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Panama Itinerary?
Thinking about going to Panama June 13-21 for the first time.
Would like to combine lounging on the beach as well as some touring around. Any suggestions? Must see's and do's? We are an active couple in our 40's. |
#2
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Panama Itinerary?
"Nick and Judy" wrote in message ... Thinking about going to Panama June 13-21 for the first time. Would like to combine lounging on the beach as well as some touring around. Any suggestions? Must see's and do's? We are an active couple in our 40's. You will, of course, wish you had more time. You'lll most likely fly into Panama City. Stay in town the first night and marvel at the pace of new construction. It's a real boom town. In advance, find a tour that includes the Gamboa Lodge, which is a luxury resort (with a killer dawn-of-time vista off the main deck). They have small boat tours into the jungle, and out into the canal itself. Then the tour will take you to the works of the canal, where you can watch a few ships pass through, visit the canal museum, and have a very nice lunch. On our trip, in November of 2006, we had planned for three days in the San Blas Islands at this place: http://www.geocities.com/mamitupu/ Unfortunately, the area suffered a huge storm (the most damaging in the history of the country) while we were supposed to be there, so we ended up spending that time at a new 5-star beach resort near Panama City. It wasn't the experience we were looking forl, and we would have preferred the Gamboa Lodge for that kind of money, but it was full. Still, a day at the beach is a better day than most others. We did become acquainted with a three-toed sloth, who decided to snooze with us in the shade - we were on a fluffy pillow, and he was hanging upside down from a rafter. How he got there mystified everyone, for as agile as a sloth isn't in the treetops, he's pretty helpless on the ground - more like a beached fish than a mammal with four legs. We spent some time in the mountains around Boquete, where it was cool and relaxing, but there wasn't a lot going on that didn't involve horses, so we moved on to Boca del Toro, which is a throwback to the days before resorts found the Caribben. The town is more laid back than I can hope to describe. Picture barely-paved streets that parallel the waterfront, and a waterfront lined with two and three story wooden buildings with only the front doors on land, and the rest sittting on stilts in the water. Most of those are hotels and restaurants, but a few are public buildings as well. Anything goes, in a funky, old-fashioned way, too. The bars and restaurants have price competition at happy hour, probably figuring there's a better than even chance you'll stay for dinner if you're already there. Just the signs trying to entice you in are colorful and amusing. Most activity involves a boat ride, and it's not that expensive to arrange your own boat for a day of sightseeing, swimming, snorkling, or just cruising (or all of the above). Otherwise, there are plenty of boats to share for inexpensive days on the water. There were a lot of people there to fish, as well, and fishing charters are very popular. From town, there is a little jungle bus that will take you out to a nice beach with a restaurant and restrooms. The same storm that pounded San Blas had torn up the open-water beaches in the area, but there was enough sand left to enjoy the surf. Now that I think of it, we have a history of visiting beaches that have gone missing, so it's probably more our own problem than a common one. I have contact information for a good, dependable guide in the Panama City area, who can arrange rides to and from the airports, local tours, and he's a fountain of information about the country. Email me if you'd like to know more, see some pictures, or contact Alex, who was our guide for several days. Keith |
#3
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Panama Itinerary?
On May 13, 1:19*pm, "Nick and Judy" wrote:
Thinking about going to Panama June 13-21 for the first time. Would like to combine lounging on the beach as well as some touring around.. Any suggestions? Must see's and do's? We are an active couple in our 40's. We just stopped there for a day on a cruise, but we actually enjoyed the Panama Canal locks more than we expected. We also went kayaking on the canal. |
#4
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Panama Itinerary?
Sailing in San Blas is great - just search the web for it and you will
find people who organize this. Should be roughly $150-200 pp and day (with 3 day min). Decameron and Playa Blanca are great places to relax and eat til you drop. Just make sure to book well in advance. Bocas del Toro is nice to visit as well, but I would not spend more than 2 days there since it is quite small. Gamboa and the locks you can do before noon in one day. Best wishes, Marcus http://tomopt.com/ |
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