Panama holiday, tailor made
| country: | Panama |
| departures: | This trip can be tailor made throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary |
| price: | From £2211 - £2399 (12 days) excluding flights. This is a guide price based on the itinerary below |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Panama holiday, tailor made
Panama holiday, tailor made: Panama City is famed for its canal so it makes sense that one of the first trips on the itinerary is a transit passing through its many locks and across the continental divide. You’ll be dwarfed by majestic vessels from around the world and eventually drop into the peaceful rainforest lake of Gamboa. You’ll stay in the only small boutique hotel in the historical district. We include a tour of the city which can be substituted for a canopy crane expedition, if you wish.
You may recognise Gamboa rainforest resort from the film `The Tailor of Panama’. Gamboa is less than an hour from the centre of the capital and the ideal base to explore the wildlife of the canal’s flooded zone. An expertly guided riverboat adventure is followed by an afternoon in the canopy of Soberania National Park.
Boquete (in the western highlands) is a small town with a temperate climate that lies in the shadow of Baru volcano. Horse riding, mounting biking and rafting are all possible in this region, which is also a mecca for orchidologists.
After two nights in the highlands it’s back down to sea level for 4 nights exploring the beautiful islands of Bocas del Toro. Typically Caribbean in both atmosphere and style, the main activity here is relaxing in a shady hammock with a cocktail and some freshly caught seafood. However, we do encourage you to hire a kayak and snorkel as the marine life amongst the coral is every bit as fascinating as the flora and fauna of the cloud and rainforests. Bastimentos National Park covers the eponymously named island.
Best time to go on our Panama holiday: November to April are generally drier months to travel. The wet season is from May to November although temperatures are tropical and the rain is often sporadic.
You may recognise Gamboa rainforest resort from the film `The Tailor of Panama’. Gamboa is less than an hour from the centre of the capital and the ideal base to explore the wildlife of the canal’s flooded zone. An expertly guided riverboat adventure is followed by an afternoon in the canopy of Soberania National Park.
Boquete (in the western highlands) is a small town with a temperate climate that lies in the shadow of Baru volcano. Horse riding, mounting biking and rafting are all possible in this region, which is also a mecca for orchidologists.
After two nights in the highlands it’s back down to sea level for 4 nights exploring the beautiful islands of Bocas del Toro. Typically Caribbean in both atmosphere and style, the main activity here is relaxing in a shady hammock with a cocktail and some freshly caught seafood. However, we do encourage you to hire a kayak and snorkel as the marine life amongst the coral is every bit as fascinating as the flora and fauna of the cloud and rainforests. Bastimentos National Park covers the eponymously named island.
Best time to go on our Panama holiday: November to April are generally drier months to travel. The wet season is from May to November although temperatures are tropical and the rain is often sporadic.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive in Panama. Two nights in Panama Viejo. |
| Day 2: | Traverse Panama’s incredible canal system. |
| Day 3: | Full day tour of Panama City including Miraflores locks – or survey the forest canopy from a hidden crane. Transfer to Gamboa. |
| Day 4: | Navigate the Gamboa rainforest by boat, with expert guide to point out the abundant wildlife. |
| Day 5: | Expert guides will take you bird and wildlife spotting in Soberania National Park. |
| Day 6: | Fly to the western highlands of Panama to hike at Finca Lerida nature reserve. |
| Day 7: | Transfer to Almirante and take a water taxi to the archipelago of Bocas del Toro. |
| Day 8: | Explore the marine life of Bastimientos National Park and go frog spotting on red frog beach! |
| Day 9-10: | At leisure to explore the islands by foot, cycle, or kayak or relax on a white sandy beach. |
| Day 11: | Fly to Panama for a night in the city. |
| Day 12: | Transfer out. |
tailor made holiday
This trip is run by a company which specialises in only Central and South America holidays. It can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. The length of stay, standard of accommodation and even the itinerary can all be amended and tailored to suit your preferred style of travel and budget. Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.how this holiday makes a difference
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Panama holiday, tailor made The Panamanians are forever reminding people that their country is more than just a canal, and quite rightly so, as no less than a quarter of the country is designated national park land. Although the canal itself is a spectacular feet of engineering the surrounding area known as the canal zone is equally impressive for its wildlife and natural beauty.
Environment We believe that one of the best ways to experience the canal and its wildlife is from a small motorised boat with an expert guide. Our partners in Panama pioneered eco-tourism in the country. One of their guides, Hernan, who frequently takes our clients, is an expert in Natural History tours in Panama. He comes from a family of explorers and field scientists. His mother, Reina Torres de Arauz, was Panama´s leading anthropologist and his father Amado Arauz, a legendary explorer of the Darien. As such his passion to share his knowledge and preserve his country’s resources is consistently praised. He teaches clients about the delicate eco-systems, advising them to respect their environment and explains how first-hand knowledge of an eco-system can have a positive and interesting effect on the way they view not just Panama but the planet as a whole. It’s not just Hernan but all our expert naturalist guides that impress our clients which is why the supplier and product constantly earn us 100% in the responsible travel criteria on our questionnaires. Community For those who are not scared of heights we have access to a rainforest crane that was being used by the Smithsonean institute for canopy research. You’ll get a spectacular view over the city and you’ll also be contributing towards projects such as a major reforestation program in Panama, called PRORENA whose mission is establishing diverse native forest cover across extensive areas of deforested tropical lands, and demonstrating that large-scale ecological restoration in the tropics is technically feasible, socially attractive, and financially viable. By encouraging our clients to offset their carbon emissions we have raised over £55,000 for our chosen project administered by TICOS, our chosen offsetting scheme. This money has entirely funded 9 Kuna Indian communities with solar panels in health centres and schools. If you would like to visit this project we can incorporate a 3 nights kayaking adventure into your itinerary. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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