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

1. Day 1: Arrive in Panama City

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

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Panama City
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Tocumen International Airport (PTY), about 25 km east of the centre. A driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the 30 to 60 minute drive into the city, along the bay past the banking towers. At about 4:30 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group and the van makes a short stop at the white Cristo Rey parish church, one of the city's landmark churches. The van then drops us at Plaza 5 de Mayo, and we walk about 1 km in under an hour along the pedestrian stretch of Avenida Central, lined with shoe shops, fruit sellers and early 20th-century facades, to the edge of Casco Viejo as the heat goes out of the day. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Skip the walk and meet the group at the restaurant; the van can bring you.

   Free time: Free until the 4:30 pm walk

   Activity: Land by about 1 pm to join the walk; later arrivals are met and join the group at dinner.

   

2. Day 2: 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

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Panama City
   Day 2 details

   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. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: Ride the van to Casco Viejo and join the walk there, skipping the Avenida 3 de Noviembre section.

   More active option: After sunset, carry on with your guide along the Cinta Costera waterfront path.

   Free time: Midday rest and dinner free

   Activity: About 2.5 km on foot in the late afternoon, on pavements and cobbles; it is hot, so bring water and a hat. Pack your small island bag tonight.

   

3. Day 3: 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

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Guna Yala islands
   Day 3 details

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

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Rest in the shade after lunch; there is nothing you have to do this afternoon.

   More active option: Snorkel along the island's edge with your guide in the afternoon.

   Free time: Afternoon free on the island

   Activity: About 3 hours by road, the last hour steep and winding; take motion-sickness tablets if you need them. Stepping out of the boat can mean wet feet.

   

4. Day 4: The natural pool and a snorkelling island

   A boat day among the islands of Guna Yala

   • By boat
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Guna Yala islands
   Day 4 details

   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. 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. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: Stand or float in the waist-deep natural pool, or stay on the beach at the second island.

   More active option: Snorkel at both stops and again off the lodge island in the afternoon.

   Free time: Afternoon free on the island

   Activity: Open boat rides of 15 to 30 minutes between stops, which can be wet. Bring reef-safe sun cream and a rash vest; the sun reflects off the water.

5. Day 5: A Guna community visit

   Our island to a Guna community island and back

   • By boat
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Guna Yala islands
   Day 5 details

   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.

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Sit with the mola makers rather than walking the whole village.

   More active option: In the afternoon, snorkel or paddle a lodge canoe round the island, if the lodge has one free.

   Free time: Afternoon free on the island

   Activity: The village walk is short and flat on sand. Bring small US notes in case you want to buy a mola or pay for a photo.

6. Day 6: 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

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   Day 6 details

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

   Included

   • 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

   Free time: No free time: the day ends at Tocumen International Airport or your city hotel.

   Activity: Book a flight home leaving Tocumen after about 6 pm.

Wildlife and weather: December to April is the dry season: hot, sunny days in Panama City and less rain on the islands. It is also the windy season on the Caribbean coast, especially from about January to March, so the boat rides can be bumpy and spray-soaked, and the captain may change which natural pool or reef we visit. Starfish are usually seen in the shallows of the natural pools; reef fish are small and colourful rather than big, and nothing is promised.

• Panama City2 nights
• Guna Yala islands3 nights