Panama: the Canal, Casco Viejo and the Guna Yala islands

Arrive in Panama City

Tocumen International Airport to your hotel in Panama City, then the Cristo Rey church and a walk along Avenida Central

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : Panama City
• Environ 1 h de route

Soir

Over a welcome dinner of Panamanian dishes such as sancocho, ceviche and fried plantain, your guide explains the week: why day 3 starts early, what to pack for the islands and which bag stays at the hotel.

Compris

• Pick-up at Tocumen International Airport (PTY)
• Short stop at the Cristo Rey church
• Guided walk along the pedestrian Avenida Central to the edge of Casco Viejo
• Welcome dinner and briefing

The Miraflores Locks and Casco Viejo

Panama City to the Miraflores Locks and the Amador Causeway, then on foot along Avenida 3 de Noviembre into Casco Viejo

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Panama City
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we drive about twenty minutes to the Miraflores Locks at the Pacific end of the Panama Canal, opened in 1914 and run by Panama since the end of 1999.

Soir

We stay about 90 minutes, timed to the day's posted ship transits, which your guide checks the evening before; in the morning the ships in the locks are mostly northbound, heading for the Caribbean. From the terraces you watch a ship the length of a city block raised or lowered with a few metres to spare, and the museum explains how the locks work. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the Amador Causeway, built from rock dug out of the canal, looking back at the skyline. After a rest through the midday heat, the van drops us at about 4 pm at the top of Avenida 3 de Noviembre, a different street from last night's, and we walk down it under the viaduct and past the stalls to the seafood market and the waterfront, then into Casco Viejo: the cathedral square, the golden altar of the San José church, Plaza Bolívar and the French plaza, ending on the old sea wall at sunset. Dinner is free.

Compris

• Miraflores Locks visitor centre entry, with the viewing terraces and museum (about 90 minutes)
• Sit-down lunch on the Amador Causeway
• Guided walk of about 2.5 km along Avenida 3 de Noviembre to the waterfront and through Casco Viejo to the sea wall at sunset

Activités en option

• The Biomuseo on the Amador Causeway or the Panama Canal Museum in Casco Viejo, at your own cost

By 4x4 and boat to Guna Yala

Panama City to El Llano and over the hills to the Cartí port, then by boat to our island

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Guna Yala islands
• Environ 3 h de route

Matin

This is the trip's one early start: the 4x4s leave at about 5:30 am, the normal pattern for this road, so we clear the Guna Yala checkpoint before the queue builds and cross to the islands in the calmer morning water. Your main bag stays at the hotel. We drive east on the Pan-American Highway to El Llano, then north on the El Llano to Cartí road, about 40 km of steep, winding climbs and drops through forested hills that only four-wheel drives may use. At the checkpoint we show passports and the entry fee is paid for you. From the Cartí port a motorboat takes 20 to 45 minutes to our island lodge, run by a Guna family.

Après-midi

After settling into the cabins, lunch is fresh fish, rice, plantain and coconut. The afternoon is free: swim, snorkel off the beach or sleep in a hammock.

Soir

After dinner, the generator or solar power goes off early and the stars come out.

Compris

• 4x4 transfer from Panama City to the Cartí port
• Guna Yala entry fee and island fees
• Motorboat from Cartí to the island lodge
• All meals at the lodge
• Snorkel mask for the stay

The natural pool and a snorkelling island

A boat day among the islands of Guna Yala

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Guna Yala islands
• En bateau

Matin

After breakfast we board the lodge's boat with a Guna captain for a morning among the islands. The first stop is a natural pool, a wide sandbar in the open sea where the water is waist-deep and clear, and starfish often lie on the sand; please look and leave them in the water. Next we cross to a small island to swim and snorkel over seagrass and patches of coral, where you see reef fish rather than big animals. If the wind is strong, which is common from about January to March, the captain picks the most sheltered spots, and the plan can swap with tomorrow's.

Après-midi

We are back at the lodge for lunch, and the afternoon is free: swim, read, buy a mola from the Guna women who paddle out to sell them, or walk round the island, which may take ten minutes.

Soir

Dinner is at the lodge, usually fish or chicken with rice. After dinner your guide briefs us on the community's visiting rules for tomorrow.

Compris

• Morning boat trip with a Guna captain
• A natural pool on a sandbar
• Swimming and snorkelling at a small island
• All meals at the lodge
• Evening briefing on the community's visiting rules

Activités en option

• A longer boat trip to the Cayos Holandeses, the outer islands, paid locally to the lodge if the sea allows

A Guna community visit

Our island to a Guna community island and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Guna Yala islands
• En bateau

Soir

Last evening your guide went over the rules, which the community sets: ask before photographing anyone, and expect a small fee if they agree; cover shoulders and knees; follow the local guide; and never take a coconut, because every palm in Guna Yala has an owner. After breakfast we take the boat to a Guna community island arranged by the lodge, where houses of cane and palm thatch stand close together on the sand. With a Guna guide we walk the lanes, visit the congress house where the community meets, and spend time with mola makers, who sew layered, cut-away cloth panels worn on the front and back of the women's blouses and explain what the patterns mean. Crafts are for sale, never required. We are back at the lodge for lunch. The afternoon is free for a last swim, and at sunset the group gathers on the beach for the final island dinner.

Compris

• Boat to a Guna community island and back
• Guided visit with a Guna guide, including the congress house and mola makers
• All meals at the lodge

Back to Panama City and home

Our island by boat to the Cartí port, by 4x4 to the Panama City hotel for your bags, then by van to lunch and Tocumen International Airport

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Environ 3.5 h de route

Matin

A last breakfast and swim, then the boat leaves at about 8:30 am for the Cartí port, where the 4x4s wait.

Après-midi

The road back climbs over the same forested hills to El Llano and runs west along the Pan-American Highway, about 2.5 hours, to our Panama City hotel at about midday. There we collect the main bags from storage and change into our own van. A sit-down farewell lunch nearby takes about an hour, and the van then drives about 45 minutes to Tocumen International Airport (PTY), arriving at about 2:30 to 3 pm. Boat and road times depend on the sea and the checkpoint, so for international flights, which need about three hours at the airport, book a flight home leaving after about 6 pm. If you are staying on in Panama City, the van drops you at your hotel instead; we can quote extra nights, or join you to the Panama highlights trip through Boquete and Bocas del Toro.

Compris

• Motorboat from the island to the Cartí port
• 4x4 transfer from Cartí to the Panama City hotel
• Main bags collected from the hotel's storage
• Sit-down farewell lunch
• Van to Tocumen International Airport (PTY) or a Panama City hotel