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Do We Need a Car in Boquete...

As we get organized to move there, just a have a quick question about whether to own a car or not. Seems many or most of the listings for nicer rentals ($700 range) are advertised as being a 5 minute drive to town. Are there any nice rentals that are near enough to downtown Boquete that one could just walk? I'm sure using local taxi's would get old after a while? Also, if we were to buy a car there is it typically cash, or do local dealers ever finance a car? One last question, if we wanted to just pay cash and we're just looking for nothing fancy, just a dependable older car, what should we expect to pay? Thanks so much, just need to keep on learning.

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  • You can certainly rent close to downtown and walk. But consider the following. It is common to go to David for major shopping which can be time-consuming and/or expensive without a car.. Boquete is a small town, but it is far-flung; you want to be able to get around easily to visit friends. There's a lot to explore in Chiriqui, and you will need a car to do it often. Convenience; do you want to have to find a taxi every time you need to go to a place not within walking distance? There's only so much to do in downtown Boquete. Rents generally are higher downtown, and it's noisier--particularly at fair time. There are advantages to living away from the center of everything.

    Most people buy used cars, which are reasonably priced and of great variety. Car insurance is less here than in the States. I can't imagine living here without a car, although there are some who do.

    • That makes total sense Bonnie. It's good too to know that downtown would be a bit higher in rental cost and a bit noisier. Do you happen to know about driving down there, at least temporarily, with an American Driver's license? If you can, how long can we use it before getting a local license and is it pretty easy to pass the driver's test there?

    • I agree 100% with Bonnie.  A car is necessity unless you live a very simple life.

      In addition, it's difficult to get a cab after 6 PM without reserving one (at a higher rate) in advance so your social activities will be limited.  One friend of mine was stranded out in front of Romero's grocery store at 6 PM with no cabs to be found.  A police officer was kind enough and drove her and her groceries home!

      The other alternative is to rent a car one day or so a month to get all of your remote activities done.  I've known people who do that however, during peak season, some rental car companies will only rent for a three day minimum term.  That happened to friends of mine last January.

  • I cannot respond to all but just would ask and /or consider the following :

    Do you currently own a car? If yes, is it your main means of transportation where you live now? If yes, you may want to consider purchasing a car for independence!

    if yes to the above, nothing will change. Boquete is a small town but you may want to get out and explore - if you really want to move here and it sounds like it is what you want!

    Hope this helps - how much to pay for ”vehicle”  and financing? That is such a wide range depending upon so many factors. 

    There may be a couple of people that will respond to this that I would trust but leaving it to the experts.

    Best Wishes!

    • Thank you Val. I figure we won't need a car there initially, but later after we get settled we may want to have it for, as you say, independence. Have a great day!

  • We live in Boquete, 4 months now before that Nicaragua. Haven't had a car for two years. We do walk mostly in town. But a shared taxi is 60 cents and that will get you to Alto Boquete. A bus to David is $1.75. Every now and then we hire a driver like to go to the airport in David $35. Come here in a visit then come rent for a while and see what your lifestyle calls for.

    • Hi Grant. Well, that certainly is reasonable. Does that mean that if a husband and wife share a cab that it's a total of 60 cents or 60 cents each (doesn't really matter), but does that also mean the cabby drives around and picks up enough other people to fill his cab? Since you've only been in Boquete for 4 months, how are you liking it so far? Thanks again.

      • The shared taxi is .60 per person and yes they will squeeze more people in. You can hire the taxi for yourselves, say to go to a restaurant out of walking distance for a couple of bucks. Half day and day trips are also negotiable. A six hour shopping trip to David in a large SUV cost us $60.

        We came to Boquete for the cooler temperature and it's been a nice relief from Nicaragua. I'm trying to adapt to the rainy season though. BQT is small with a good number of expats. Finding people with common interests isn't too hard.

        • Thank you Grant for giving us some more details. The one thing I've seen in this forum is that what works for one person, doesn't work for another, so in the end just choose what works best for yourself. Sounds like there are lots of choices.

    • Cheap taxis. and busses are plentyful. The only advantage of woning a car is that one can leave when you want. You can rent car at Value Motors even with an option to buy it.

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