Canal to Cuba with Panama, Costa Rica & Colombia

Board your independent flight, arrive in Panama City, and transfer to Le Meridien Panama for dinner and overnight.

This morning enjoy a tour of this cosmopolitan city, with lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, board the Hebridean Sky.

Anchor off Isla Coiba for an exploration of one of the largest marine parks in the world. Zodiacs take you on excursions along wild shores and bring you to secluded beaches. On nature hikes search for more than 130 species of birds, including red-legged honeycreepers, crimson-backed tanagers, and brilliantly colored lance-tailed manakins. Snorkeling is excellent, as Coiba is also the site of a large coral reef where a convergence of currents reveals an array of eastern tropical Pacific marine life.   

Enjoy a relaxing day at sea and attend lectures from experts.  

Panama’s remote Darién Province is one of Central America’s last unspoiled regions. This morning enter Emberá Indian territory as you land on Playa del Muerto at the mouth of the Mogue River. Enjoy warm welcomes from the Emberá community of Mogue, where you can learn more about their traditional way of life and enjoy a lively dance performance.

During your daylight transit, the Hebridean Sky gracefully navigates the dramatic Gaillard Cut, Gatun Lake, and the canal’s three mighty locks. Relax on deck and enjoy a historical perspective as you follow this famed waterway to the Atlantic. 

The San Blas Archipelago is a group of over 350 islands stretching for 200 miles along Panama’s east coast. Largely roadless, and many ringed with reefs, they vary in size from tiny uninhabited islets with few palm trees to larger islands clad in jungle. San Blas is also home to the Kuna Indians, a semiautonomous tribe still practicing the traditions of their ancestors, including the crafting of molas - brightly colored, appliquéd fabrics. Meet the Kuna, learn about their culture, and admire or purchase molas. In the afternoon land at Holandes Caye to snorkel in the inviting waters.

This morning disembark in the historic town of Portobelo, one of Spain’s most important strongholds in the Americas during colonial times. Visit Forts San Geronimo and Santiago de la Gloria, as well as the Church of San Felipe.    

Board shallow-draft boats today for an excursion among the Tortuguero Canals, home to 2,000 plant species, more than 400 species of birds, and 13 of Costa Rica’s 16 endangered mammals. During your exploration of the raffia-lined waterways, you may spy sloths, howler and capuchin monkeys, wood storks, bare-throated tiger herons, roseate spoon-bills, Montezuma oropendolas, ringed kingfishers, and crocodiles, caimans, turtles, iguanas, as well as the Jesus Christ lizard, so named for its unique ability to run across water. Return to the ship for lunch and set sail for Colombia.    

Far from mainland Colombia, rarely visited Isla de Providencia is a warm and friendly, English-speaking island with the nostalgic feel of the Caribbean of yesteryear. An island tour takes you to a parochial school and other points of interest ashore. Or, venture out to snorkel among a variety of fish that populate the island’s coral reef.   

Attend lectures on the region’s history and wildlife or simply relax on deck.  

With its French spirit and fabulous setting along Cuba’s most spectacular bay, Cienfuegos has earned UNESCO status for its outstanding architecture, which you discover on a guided walking tour. Then depart overland for the UNESCO-designated Zapata Wetland region. View some of the local wildlife at the Fiesta Campesina zoo-park before touring the Playa Giron (Bay of Pigs) Museum, located at the site of the unsuccessful military invasion by US-backed anti-Castro forces in April 1961.   

This beautiful island offers breathtaking beaches, lush forests, and excellent snorkeling and diving. Join naturalists on walks to search for indigenous flora and fauna, explore the rich marine environment, or simply relax and soak in your surroundings on a white-sand beach.

Isolated Maria La Gorda is one of the most diverse biological regions in the world, and home to a variety of different natural habitats, including coral reefs, beaches, mangroves, scrublands, and evergreen forests with more than 170 species of birds and dozens of reptile and mammal species. Spend the morning snorkeling over pristine reefs and searching for wildlife on nature walks. 

Disembark after breakfast and get acquainted with Old Havana—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—on a walking tour. After lunch make a stop at El Floridita Bar, the birthplace of the daiquiri and one of Hemingway’s favorite watering holes. This evening, climb into one of Havana’s vintage cars for a stylish ride to Rio Mar for dinner, then enjoy a performance at the legendary Buena Vista Social Club. Check in to the five-star Meliá Cohiba, which overlooks the city’s famous three-mile-long Malecón, for dinner and overnight. 

Transfer to the airport for your independent homeward flight,