Digital Nomad Guide to David, Panama

This digital nomad guide to David will be shorter than many others I write.

For the simple reason that there isn’t too much to write about.

I like going to off the beaten path places but I think that even I may have taken it a bit too far when I decided to spend a month in David, the capital of the Chiriqui province in the west of Panama. My plan was to use it as a base and then head out on excursions to Bocas del Toro and Boquete.

Whilst I managed those trips, I have to say that staying in David wasn’t the most fun experience.

Working in David as a digital nomad

I worked at Area Cowork which is close to the centre of David and only a short walk from the bus station.

The actual coworking space is lovely, the toilets are spotlessly clean, desks are comfy and there is good coffee on tap. The staff that work there are also helpful and friendly and assisted me in getting a package sent to the coworking even with a language barrier.

However nice it is, it is still one of the most expensive coworking spaces I have visited (probably THE MOST expensive) after paying $300 plus tax (so USD$321) for my monthly stay. It is nice, but I don’t think it is that nice.

There was also an afternoon where the internet went out, another day of no air conditioning and a lot of building work was going on whilst I was there as well. These things happen but it still doesn’t leave a great impression.

Getting to and from David and getting around

Getting to and from David is easy. David has an extensive bus network from the bus station to all over Panama and to Costa Rica. There are multiple buses every day to Panama City which takes about 8 hours as well as flights which take a little over an hour.

Getting around David can be done on local buses although I never got the hang of any routes. Mostly they go into and out of the centre and/ or bus station. There are local yellow taxis all over the city as well but make sure to negotiate a price before you get in.

I used Uber to get around as it was very cheap but there are a limited number of drivers and you’ll often have to wait long periods before being picked up. I regularly had to wait 5-10 minutes for it to connect to a driver and then another 5-15 for the driver to get to me.

David is not a walkable city by any means. Around the city centre there are good pavements that make it easy to walk around the shops close to the main park and church. Outside of that, pavements are not pleasant to walk around. From where I stayed in the north of the city to the coworking would mean crossing a major highway (the Pan-American Highway) and walking through an industrial part of town.

Where to stay in David, Panama as a digital nomad

I stayed in an AirBnB in the north of the city. The place was ok but there were some power cuts when storms came and the internet was out for a couple of days as well.

There are plenty of hotels in the centre with various levels of comfort and price, although they look expensive for what you get. There is a Hilton which seems to be the best international quality in the city and a couple of hostels at the other end of the price scale.

Do not expect a lot of good quality AirBnB’s in the city centre as there just isn’t the demand in David.

Internet in David for digital nomads

The internet in David is good, when it works.

As mentioned I’ve had a few occasions where the internet dropped out but speeds were 20-30mbps in the coworking and my accommodation which was good enough for streaming and video calls for digital nomads.

I did have 4G signal all over the city which always worked well but I found data expensive in Panama.

What to do in David as a digital nomad

The answer to the question of what to do in David is: not a lot.

In the city centre there is a small park, a small museum and a traditional church. There is also a large shopping mall that still has many many stores being empty in the north of the city.

Other than that, there is little in David. The best things to do are to take trips to Boquete and Bocas del Toro. Volcan Baru is also worth a trip but may be easier to do from Boquete.

Summing up David as a destination for digital nomads

After spending a month in David as a digital nomad, I wouldn’t recommend it as a destination for others.

It is a very simple destination with not much to do and not much in the way of tourist sites. There isn’t a digital nomad community and I didn’t meet any other foreigners in my time there.

Even to use it as a base for exploring other destinations in the area wouldn’t be the best way to travel around Panama.

Dan

Dan is an avid traveller from London. His first big adventure was in 2010 living in Malaysia for 3 months. He has been on the road almost constantly since 2015 travelling to destinations that aren’t on the mainstream tourist trail and working full time and travelling since 2021.