Highlights:
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Small group size to maximize
your tour experience
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Full ocean-to-ocean
transit of the Panama Canal
-
City Tour of old and
new Panama City and Miraflores Locks and Visitors
Center in the former U.S.Canal Zone
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Full-day visit to Embera
Indian Village in the Rainforest
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Dinner and Folklore Dance
Show
See Tour Preview Video!
Daily
Itinerary:
Day 1:
Upon arrival in
Panama, you are transferred to your hotel in Panama City. There will be a group orientation session and dinner at the
hotel.
Day 2:
Panama City Tour
You will have a full-day tour of historic Panama City.
You begin by visiting the new museum and the 16th century ruins of
Old Panama (Panama La Vieja). Afterwards,
you visit Colonial Panama (Casco Viejo), stopping at the
San Jose
Church to see its gold-altar and to have lunch at Manolo
Caracol Restaurant. Afterwards, you continue
on to the former U.S. Canal Zone for a visit to the Miraflores Locks
and Visitor Center. In the evening you'll enjoy a dinner and folk
dance show at Las Tinajas Restaurant in Panama City.
Day 3:
Panama Canal Transit
Today is your full
ocean-to-ocean transit through the
Panama Canal. Your
eight-hour transit will take you through three sets of locks,
the Gailard Cut and Gatun Lake. Your 90-minute return to
Panama City is on a
motor coach. Your transit on a small
ship provides the opportunity to appreciate the enormity of the
locks and to experience the process of the filling of the
chambers and the rising of your ship.
Day 4:
Today you
have a full-day visit to an
Embera Village which is like a scene from
National Geographic. Situated on the banks of the Chagres River in
the heart of a tropical rainforest, the village is reached only by sturdy
canoes (with motors). You meet the gentle Embera villagers, learn about
their culture, and see their ceremonial dances. You can purchase woven
baskets and carved tagua nut figurines of jungle wildlife made from the
hard seed of the village palm trees. You can walk in the rainforest or visit the
nearby herbal garden where your
guide shows you plants from which many known pharmaceuticals are made.
In the evening, you will have a farewell dinner
in at
a popular seafood restaurant on the Amador causeway.
Day 5: Transfer
to Tocumen International Airport for your return home or
extend your stay at a five-star beach resort on the Pacific Coast,
or at a five-star rainforest
resort in Gamboa. You can also continue on to Costa Rica for our
Costa Rica Variety Tour on January 19-25.
2008 Passenger
Comments
"We had a great time on
the Panama trip and hope you will continue the tour so others
will be able to have the same opportunity we all had this
year. It was so educational but also enjoyable."
Lonny & Ann B,
retired business systems consultant, NC
"Your tour was exactly
what I was looking for. It was a terrific trip. I
have had no problem speaking highly about the schedule, the
people, and the opportunity to be pioneers in Panama before the
world finds out what a great place it is."
Jerry G, retired educator (CA)
