Panama Golden Isthmus Odyssey

On arrival to Tocumen International Airport, you are met by a JOURNEYS representative and transferred to your hotel in Panama City.

Lodging: Victoria Hotel & Suites (or similar)

Early in the morning, you will be picked up at the lobby of our hotel by our naturalist guide for a 45-minute drive to the town of Gamboa, where the Chagres River meets the Panama Canal. Board an expedition boat and depart on an adventure that will include a voyage across Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal, passing by gigantic cargo ships that contrast with the natural surroundings. Along the way, look for green iguanas and three-toed sloths resting on tree branches, crocodiles, ospreys in the hunt for peacock bass, snail kites, and keel-billed toucans, among other wildlife. Gatun Lake was formed as part of the Panama Canal in 1914. At the time of its creation, Gatun Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world with a surface of 165 square miles. The flow of all the rivers within the Panama Canal watershed is contained in Gatun Lake to provide water for the operation of the lock system. More than 52 million gallons of fresh water are used for every ship that transits through the Panama Canal from one ocean to another. Your expedition boat will travel very close to rainforest-covered islands (former hill tops) in Gatun Lake to search for white-faced capuchins, mantled howler monkeys, Central American spider monkeys, and Geoffrey’s tamarins. Enjoy a picnic lunch on a small island with extraordinary views of the Panama Canal and the natural surroundings. Return to Gamboa in the early afternoon and head for Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal where you will learn about the canal's history, operation, and expansion currently underway. 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging: Victoria Hotel & Suites (or similar)

Take a short drive to Albrook domestic airport in order to catch a scheduled flight to David, capital of the Chiriqui province. Chiriqui is known as “Panama’s breadbasket” and contains some of the most breathtaking highland scenery in Central America. Then proceed along the eastern side of Baru Volcano where you'll have the unique opportunity to experience a century old tradition at a local Trapiche, a horse-powered sugar mill where the delicious Raspadura blocks are made. Enjoy a typical lunch and a traditional polleras folkloric dance presentation. Then proceed to the quaint town of Boquete and its countryside dotted with flower, fruit, and produce farms, coffee plantations, and lush tropical cloud forests. The afternoon is free to relax, stroll through the town on your own or enjoy the spa services at the hotel. 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging: Panamonte Inn & Spa (or similar)

Get your adrenalin pumping early in the morning with a canopy tree trek on a zipline that allows you to see the rainforest from fourteen different platforms while smoothly soaring in the heights of the cloud forest. Glide through the trees and encounter a world you'll love discovering. Native species of flora and fauna can be observed. Marvel at the sight of a great variety of orchids, trees, and wildflowers found throughout the area. Put your feet on the ground for a lunch served at the mountain tree trek restaurant, which offers breathtaking views of the surrounding cloud forest. In the afternoon, embark on a nature walk through the lush vegetaion of the cloud forest of Baru Volcano National Park on the Cascada trail. At an elevation of 2,286 meters, you will hae an outstanding opportunity to admire the beautiful waterfalls along the way and search for the elusive Resplendent Quetzal, Three-wattled Bellbird, Black-faced Solitaire, Volcano HUmmingbird, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, and Prong-billed Barbet. After your walk, freshen up at the hotel and indulge in an exquisite restaurant in town with your guide.  

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging: Panamonte Inn and Spa (or similar)

In the morning, check out early and transfer to Volcan, located on the western side of the Baru Volcano. Here you will visit the Janson Coffee Farm to learn about planting, harvesting, processing, roasting and packaging of the the world class coffee Del Fino and Geisha. This coffee is grown at a particularly good altitude in rich volcanic soil. Around noon, the farm owners invite you for lunch including a freshly brewed cup of Janson coffee overlooking the beautiful mountain range of Baru Volcano. In the afternoon, take a nature hike with bird watching around the most beautiful areas of the highlands. The lakes on the family farm are the highest natural lakes and wetlands in Panama and the fifth highest aquatic ecosystem in Central America. Enjoy incredible vistas, the gorgeous surrounding tropical forest, world-class birding, and unique wildlife. After a long day, settle in your charming mountain resort before a hearty dinner at the hotel's restaurant with your guide.     

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging: Hotel Bambito (or similar)

Shared with neighboring Costa Rica and recognized in 1982 as a World Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site, La Amistad is located at a point on the Central American natural land bridge where flora and fauna from North and South America reach their greatest species mix. With great ranges in altitude, precipitation, soil type, and temperature, biodiversity is at its best. Spend the morning hiking and exploring La Amistad in the area of El Retoño in search of the resplendent Quetzal, the silvery-fronted tapaculo, the Andean pygmy-owl, the barred becard, and the black and yellow silky flycatcher, among many other western highland birds. After lunch at a local restaurant, visit Sitios Barriles, an archeological site of the extinct Barril culture that once lived on the slopes of the dormant Baru Volcano. Here the site guide will interpret the writings on the stones (petroglyphs) and provide insights on the history of this lost culture.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging: Melia Panama Canal (or similar)

Board a motorized piragua (dugout canoe) and travel up the Chagres River to the Embera indigenous village of Embera Drua. The boat journey goes through the rainforest of the 320,000-acre Chagres National Park, which is the largest of the national parks protecting the Panama Canal watershed. Along the Chagres River, search for little blue and green herons, great egrets, anhingas, neotropical cormorants, Amazon, ringed, and green kingfishers, along with keel-billed toucans and ospreys. At the Embera village, enjoy dancing and music, and learn about Embera customs and their relationship with nature. There will be handicrafts available for sale and an opportunity to be painted with the traditional jagua, a natural dye the Embera use to adorn their bodies. After a traditional Embera lunch, head back to your hotel and spend the afternoon is at your leisure.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging: Melia Panama Canal (or similar)

Depart mid-morning for the Castle of San Lorenzo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castle stands at the mouth of the Chagres River and used to fortify and protect the river entrance to Las Cruces Trail that led to Panama City on the Pacific Ocean. It was later used as the port of entry for gold diggers on their wto California during the second half of the 19th century.  Travel through the lush rainforest within San Lorenzo National Park and possibly spot monkeys, sloths, coatimundi, toucans, and other wildlife. Later, continue to the historic town of Portobelo  for lunch. Portobelo is famous for its trade fairs during the 17th century and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. During colonial times, Portobelo was one of the most important strongholds of the Spanish Main in the Americas. Visit Fort San Geroonimo and Fort Santiago de la Gloria. Also, stop by the Church of San Felipe. Afterward, return to Panama City on the Trans-Isthmian train (approx. 1 hour). Upon arrival at the Corozal Station in Panama City, transfer to your hotel in the city center.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging: Victoria Hotel & Suites (or similar)

Drive to Gamboa and embark a ship for exploring the Panama Canal. The ship will first enter Gaillard Cut, the narrowest section of the canal. The ship will reach Pedro Miguel locks, where the vessel wil be lowered 30.8 ft into Miraflores Lake. After traveling nearly two kilometers, arrive at Miraflores locks, where the trainsition from fresh water to salt water takes place in the locks chambers. Due to the Pacific OCean's extreme tidal variations, Miraflores locks miter gates are the tallest of the locks system. In two steps, the vessel will be lowered 55 ft into the Pacific Ocean. Then, sail under the bridge of the Americas before disembarking at Flamenco Island. Here you will enjoy a brief sightseeing tour on the Amador Causeway. Your farewell dinner will be at a local restaurant with your guide.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging: Victoria Hotel & Suites (or similar)

Transfer to Tocumen International Airport for onward flight. 

Meals: Breakfast