Th'isthmus Be Panama For Families
Tags:
Adventure; Sightseeing; Sightseeing tour; Excrusions; explorations; Embera Indian Village; Bocas del Toro; Metro Nature Park; Swan's Cay; Gamboa Rainforest Resort; Gatun Lake; Canopy Tram;
There is literally no other place on the planet that offers the wonders of Panama. The land mass of this small nation is the bridge between continents, and its canal links two oceans. Plant, animal, and cultural diversity are fantastic. The treasures you find here are North and South American, ...
Read Full Description- Destination:
- Trip Length:
- 8 days
- Price Range:
- From $1795 to $2595 ($2,595 (adults). $2,150 (children under 16). $1,795 (children under 12). (Child costs based on sharing room with 2 full paying adults). Holiday surcharge of $100 per person.) per person See what this includes and what this excludes
- Best Time to Go:
- Any time.
- Recommended for:
-
15 - 17, 18 - 20, 25 - 30, 31 - 35, 36 - 40, 41 - 50, 51 - 55
Family Trip, Group Retreat, Trip Around the World
Detailed Trip Description
There is literally no other place on the planet that offers the wonders of Panama. The land mass of this small nation is the bridge between continents, and its canal links two oceans. Plant, animal, and cultural diversity are fantastic. The treasures you find here are North and South American, Latin and Native, high tech and primitive, terrestrial and marine, cosmopolitan and Wild.
Trip Itinerary
Day 1 - Panama
Plant Yourself in Panama.
Airport Transfer
Arrive in Panama City, the transit point between the great oceans. You naturalist guide will be there to welcome you at the airport and transfer you to the Country Inn Hotel (or similar).
Food and Dining
Enjoy a welcome dinner and orientation with your guide. Meals: Dinner.
Day 2 - Panama
Embera Indian Village.
Private Car Service
Depart early this morning to El Corotu on the shores of Madden Lake. The main reservoir of drinking water for the cities of Panama and Colon, Madden Lake also supplies 40% of the water required for the operation of the Panama Canal.
Sailing
Here you’ll board a motorized "piragua" (dugout canoe) and travel up the Chagres River to the Embera indigenous village of Embera Drua. The boat journey takes you through the rain forest of the 194,000-acre Chagres National Park, which is the largest of the national parks protecting the Panama Canal Watershed.
Adventure
Along the Chagres River, you may be able to spot some little blue and green herons, great egrets, anhingas, neotropical cormorants, ringed, and green kingfishers, along with keel-billed toucans and ospreys flying above.
Arts, Crafts and Antiques
At the Embera village, you will be greeted with dancing and music. Learn about Embera customs and their relationship with nature. There will be handicrafts available for sale and you will have a chance to be painted with the traditional “jagua,” a natural dye that the Embera use to adorn their bodies.
Sightseeing
After lunch, visit the nearby waterfall, where you can take a dip in the crystal-clear waters of the Chagres River before heading back to the hotel. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 3 - Panama
Metro Nature Park/Culebra/Bocas del Toro.
Eco-Tourism
Today is an educationally packed day! Your morning "classroom" is an exquisite specimen of tropical rain forest called the Metropolitan Nature Park, where your guide will lead you along the trails, introducing you to the forest ecosystem. His goal is to hone your powers of observation: look down and note the armies of leaf-cutter ants or look up and find a sloth! The more you look, the more you see.
Sightseeing
Your next "classroom" is the Smithsonian's Marine Exhibit at Culebra, where the learning is hands-on for those who don't mind things wet and slimy!
Commercial Flight
After lunch you get to rest on the one-hour flight to Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean Sea.
Country Inn
Upon arrival, you will be transfered to the Bocas Inn (or similar), your home for the next three nights. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Day 4 - Panama
Bocas del Toro.
National Parks
Depart by boat from the Bocas Inn early in the morning and traverse the expanse of Bastimentos National Park, Panama’s first marine national park. Reach Salt Creek by navigating through clusters of red mangroves, which provide sea creatures with a protective area during their reproductive and development stages.
Hiking
Upon arrival, enjoy a walk along Caiman Trail, which takes you through several stages of lowland forest dynamics. Here, you will look for birds such as the red-throated ant tanager and golden-collared manakin, as well as mammals like night monkeys, white-faced capuchins, and three-toed sloths. An older tract of rainforest has tall trees that provide life to birds such as the three-wattled bellbird and green-breasted mango. A nearby lagoon is home to spectacled caiman and slider turtles. On the ground, look for the tiny endemic poison dart frog, Dendrobates Pumilio.
Shopping
After the hike, enjoy a visit to the Ngobe Bugle indigenous community, where you will have a chance to purchase handicrafts such as painted woodcarvings and handbags.
Snorkeling
After lunch, you can snorkel among mangroves and coral reefs searching for numerous fish species, as well as dynamic and brightly colored sea fans, sponges and brittle starfish at Red Frog Beach. (B,L)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Day 5 - Panama
Swan's Cay/Boca del Drago.
Sailing
Today enjoy a boat tour to Swan's Cay to look for the red-billed tropic bird and brown boobies, and then continue on to Changuinola Channel to look for toucans and parrots.
Snorkeling
You’ll reach Boca del Drago Beach in time for lunch and later snorkel for giant red starfish and other underwater creatures.
Relaxation
The rest of the afternoon is on your own to relax on a hammock, visit the friendly town, or rent bicycles or kayaks.
Food and Dining
Celebrate at dinner with a live calypso band, and enjoy dancing, and fun all night!
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Day 6 - Panama
Gamboa Rainforest Resort.
Commercial Flight
In the morning, board your return flight to Panama City.
Villa Rental
This afternoon, settle into your accommodations in the villas at Gamboa Rainforest Resort. Situated in the middle of Soberania National Park, the 340-acre complex offers all the amenities of a 5-star hotel, along with gardens, pools, and rainforest trails.
Sightseeing
Enjoy a tour of the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal, a once in a life time experience. After lunch at the Locks, travel by van to Summit Gardens and the Harpy Eagle Exhibits, where you’ll see the largest eagle in the world!
Food and Dining
Tonight, dine on your own in one of the resort's restaurants. (B,L)
Day 7 - Panama
Gatun Lake/Canopy Tram.
Sailing
Early in the morning, meet your guide and take a short drive to the resort’s marina, where the Chagres River meets the Panama Canal. Board an expedition boat and travel across Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal, passing by gigantic cargo ships transiting the waterway that are a stark contrast to the natural surroundings.
Adventure
Along the way, you will have the opportunity to spot green iguanas, three-toed sloths resting on tree branches, crocodiles, ospreys in the hunt for peacock bass, snail kites, and keel-billed toucans, among many others!
Sightseeing
Gatun Lake was formed to give way to the Panama Canal in 1914. With a surface of 423 square-kilometers, it was the largest man-made lake in the world, at the time of its creation. 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 allow you to get close to rain forest-covered islands (former hill tops) in Gatun Lake to search for white-faced capuchins, mantled howler monkeys, Central American spider monkeys, and Geoffrey’s tamarin.
Food and Dining
Enjoy a picnic lunch on a small island with extraordinary views of the Panama Canal and the natural surroundings.
Sightseeing
In the afternoon, ride the Canopy Aerial Tram and visit other attractions in the resort, including the observation tower overlooking the Panama Canal and Soberania National Park, the orchid greenhouse, the butterfly farm, and the living-snake museum.
Food and Dining
Enjoy a farewell dinner at the resort.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Day 8 - Panama
Gamboa/Onward.
Airport Transfer
Transfer to the airport for your onward flight. (B)
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Meals as noted, each night in double occupancy accommodations, land transfers between components, English speaking guides, park or site entry fees, surface transport, equipment other than personal gear, government tax, airport transfer assistance, in-country ticket reconfirmation & check-in assistance (where permitted), complete pre-departure packet, toll-free pre-departure phone assistance.
Budget Excludes:Meals not noted as included, gratuities, beverages (except tea or coffee at meals), international or domestic airfare unless specified, airport departure taxes not included with air tickets, visas, itinerary changes after confirmation, any services not included in itinerary, any costs incurred due to canceled or delayed flights, acts of nature or other happenings beyond our control, or other costs as are more fully described in Journeys Terms & Conditions.
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