Panama
"Crossroads of the World"
Day 1: Arrive Panama City
Meeting service at the airport and transfer to the hotel of your choice. Hotel Selection Panama City
†Rates subject to change All tours are via private vehicle with a private driver and guide. Meals included as per the tour description. There are several ways to visit the Panama Canal. The closest and most convenient are the Miraflores Locks right outside of Panama City. These are the tallest in the system due to the extreme tidal variation in the Pacific Ocean. On Saturdays a tour operates that provides a partial canal transit through the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks and then cruises the famous Gailliard Cut, a nine-mile excavation through Panama's backbone, to Lake Gatun. During the transit you will have the opportunity to experience and hear explanations of one of the modern wonders of the world. Arrive at Gamboa on Lake Gatun and motorcoach transfer back to Panama City.
Half-Day
Panama Canal Zone: Miraflores Locks (Daily) Half-Day
Panama Canal Transit Tour (Saturday) Full-Day
Panama Canal Transit Tour (Available only on specific Saturdays)
Lunch is not included Full-Day Train & History Tour to Colon & Portobelo (Daily)
Full-Day
Fort Lorenzo & Gatun Locks Tour with Lunch: Daily The careful observer can identify the crested guan and great currosow, along with the motmot. There will be a pause for lunch and a brief swim in one of the crystal clear pools of the beautiful Casaya River. NOTE: This tour is moderately difficult with four hours of hiking over variable terrain. It is recommended for older children and adults who can handle occasionally rugged terrain. The tour lasts about six hours total.
All tours are via private vehicle with a private driver and guide. Meals included as per the tour description. Half-Day
Barro Colorado Tour (Daily)
Visit the center of scientific tropical field studies, Barro Colorado Island. This island and the surrounding Barro Colorado Nature Monument is the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's primary site for study of the lowland moist tropical forest. To reach the monument you will travel a short distance in a comfortable boat from the resort marina down the Chargres River to the Panama Canal. You will then travel north past the scenic town of Gamboa, an important facility for the operation of the Panama Canal, and parallel to the canal through Gatun Lake. Lush tropical, vegetation and scenic vistas surround you on all sides. This is a tour for people of all ages who will enjoy the forty-minute boat ride and easywalk on moderate terrain in the rainforest. Be sure to wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants to protect against insects. Photographs should be taken with a flash. Half-Day
Pipeline Nature Trail Tour (Daily) Full-Day
Las Cruces Trail (Daily)
Full-Day
Anton Valley Tour with Crafts Market (Sundays Only) Full-Day
Anton Valley Tour with Zipline Tour |
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Visit
some of the most important sites of Panama City
Old
Panama - 'Panama La Vieja,'
Early
morning pick-up at your hotel and transfer to Dock 18, for a 7:30 AM
departure on board one of the ships that will transit the Panama Canal
starting with the Miraflores Locks (the tallest in the system due to
the extreme tidal variation in the Pacific Ocean). Then you will cruise
the famous Gailliard Cut, a nine-mile excavation through Panama's backbone,
through to Lake Gatun. During the transit you will have the opportunity
to experience and hear explanations of one of the modern wonders of
the world. Arrive at Gamboa on Lake Gatun and motorcoach transfer back
to Panama City, arriving Pier 19 at about 1:00 PM. Return transfer to
your hotel.
Observe
the Spanish efforts to safeguard one of their treasure routes as exemplified
at Fort San Lorenzo, a stone fort built in the late 16th century. The
series of successive forts that were built at this spot, a high bluff
at the mouth at the Chagres River, were meant to protect the final leg
of the trail known as the Camino de Cruces. This was one of the trails
that the Spaniards had developed across the Panamanian isthmus to carry
South American loot back to Europe. En route you'll pass through Ft.
Sherman, until recently home of the U.S. military's jungle survival
school. This area, now a protected tract of evergreen rainforest, is
home to many bird, mammal, insect and plant species. You'll take a short
walk in this tropical reserve on an old gravel road and observe and
discuss some of this amazing diversity. You'll have lunch at the Hotel
Melia Panama Canal, and then proceed to view Gatún Dam, the largest
of the Panama Canal system. You will also take a look at the old French
canal, which was started in the 1880´s, as well as the third locks
excavation which was an aborted attempt by the U.S. government beginning
in 1938 to build a third lane for ships to enter the canal. From here
you go to the nearby Gatún Locks observation area, where you'll
have an impressive view of the Caribbean Sea 87 feet below Lake Gatún,
and you can see ships being lowered from lake to ocean level as well.
Take
a unique hiking adventure in an old growth lowland tropical rainforest.
Cross the historic Charges River to the old town site of Las Cruces
and walk up the Casaya River, through the old growth tropical rainforest.
Cross the stream bed and walk along the forested ridge to the historic
Las Cruces trail and return to the old Las Cruces townsite. As you follow
the trail, stay alert for insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Capuchin
and howler monkeys can be seen, along with coatamundis, agoutis, and
pacas. A wide variety of forest birds are also in the area, including
several species of parrot sand toucans.
Lunch is included and then return to Panama City.