Upon arrival to Panama a representative of Panama Trails will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to your city hotel for your first night in Panama.

 

On arrival you will receive all the vouchers for your services, please feel free to ask our representative everything you want to know about your trip.

 

Panama City is the capital and largest city in the country. It is home to a diverse blend of cultures and an enormous historical sector in the Old City. The lively and vibrant banking district on the other hand is very modern and often compared to Miami. Panama City is a thrilling location you will surely enjoy during your visit to this gorgeous country

Your English speaking guide will pick you up at your hotel and take you on a tour to Panama City and the Miraflores Locks.

 

You will start the tour with a 30 minutes drive to Miraflores to see the huge vessels passing the Panama Canal. The busiest hours are from 9am to 10am and from 2pm to 5pm, so you will be able to see many ships getting lifted or lowered 16 meters in two distinct steps. You will enjoy the view on the Locks from a sheltered terrace and listen to the explanations of your guide.

 

To complete the visit of the Canal you will visit the Museum and Visitor Center at Miraflores which gives you a good idea on the construction of the Canal – a masterpiece of engineering. You will also learn about the history of the canal and its significance for Panama and the entire world trade as well as on the current expansion project.

 

After the visit to the Canal you continue with your guide to the Amador Causeway, a road that connects three Islands in the Pacific Ocean and offers magnificent views on the Canal on one side and on the skyline of Panama City on the other side.  After lunch which will be served in an Panamanian restaurant, the tour continues to the Casco Viejo, Panama City’s colonial quarter. At the Casco Viejo you feel set back in time as you admire the lovely colonial houses, the narrow roads and the impressive churches. You will get a good idea about Panama’s history by driving or walking through the main attractions of this quarter.

 

To continue the tour you will be taken to Panama Viejo, the Old Panama. Panama Viejo was the first European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. This first Panama City was looted and destroyed by the notorious English bucaneer Henry Morgan in 1671 and therefore abandoned. Today there are only ruins left. Still, the tower of the ancient cathedral is standing and has become a landmark of the town. After the tour you will be taken back to your hotel. 

*For an additional cost this tour can be upgraded to a partial or full transit of the Panama Canal, traversing Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks. Upgrade options are available most Thursdays, Fridays or Saturdays.

Today you will head up north in direction Colon, towards Buena Vista. There you will board a small dugout (a canoe made from a hollowed tree trunk), which will carry you up the Gatun River to discover a large, fascinating and dense jungle that will accompany you until you arrive at the Embera Quera, an indigenous community based on the banks of Gatun Lake, near the Panama Canal.

 

The Embera tribe still lives in harmony with Mother Nature, they will welcome you at the wooden pier and gladly give you an idea on how they still live today. The villages chief will give you a brief explication on the history of the tribe, its traditions, cultures, believes and handicrafts. Then, a traditional lunch of fish and plantains prepared by the Embera women will be served to you.

 

In the afternoon you will experience a traditional Embera dance that will transport you back in time and also have the chance to shop for colorful handicrafts. The sale of local products directly benefits the village and helps to pay the school fees for the children. You can also get a temporary Embera tattoo painted on your arm or leg, using an ink made from a local fruit. 

A representative will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to Tocumen airport for your departure flight.

Suggested Hotels

• International and internal airfares
  
• Arrival/departure taxes or reciprocity fees, visa fees where applicable
  
• Travel insurance
  
• Gratuities
• Any items not mentioned as included

 Notes