Shuttle from Panama City to Playa Venao

Worse experience EVER… in all aspects

I specifically booked Pink Bus because it advertised a comfortable journey with onboard Wi-Fi. I’m currently recovering from a knee injury, so comfort was the main reason I chose this service instead of flying to Pedasí. My bus was scheduled to leave at 8:00 a.m. At 7:45 a.m., while I was already on my way to the pickup point, I was informed that the departure had been delayed until 10:00 a.m. Then, after arriving at the pickup location, I received another message saying the bus had broken down and would be delayed again. The problem wasn’t just the delay, it was the complete lack of communication. Messages went unanswered, there were no updates, and by 11:00 a.m. there was still no bus. Only after repeatedly contacting them did I receive a brief message around 11:30 a.m. saying, “The bus is coming.” The bus finally arrived at 12:00 p.m. FOUR hours later than scheduled. To make matters worse, it wasn’t even the Pink Bus that I had booked. It was a very small replacement vehicle, and nobody informed us beforehand that a different bus would be used. The replacement vehicle had no Wi-Fi, very limited luggage space, and was overcrowded. The driver expected to pick up only one passenger when there were actually three of us. As a result, I had to sit on the fold-down emergency seat for almost the entire six-hour journey. With a knee injury, this was extremely painful. I spent hours with my knees bent in an awkward position, and the driver wouldn’t make an earlier bathroom stop, so I had to remain seated for approximately three hours before we could finally stop. This also affected the rest of my trip. I had booked a surf camp in Playa Venao and had told them I would arrive around 2:00 p.m. Instead, I didn’t arrive until after 6:00 p.m. The uncomfortable journey also aggravated my knee, making it difficult to fully participate in the first days of my camp. I completely understand that buses can break down, these things happen. What I cannot understand is the lack of customer service. There was no apology, no proactive communication, no explanation from management, and no response when I requested compensation. Instead, I simply received automated messages asking how I enjoyed my trip. I was genuinely looking forward to this journey because I had heard good things about Pink Bus and wanted to enjoy the scenery in comfort. Instead, I spent four hours waiting and six hours in an uncomfortable replacement vehicle. Unfortunately, this experience was nowhere near what was advertised or what I paid for. Unless Pink Bus significantly improves its communication and customer service, I cannot recommend it.

via Tripadvisor

Got us there, but bit scary

The shuttle service did its job in that it got us to our destination, but the driving conditions in Panama are a bit scary. Roads are fine. Driver skills and behaviours are the issue. Our driver was probably no different than all the other drivers on the road - very poor use of lanes, tail gating, erratic speeds, texting and using phone a lot while driving. He was a nice guy though…..

Response from the operator: Hello traveler :) Thanks for letting us know!! This is VERY unusual for us to hear as all of our drivers are going through intense training specifically to avoid this type of driving. If you can help us with a reservation number ot a date of travel we can look into it right away. Thanks again for taking your time to comment If you have a reservation number

via Tripadvisor

Not worth the $$

Be aware that this shuttle service only drops at 2places in PC despite asking you where you would like to be dropped! Unhelpful and grumpy driver!

via Tripadvisor

Bad Dream

Van broke down …we sat in gas station for 4.5 hours before the van was functional. Then we had to trade vans part way there. Trip took 11 hours total.

via Viator

Good experiance

Driver was very halpfull and nice. Took my laggeged from the room. The all drive was quite, nice people. It was very bumpy most of the way.

via Tripadvisor