00. Tarif 37 000. Les bus FlotaOspina partent toutes les heures de 5:00 à 19:00. Tarif: 43 000.

Medellin - Pereira Ce trajet dure 8h environ. Des bus partent toutes les heures environs même plus, de 5:00 à 22h. Tarif :entre 45 000 et 75 000.

Cali - Medellin Le trajet dure 9 heures. Les bus Bolivariano partent à 08:00, 10:00, 20:00, 21:30, 23:00. Tarif : 58 000- 63 000. Les bus Empresa Arauca partent à 06:30, 11:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 21:00, 22:00, 23:00. Tarif : 60 000. Les bus Flota Magdalena partent à 21:00. Tarif : 55 000. Les bus Expreso Trejos partent à 9:30, 11:30, 21:00. Tarif : $60.000.

Cartagena - Medellin Le trajet dure plus de 14h. Les bus Rapido Ochoa partent à 06:15, 16:30, 18:30, 20:30. Tarif : 96 000 – 168 000. Les bus Expreso Brasilia partent à 07:00, 13:00, 17:30, 19:30, 21:30. Tarifs : 112 00 – 168 000.

Medellin - Manizales Ce trajet dure dans les 5 heures. Des bus partent toutes les heures de 4:30 à 19:30. Tarif : entre 35 000 et 40 000.

Medellin - Penol (Guatapé) Horaires avec la compagnie Sotrapenol : 06:45, 08:00, 08:20, 08:40, 09:20, 09:40, 10:50, 11:10, 11:30, 12:00, 13:00, 13:30, 14:00, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 17:00, 17:30, 18:30, 19:00,19:30, 20:00. Tarif: 14 000 COP par personne.

Penol (Guatapé) - Medellin Horaires avec la compagnie Sotrapenol : 05:15, 05:45, 06:15, 06:45, 07:15, 07:45, 08:15, 09:00, 09:45, 10:30, 11:15, 12:00, 12:45, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:30, 17:30, 18:00. Tarif: 14 000 COP par personne.

Medellin - Jardin Le bus de la compagnie Rapido Ochoa part à 04:45, 08:50, 13:00, 15:00, 16:25, 18:45 Le bus de la compagnie Suroeste part à 5:30, 6:55, 9:20, 10:30, 12:00, 12:30, 13:30, 14:00,15:20, 15:45, 17:00, 17h20, 18:30 Le trajet dure 3h30 le tarif du trajet est de 26 000 COP.

Jardin - Medellin Le bus de la compagnie Rapido Ochoa part à 04:45, 08:30, 10:30, 13:00, 14:15, 17:45 Le bus de la compagnie Suroeste part à 5:15, 6:00, 7:00, 9h30, 12:15, 15:00, 16:15, 17:00, 18:30 Le trajet dure 3h30 le tarif du trajet est de 26 000 COP.

Pereira - Jardin De Pereira à Bolombolo tarif : environ 30000 pesos De Bolombolo à Jardin Tarif : environ 16000 pesos

Ou un trajet plus souvent cité sur internet : De Pereira à Riosucio Tarif : environ 18 000 COP De Riosucio à Jardin Tarif : environ 20 000 COP

Bucaramanga - San Gil Les bus de Bucaramanga à San Gil partent toutes les demi-heures de 4:30 à 20:00. Le trajet dure 2h30. Le tarif est de 19 000 COP par personne.

San gil - Socorro A titre d’information les bus de San Gil à Socorro partent toutes les 15 minutes de 5:30 à 19:30.

Bucaramanga - barichara en direct du lundi au vendredi à 6h45 le samedi à 9:15 Le dimanche à 19:30 Tarif : 20 000 à 22 000 COP par personne.

San gil - Barichara Les bus du terminal de bus de San Gil jusqu’à Barichara partent toutes les demi-heures de 06:00 à 20:30 . Le trajet dure un peu moins d’une heure Le tarif est de 5000 COP par personne.

Barichara - San gil Le trajet jusqu’à San Gil dure 1 h. Il y a un bus toutes les 20 à 30 minutes. Tarif : 5000 COP par personne

San Gil - Oiba Le trajet dure 1h30. Tarif :10 000 par personne.

Oiba - Guadalupe Le trajet jusqu’à Guadalupe dure 1 heure. Horaires inconnus, les jeep fonctionnent en fonction de l’affluence. Tarif : 7000 COP par personne.

Villa de leyva - Barichara Un premier bus de Villa de Leyva à Tunja : le trajet dure 1 h environ. Tarif: environ 7000 COP.

Un deuxième bus de Tunja à San Gil : Un bus par heure en moyenne et le trajet dure entre 4h et 5h. Tarif : environ 30 000 COP.

Un troisième bus de San Gil à Barichara Horaires: toutes les demi-heures de 05:00 à 18:30, le trajet dure moins d’1 heure. Tarif: 5000 COP.

Barichara - Guane Il y a des départs toutes les heures de 5h45 à 17h45 Pour le retour, même chose, un bus toutes les heures de 6:15 à 18:15. Tarif:2300 COP

Oiba - Socorro Temps de trajet 2h au total. Tarif: 11 000 COP.

Socorro - Bucaramanga Il y a des bus qui partent toutes les 30 minutes de 04:00 à 10:00 et toutes les heures de 11:00 à 00:00. Tarif : 19 000 COP. Temps de trajet : 3h30

Villa de Leyva - Guadalupe De villa de Leyva à Tunja Tarif : 7000 COP De Tunja à Oiba Tarif : environ 20 000 COP De Oiba à Guadalupe Tarif : 7000 COP

Voici un aperçu de Trinidad à Cuba, une petite balade avec la gopro 6 et son stabilisateur intégré pour découvrir les ruelles de ce charmant village colonial. Video

Voici une petite vidéo qui montre le très joli village de Jardin en Colombie video