The canal & rainforest experience - 6 Days / 5 Nights

This tour features a day-long trip through the Panama Canal, starting at the Pacific and ending in the Atlantic. You will be accompanied by an expert guide who will explain in detail the Canal’s fascinating history – from the French attempts to build a sea level canal, through the final days of the U.S. project. You will stay at the luxurious Gamboa Rainforest Resort, constructed on the banks of the Chagres River near Lake Gatun at the mid-point of the Panama Canal. Here you will be surrounded by lush tropical forest, yet only 45 minutes from Panama City.

Day 1 (Thursday): Arrive Panama
Arrive at the international airport, where you will be met by our driver and taken to your hotel in Panama City.

Day 2 (Friday): Panama City Tour
We will visit the modern City and next Casco Viejo, the antique neighborhood of San Felipe with his colonial churches, San Francisco, the square of the vault. We’ll make a stop for lunch and next visit the Canal Museum, the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal. In the evening, enjoy a Panamanian dinner and a folkloric dance show. Return to your hotel after dinner.

Day 3 (Saturday): Panama Canal Transit
Today your local host will pick you up at the hotel for an early morning transfer to Balboa Harbor on the Pacific side of the canal. There you will board a Panamanian ferry for a Canal Transit. As you approach the canal, you will view the Bridge of the Americas, the only structure that connects both sides of the mainland. Breakfast and snacks are included while cruising. An English-speaking guide will be onboard the ferry, narrating the dramatic story of the building of the Panama Canal, completed by the US between 1904 and 1914. A full crossing is scheduled for this Saturday, allowing you to enjoy the cruise all the way to Colon City on the Caribbean Coast. You will reach Colon around 5:00 PM and return to Panama City by bus in the late afternoon to your hotel in Panama City.

Day 4 (Sunday): Soberania National Park
Depart your hotel early for a sightseeing tour of the rainforest at Soberania National Park. You will have the opportunity to see birds, mammals and the tropical rainforest at its best. Check in at hotel Gamboa Rainforest Resort for an overnight. This resort offers great adventures as Gatun Lake tours, kayaking, fishing tours, aerial tram ride through the forest canopy, animal exhibitions, and more.

Day 5 (Monday): Atlantic Side, Achiote Road
This birding excursion to the Atlantic side of Panama is the most scenic drive in central Panama. From the road you will see the remnants of the old sea level French Canal, drive through wooded hills and will be able to reach the Gatun Locks. The woodland along the road is noted for trogons, motmots and numerous other forest and woodland birds. Then we head to Achiote Road and will hike the CEASPA new trail for other species such as White-headed and Stripe-breasted Wrens and Montezuma Oropendolas among others. You will stay overnight at one of the lodges or hotels in the Atlantic side.

Day 6 (Tuesday): Depart Panama
Transfer to the international airport approximately two hours before your flight’s scheduled departure time.

If you need more information about this Packages, please write us to info@vacacionespanama.com