Panama and Costa Rica: Crossing the Canal

Welcome to Panama City. Upon arriving at the airport, proceed to the Arrivals Hall to meet a representative for a seamless transfer to the designated group hotel. Once at the hotel, visit the hospitality desk located in the lobby to gather useful information regarding pre-embarkation procedures and making the most of time spent in the city. Collect the necessary cabin tags for your luggage, ensuring each is clearly labeled with your name and assigned ship cabin number.

This evening offers ample time to relax and unwind in preparation for the upcoming journey.

Accommodation: Panama City Hotel

This morning, join a local guide to stroll the cobbled streets of Casco Viejo, Panama City's historic Old Town. Colonial facades, vibrant plazas, and centuries-old churches tell stories of Spanish conquests and marauding pirates as the route winds through this UNESCO-listed gem. Along the way, the aroma of Panamanian coffee mingles with the sweet scent of hojaldres, a traditional sugary fried treat, drifting from the district's open-air cafés. The walk continues to the Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panama, a beautifully restored building chronicling the epic saga of the Panama Canal. Inside, detailed exhibits trace the waterway's tumultuous history, from failed French ambitions to the ultimate American triumph, highlighting its profound impact on global commerce.

Afterward, choose either to return to the hotel or linger longer to explore the neighborhood further at your own pace. This evening, gather at a welcome reception to meet the host and fellow travelers.

Accommodation: Panama City Hotel

Departing Panama City, stop en route to boarding your own engineering marvel, at the Miraflores Locks - a testament to the ingenuity that transformed global shipping. Built on a site chosen for its elevation and proximity to the Pacific, the Miraflores Locks allow gravity-fed chambers to manage sea level differences, making them an indispensable facet of the canal. This extensive lock system lifts and lowers ships up to 16 meters (52.5 feet) using massive concrete chambers and sluice gates that control water flow. Constructed in the early 20th century, they were engineered with precision to handle vessels of varying sizes, using hydraulics and gravity rather than pumps. Without them, the Canal simply couldn’t operate, with ships being unable to cross the hilly terrain and freshwater lakes that separate the oceans.

The Miraflores Visitors Center offers a compelling insight into the strategic and mechanical core of the Panama Canal. Your visit begins with an award-winning IMAX documentary that highlights the Canal’s global significance and the formidable engineering challenges overcome during its construction. Afterwards, you move to the observation terraces on the ground and first floors, where you watch vessels as they are raised and lowered through the locks in an intricate process that showcases the Canal’s precision and power.

With your curiosity piqued by your visit, you board the Douglas Mawson at the port of Colon ready to experience your own Panama Canal transit firsthand tomorrow.

Today, experience one of the most extraordinary engineering achievements in history, on a daytime crossing of the Panama Canal from Colon to Balboa.

After an initial French attempt to build the canal, the United States completed it in 1914, transforming global shipping. Before its existence, vessels had to sail up to 15,000 kilometers (9,300 miles) around Cape Horn — a journey that could add up to 15 days of travel time. With the canal in place, ships could slip through the Isthmus of Panama in a matter of hours, dramatically improving trade logistics. But behind the brilliance, construction was gruelling and dangerous. During the American phase alone, over 40,000 workers labored through treacherous terrain and battled tropical diseases. The toll was staggering with more than 25,000 people dying over the entire period of construction.

Today, approximately 11,500 ships pass through the Panama Canal annually, with many designed to fit the dimensions of its original locks—a testament to its enduring influence on global shipping. Today, your own Douglas Mawson makes the iconic transit across the Isthmus, accompanied by expert commentary from a local canal specialist, offering insight into every stage of the journey and the remarkable engineering behind it.

Two distinctly different ‘Your Choice’ experiences this morning. Choose to immerse yourself in the culture of the Emberá people, or ride in a tramway high in the tropical forest canopy, before you sail west to Costa Rica, late afternoon.

Personalize your exploration with the included ‘Your Choice’ experiences.

Option 1 – Morning experience: Emberá village visit
Your journey takes you on land and river today, when you visit an Emberá village on a journey into the heart of Panama’s indigenous heritage. Nestled deep within the rainforest, the community lives in stilted wooden homes with thatched roofs, surrounded by lush greenery. The Emberá people maintain a lifestyle closely tied to nature, fishing in nearby rivers, cultivating crops like yucca and plantains, and crafting baskets and carvings from local materials. Their lives are guided by ancestral knowledge, passed down through oral storytelling, music, and dance. Children learn through observation and participation, while elders serve as cultural guardians. The village operates with a strong sense of cooperation and respect, where decisions are made collectively and traditions are honored. You are welcomed to the village not just as guests, but as students, invited to learn about a way of life that values simplicity, sustainability, and a deep connection to the land.

Option 2 – Morning experience: Treetop rainforest experience
Board an aerial tram for a fascinating ride through Panama’s rainforest canopy, revealing a world few get to see from the ground. The tram travels around 600 meters (approximately 1,970 feet) through the jungle, rising gradually above the forest floor, passing towering trees like the kapok and Panama tree, tangled vines, and bursts of orchids. Wildlife sightings are common, with howler monkeys, toucans, and sloths often appearing among the branches. The ride is guided as an audio feed, making this a fascinating journey for nature lovers. The tram is smooth, quiet, and ideal for anyone wanting a close-up rainforest experience without having to hike.

Enjoy a day at sea, as you sail into the Pacific Ocean. There’s time to unwind, attend a presentation, or simply enjoy the sunset on the horizon as you sail from Panama to Costa Rica.

Tucked between the Osa Peninsula and the southern mainland, Golfo Dulce is a deep, sheltered gulf where rainforest spills into the sea. It’s one of the only tropical fjords in the world, and its calm waters are a magnet for marine life, from dolphins and sea turtles to migrating humpback whales. Scarlet macaws flash overhead, mangroves fringe the shore, and the forest hums with life. Unlike busier coastal spots, Golfo Dulce feels untouched, quiet, wild, and deeply alive. Whether you're paddling, walking nearby trails or joining a boat cruise of the bay, it’s a place that invites you to slow down and look closer.

Personalize your exploration with the included ‘Your Choice’ experiences.

Option 1 – Morning experience: Golfo Dulce’s Waterworld
From August to December, the warm waters of Golfo Dulce welcome southern humpback whales arriving from Antarctica to give birth and care for their young. October is an ideal time to witness mothers and calves swimming together, practicing breaching, and communicating through deep, resonant calls, accompanied by resident dolphins darting through the waves.

Golfo Dulce is one of the few places on Earth where northern and southern humpbacks overlap, though the southern whales dominate this season. As you head out on the water, keep your eyes peeled for these majestic creatures, hoping to catch a glimpse of a tail slap or a calf learning to leap. It’s a quiet, awe-inspiring moment in one of Costa Rica’s most biodiverse marine environments.

Option 2 – Morning Experience: The Wild Heart of Golfo Dulce
Step into the rainforest and experience the living, breathing heart of Costa Rica. With over half the country covered in tropical forest, this trail walk offers a glimpse into one of the most biodiverse places in the Americas. As you follow your guide along shaded paths, you can learn how the rainforest supports everything from towering trees to tiny orchids.

In the Golfo Dulce region, wildlife is spotted high in the forest canopy. Listen for howler monkeys in the treetops, spot colorful frogs near the forest floor, and watch for flashes of toucans, parrots, or even a macaw overhead. The trail winds through a landscape shaped by water, sunlight, and time, offering quiet moments and unexpected encounters. This trail walk is perfect for nature lovers, an opportunity to slow down, look closely, and connect with the rhythms of the rainforest.

Option 3 – Morning Experience: Golfo Dulce by Kayak
Kayaking in Golfo Dulce offers a peaceful way to explore one of Costa Rica’s most biodiverse marine environments. Whether gliding across the open bay or weaving through narrow mangrove channels, the experience is quiet, slow-paced, and deeply immersive.

The stillness is part of the magic—especially in the mangroves, where silence allows you to observe wildlife without disturbing it. Birds perch overhead, fish ripple beneath the surface, and crabs scuttle along tangled roots. In the bay, you might spot dolphins, sea turtles, or rays gliding through the clear water.

This region is rich in life, and paddling at water level offers a unique perspective on the ecosystems that thrive here. It’s not just about movement—it’s about noticing, listening, and being one with nature.

The lively coastal town of Quepos, nestled on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast, welcomes you today with three ‘Your Choice’ experiences on offer. Just minutes from the renowned Manuel Antonio National Park, Quepos is a gateway to unique wildlife encounters. Nearby mangrove forests play a vital role in Costa Rica’s fragile ecosystem, offering shelter to countless species and helping protect the coastline. Add to this the efforts of local farmers who are putting sustainable practices to good use, and you discover a region rich in nature, culture, and character.

Personalize your exploration with the included ‘Your Choice’ experiences.

Option 1 – Morning experience: The Mighty Mangrove
Gliding through the mangrove forests near Quepos, feels like entering a hidden world shaped by tides and time, as the mangroves grow where rivers meet the ocean, creating a rich, ever-changing environment that supports everything from crabs and caimans to monkeys and spoonbills. These coastal forests, especially around Damas Island, are home to an extraordinary mix of land and sea life.

The tangled roots of red, black, and white mangrove trees do more than look surreal—they hold the coastline together, protect against storms, and provide shelter for young marine life. Costa Rica’s Pacific coast is lined with mangroves, covering over 40,000 hectares. These forests are not only beautiful but essential: they clean the water, store carbon, and support local fisheries.

As you explore the winding estuary channels, your guide will explain how this part of the forest plays an essential role. Birds perch in the canopy, fish dart below the surface of the water, and the roots form a maze of life. Your boat journey provides you with a living classroom. Quiet, wild, and full of surprises.

Option 2 – Morning experience: Manuel Antonio National Park - Guided Rainforest Trail 
Established in 1972, Manuel Antonio National Park is one of Costa Rica’s most ecologically diverse protected areas, and the place to visit when in Quepos. On a guided walk, you explore national park trails through tropical forest, where the focus loops between elusive wildlife to the rich plant life. Towering trees like espavel and guácimo form the canopy, while ferns, vines, and flowering plants crowd the understory. Guides point out medicinal plants, epiphytes like bromeliads and orchids, and explain how different species interact within the ecosystem. Because many animals hide high in the trees or blend into their surroundings, guides often carry scopes to spot sloths, monkeys, or birds tucked away in the foliage. This walk offers a chance to slow down and appreciate the complexity of the forest from the ground up, with the opportunity to glimpse some of Costa Rica’s unique wildlife.

Option 3 – Half-day experience: A Costa Rican chocolate story
Step into the lush countryside near Quepos for a sensory journey through Costa Rica’s most iconic crops; chocolate, vanilla, and coffee. Set on a private ranch, this immersive tour invites you to explore how these beloved ingredients are grown, harvested, and transformed, with a guided walk through the gardens, where cacao pods ripen on trees, vanilla vines climb and coffee plants thrive in the tropical climate. Your guide explains how each crop is cultivated sustainably while you discover the traditional methods used to process them into the rich flavors enjoyed around the world. After exploring the gardens and learning about the plants, sit down to a fresh farm-to-table lunch made with local produce. It’s a delicious way to connect with the land and the people who care for it.

Disembark and head to Hacienda Doka, nestled in Costa Rica’s fertile Central Valley, for an immersive coffee experience that blends tradition, taste, and storytelling. Costa Rica’s coffee is world-renowned, not just for its smooth, balanced flavor, but for the deep cultural roots it holds in the country’s identity and economy. At the plantation, you follow its journey through the growth cycle, harvest, and roasting process. Along the way, explore different coffee plant varieties and learn how Costa Rica’s unique climate and volcanic soil contribute to its high-quality beans. A coffee and chocolate tasting adds a delicious end to your tour, before you tuck into a traditional buffet lunch, offering a taste of local flavors.

Continue to San José for your overnight stay.

Accommodation: San José Hotel (or similar)

After breakfast, farewell your fellow travellers and board your share service transfer to San José airport for your onward flight.