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Comprehensive guide to catching Ferry Xpress - Panama to Colombia

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This Explains Procedure For a Motorcycle or Car / Walk On is much cheaper and easier!


HOW TO FERRY XPRESS

1) Get a D.I.J.
2) Buy ferry ticket.
3) Get third party Colombian insurance.
4) Arrive 11 hours before departure with copies.
5) $25 departure tax from Colombia port

1. Get a DIJ

Attend the Dirección de Investigación Judicial (DIJ). It’s in Ancon, Panama. There’s three buildings with the same name opposite each other. Go to the Policia Nacional office on the outbound from the city side of the road. It’s en route to Albrook Mall. **Wear long pants and shoes or they won't do it**

You will need
- Original seguro (insurance) + copy
- Original vehicle title + copy
- Original aduana (paper they give you when you enter the country) + copy
- Original passport + copy

Once the police complete the inspection (took us an hour for them to do a 5 minute inspection and we were the only people there), they won’t give you any new paperwork and will point across the road to the other DIJ building to the right on the main road. Don’t go to the bigger building on the left down a side street.

There will likely be a queue going outside to the left when you arrive. I have no idea what that is for. Walk past these people into the building and attend the reception desk. Just say “D.I.J”. They’ll ask for the original paperwork you gave the police across the road (not the copies), give you the usual Panamanian 20 minutes to 2 hours waiting time without explanation and return with the D.I.J for you to sign.

2. Buy ferry ticket

With your D.I.J and passport in hand, go to the Ferry Xpress office in Panama City (Ciudad de Panama). It’s 10 minutes by bike following the signs to Avenida Balboa from the DIJ Policia Nacional stations. At the time of writing the small but clearly marked office doesn’t exist on Google Maps. Easiest things to put into the GPS are “Harley Davidson Panama”, which shares a back wall with Ferry Xpress or “Multicentro Mall”, which is directly across the road.

It cost us $288 per person with a motorbike and they only take cash.

3. Get third party Colombian insurance.

I have no recommendations for who to go with. But once you're on the ferry they won't let you off until you pay them $75 for insurance that lasts 30 days and you don't get any terms and conditions paperwork for it. So if you can find insurance cheaper, buy that and print it out before getting on board.

4. Arrive at 8am for your 7pm trip and prepare for a long frustrating day.

When I went there were two cars and three of us on bikes (would've been four but my buddy wasn't allowed on for a passport stamp issue). On the day of your 7pm departing ferry, arrive at 8am. Bring plenty of snacks and some entertainment as there will be a lot of sitting around.

You will need
- Original seguro (insurance) x 3 copies
- Original vehicle title x 3 copies
- Original aduana (paper they give you when you enter the country) x 3 copies
- Original passport x 3 copies
- Original ticket given by Ferry Xpress x 1 copy

You can get copies there for $0.50 per sheet.


5. $25 departure tax

As we went to ride off after passing customs, we were hit with a $25 fee to get the bikes out of the port. There was a 15 minute argument between the staff whether we should have been charged it or not, but in the end we had to pay.

The ferry left an hour late at 8pm and by the time we passed customs and left the port it was 6pm.

Timetable

Monday

Departs: Colon, Panama 7pm
Arrives: Cartagena, Colombia 1pm

Tuesday
Departs: Cartagena, Colombia 7pm
Arrives: Colon, Panama 1pm

Wednesday
Departs: Colon, Panama 7pm
Arrives: Cartagena, Colombia 1pm

Thursday
Departs: Cartagena, Colombia 7pm
Arrives: Colon, Panama 1pm

*Friday and Saturday Ferry Xpress it goes to and from Colon, Panama to Bocas Del Toro, Panama.

On board advice
• If you’re on a budget bring plenty of food (no fresh fruit and vegetables) as it's about $8 for a small plate of food on board.
• You can get hot water for 2 minute noodles from the staff in the café.
• They have WiFi at $5 for 2 hours.
• They tried to confiscate all the tools from one rider. He stood his ground and managed to keep them, so make sure you do likewise!
• The air conditioning inside is like a movie theatre, so bring your sleeping bag. You can sleep in the aisles.
• The wall inputs are European. If you need an adaptor ask at reception on the 6th floor for a converter. It's only a $2 deposit. Hot tip is to try get a seat next to a socket on the wall, they're just above head height.

Thanks, that's useful information. I've been thinking about doing the ferry trip one-way back to Colombia. Glad I don't ride motorcycles, though.