Perfect Combination: Panama and Costa Rica

Good to know:
• A bilingual (Spanish/English) guide will pick up passengers at the hotel for all booked tours
• All transfers are offered with driver only, in small special tourist buses with a maximum capacity of 12 seats
• Baggage restrictions: one suitcase / travel bag per person

Day 1: Arrival in Panama

Welcome to Panama City! Our local representative will greet you at the Tocumen International Airport. Private transfer to your hotel.

Lodging: Toscana Inn or similar

Day 2: Panama City and the Miraflores Locks

Departure to visit the city of Panamá. Guided tour through the most important and typical spots of Panamá. During this tour you will be able to have a quick look at colonial Panamá, contemporary Panamá and the ruins of Old Panamá - destroyed by the pirate Henry Morgan in 1671. You will shop for souvenirs at the craft markets while visiting the most traditional commercial, residential and modern areas of Panamá. Later, you will head to Casco Antiguo (colonial Panamá) where you will have the pleasure of touring its narrows streets, plazas and parks which still conserve much of the country’s history. Your visit will extend up to the Plaza de Francia, the Vaults, the Saint Joseph Church with its impressive gold altar, the “Arco Chato” (flat arch), and the Cathedral, among others. Continue to the Panamá Canal for a guided tour that will allow you to appreciate the history and functioning of this engineering structure considered to be the largest in the XX Century and the “Eighth Wonder of the Modern World”. You will continue to the Miraflores Locks where with a little bit of luck you will be able to see a ship passing through the Canal.

Lodging: Toscana Inn o similar

Day 3: Panama City - Emberá Indigenous in Changres Park

Early morning departure by coach to arrive at the Chagres River. Scenic boat transfer to arrive at the site of the Emberá Indigenous Community. Observe the traditions and ancient culture of these aborigines. After the visit return to Panamá City.

Lodging: Toscana Inn or similar

Day 4: Panama City - Bocas del Toro Archipelago

Early morning transfer to the nearby Marcos Gelabert International Airport for your flight to Bocas del Toro. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel. Afternoon at leisure.

Maximum luggage weight: 14kg.

Lodging: Hotel Swan´s Cay or similar

Day 5: Bocas del Toro Archipelago on the Caribbean

Be part of the marvelous experience of looking for dolphins in the Caribbean. Visit Bastimentos Island to see Kay Coral, a place of immense beauty. Continue by boat to Magic Bay and walk through the forest to the beautiful Rana Roja Beach in search of the famous red frog.

Lodging: Swan´s Cay or similar

Day 6: Bocas del Toro - Sixaola [Border] - Cahuita Marine National Park

Early morning boat transfer to Almirante in the mainland. Continuation by road across large banana plantations to Sixaola on the border with Costa Rica. After the formalities, continue along the Southern Caribbean Road to arrive at Cahuita. Early afternoon, visit the Cahuita Marine National Park. Cahuita is one of the most beautiful palm tree beaches in the country. The white sand comes from coral reefs and shells. Admire the beach at this 1068ha National Park and the numerous crustaceans and fishes as well as the only “living” coral reef in the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica.

Lodging: Ciudad Perdida Lodge or similar

Day 7: Cahuita - Sarapiquí Area

Early morning departure from Cahuita passing by the cities of Siquirres and Guápiles to arrive at Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí. This area encompasses one of the most famous rainforests and it is a renown adventure destination in Costa Rica. Several private rainforest reserves dedicated to investigation and tourism are connected with the Braulio Carrillo National Park. The Sarapiquí river is
famous for rafting and boat tours. In the afternoon in the hotel property, visit the Archaeological Park with a pre-Columbian burial field, the small museum featuring indigenous handcrafts and the botanical garden.

Lodging: Selva Verde Lodge or similar

Day 8: Tirimbina Reserve Chocolate Tour - La Fortuna at the Arenal Volcano

This morning a tour through the Tirimbina Rainforest Center that protects 346ha (865 acres) of pristine forest containing great biodiversity, will also open the secrets and wonders of one of mankind´s favorite foods: chocolate. Walk through the rain forest to the small site and learn about the historical and cultural facts about cocoa, including all aspects of the process for making chocolate: harvesting, fermentation, drying and grinding. Taste different chocolate samples made out of organic cocoa produced by the Amazilia Women Association. Afternoon transfer across the San Carlos Lowlands to arrive in La Fortuna at the Arenal Volcano.

Lodging: Catarata Lodge or similar

Day 9: Arenal Volcano and the Hanging Bridges

After sleeping 400 years, the Arenal Volcano erupted with tremendous force in 1968. It is an almost perfect 1.633m (5358 feet) cone. It continues active but at a smaller scale. In the morning, visit of the Arenal Hanging Bridges. Enjoy the walk into a dense rain forest. From the highest suspension bridges admire the forest canopy in the Arenal Volcano area, a natural corridor of great biological
diversity followed by birds migrating between North and South America, hundreds of flowers and the lush vegetation of the primary rainforest.

Lodging: Catarata Lodge or similar

Day 10: La Fortuna - San José or Beach on the Pacific Ocean

Transfer to the city of San José or to your selected beach on the Pacific Ocean.