Panama
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The Best of Panama
10 Days / 9 Nights
Day One Arrival in Panama
Meet and greet at the Tocumen International Airport by a representative of Experience Panama. Transfer to your hotel.
Overnight at the Hotel Caesar Park Panama
Day Two Panama City
The first stop of this very historical tour is at the ruins of "Panama Viejo," the first city founded in the isthmus by the Spanish and subsequently attacked and looted by Pirate Henry Morgan in 1671. We'll walk among the stonewalls and remnants of what was once considered the richest city in the Americas. Passing through Altos Del Golf, an up market residential neighborhood, we continue on to visit Casco Antiguo, the colonial city of Panama, built in 1673.
The architecture of this area is of exquisite taste including French, Italian and Spanish styles. Here we will see the Golden Altar, hidden from the pirate attacks to remain as one of the few testaments to all the wealth that made its way through this city. This area is also home to the "Flat Arch", famous for showing the US engineers that Panama wasn't subject to earthquakes thereby influencing the decision to build the canal in Panama.
We'll walk around the French Plaza - a monument to the French canal effort and take a panoramic look of the modern city from this vantage point where you can also see the ships that are anchored in the bay awaiting their turn to transit the canal. Next, visit the Independence Plaza and the Inter-Oceanic Canal Museum where you will learn the history of the Panama Canal construction.
We take a break from touring for a lunch at either Mi Pueblito, a picturesque, re-creation of a rural village that also demonstrates the varied architecture and the history of Panama, or at Flamenco Island in Amador. After lunch you will have time to explore the artisan stores and other sights on the Amador Causeway that unites 3 islands to the mainland and protects the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.
Our final stop but by far the most amazing will be at the Miraflores Locks where you will experience the operation of the Panama Canal first hand and enjoy an audiovisual presentation that describes how ships pass through this engineering wonder. We will also have a chance to see the Canal Zone Administration Building now the headquarters of the Panama Canal Authority.
We arrive back at the hotel after a full day, with time to relax before dinner.
Overnight at the Hotel Caesar Park Panamá
B / L
Day Three Panama City / Full Canal Transit / Gatun Lake
A fascinating and unique tour that shows you first hand the operation of this vital marine link. Early in the morning you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to Pier 18 in the Port of Balboa. The boat leaves at 7:30 am and heads out towards the Pacific entrance of the Canal, adjacent to Flamenco Island.
Once the Panama Canal Authority Pilot, who will guide us through our transit, has boarded the boat we will follow our companion vessel for the transit of the Miraflores Locks (by Canal standards, we are a small vessel, and for reasons of economy, rarely transit the locks alone). These locks raise the boat to the level of the Miraflores Lake that we will cross until we reach the Pedro Miguel Locks here our boat will be raised to approximately 85 feet above sea level so that we can cross through the center of Panama.
After exiting Pedro Miguel we enter the narrowest section of the Canal known as Gailard (or Culebra) Cut. This was the most difficult part of the excavation during the construction of the Panama Canal as it cuts through the continental divide, we will arrive at Gamboa where the Panama Canal Dredging Division has its headquarters and where you will be able to observe the impressive machinery used here to keep the canal in navigable condition.
We will then make our way across Gatun Lake, at one time the largest artificial lake in the world, toward Gatun Locks, the final set of locks at the Atlantic end of the canal, to be lowered back to sea level. At the port of Cristobal we will board the bus for our ride back to the starting point in Panama City.
Your day will be filled with incredible views, watching the huge freighters passing, the incredible wildlife that flourishes in the Canal watershed and the appreciation of just what it took to build this waterway 100 years ago. An unforgettable journey through the 8th wonder of the world.
Overnight in the Hotel Caesar Park Panamá
B / L (full transit) / D (partial transit)
Please note: The Full Transit is only available one Saturday per month, please check which dates are scheduled. The full transit takes about 10 hours and we enjoy both breakfast and lunch aboard the ship. On other Saturdays a Half Transit will be substituted and guests will enjoy a traditional Panamanian dinner and folklore show.
Day Four El Valle de Anton
In the morning we leave the hotel for El Valle de Anton, a luxurious valley located in the center of an extinct volcano crater. This valley is at 600 meters above sea level and offers magnificent views and a very agreeable climate. Here we will visit the quaint Sunday market, where local artisans offer their work for sale. We will also visit a waterfall that cascades over 25m, see some mysterious petroglyphs, stroll through the El Nispero Botanical Gardens and Zoo and you can even take a dip in the river below the waterfall if you want.
Lunch will be taken in one of the typical local restaurants.
For those looking for a bit of adrenaline adventure, you can go on the Canopy Adventure. Travel through the treetops on a system of cables, passing over the waterfall and river as you glide from platform to platform. The price of the Canopy Adventure is not included, there will be an additional charge per person.
Return to Panama in the late afternoon.
Overnight in the Hotel Caesar Park
B / L
Day Five Gatun Lake / Portobello / Colon / Panama City
An early start after breakfast in your hotel, takes you the Panama Canal Railway Train Station at Corozal, the starting point of our "trans-continental" rail journey in newly restored, air-conditioned passenger cars along the historic route that was the first rail link from the Atlantic to the Pacific anywhere in the Americas.
The railroad follows the east bank of the canal and affords an intimate view of the waterway and the rainforests that blanket its shores. You will be picked up at the Atlantic side for a tour of the Caribbean coast and the historic site of Portobello.
Portobelo was the name given to perhaps one of the most ideal and well-protected inlets along the Caribbean coast of Panama. A haven for the Spanish conquistadors and a juicy target for pirates trying to get their hands on the treasures of the New World. Sir Francis Dr
ake died off the coast of this area in 1596 and was supposedly buried in a lead coffin close to what is now known as Drakes Island.
Portobelo was the final Caribbean terminus of two trails that crossed the jungles of the isthmus, Camino Real and Camino de Cruces. Here, once enough merchandise had been accumulated, caravans of sailing ships would begin the trip back to Spain, escorted by enough firepower to repel most, but not all, pirate attacks as they attempted to sail on past the West Indies. In its heyday, Portobelo was a complex of batteries and forts that guarded the entrance to this beautiful inlet, perhaps the most heavily fortified of the Spanish control points along the coasts of the Americas. Nevertheless, this strategic and heavily fortified harbor was not enough to keep out the fleet of ships commandeered by Englishman Edward Vernon, who captured and destroyed the forts in 1739.
Joined by one of our guides we'll take an intimate look at the outstanding features of this important historical site as well as the Church of the Black Christ and learn its interesting legend.
Overnight in the Hotel Melia Panama Canal
B / L
Day Six The Route of the Conquistadors
After breakfast we leave to follow the Route of the Conquistadors. We start with a visit to the Gatun Locks on the Caribbean side of the canal, passing underneath the huge lock gates. We then embark in small boats onto the lower Chagres River until we reach the historic Fort San Lorenzo, built by the Spanish in the 16th Century to protect their settlements on the coast. From this advantageous position one can almost visualize the Spanish galleons and the boats of Sir Francis Drake who fought and anchored off this coast hundreds of years ago.
Enjoy the exotic vegetation and the abundance of wildlife and butterflies that you will see en route, one of Panama's remaining primary tropical rainforests where you can see various species of monkey, sloths and birds of every description. This is an exciting and unique tour. During the day we will offer a light lunch and we return to the hotel in the late afternoon.
Overnight in the Hotel Melia Panama Canal
B / L
Day Seven Melia Panama Canal / Gamboa Rainforest Resort
After breakfast we will depart for the Gamboa Rainforest Resort. Here you will enjoy all the facilities of this luxury resort. In addition you will take in their Exhibition Center with the Orchid Farm, Reptile Display, Butterfly House, Aquarium and perhaps the most exciting, a ride on the Aerial Tram through the jungle canopy to the viewpoint that overlooks the canal.
You will have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the resort's facilities.
Overnight in the Gamboa Rainforest Resort
B / L
Day Eight Embera Drua Indigenous Community
Embera Drua Indigenous Community
Day Nine Barro Colorado Nature Reserve
Early in the morning we head to the dock at Gamboa for our trip across Gatun Lake. For nature lovers this is considered one of the best tours in Panama offering a view into the richness of the areas ecology and being so close to the city as well. The island of Barro Colorado is located in the center of Gatun Lake and was once the top of a hill before the construction of the canal. Since 1923, the island has been a nature reserve and in 1943 the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute established research laboratories for the investigation of neo-tropical plants and wildlife. Accompanied by a specialist guide you will be able to explore the trails and search for monkeys, sloths and other mammals. Innumerable species of tropical birds enjoy this natural habitat as well. A light lunch will be served on the island.
Overnight in the Hotel Caesar Park Panamá
B / L
Day Ten Departure Day
After breakfast at the hotel you will be transferred to the airport for your flight home.
B
PRICE: Standard Double $ ; Standard Single
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