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Panama City, Boquete and Bocas del Toro
Aspen Academy | Kristina Scala
Multi day service learning experience, eco lodge community projects, nature exploration, and adventure programming
Activities & Attractions
- Explore the Panama Canal
- Tour Cassco Viejo in Panama City
- Volcan National Parque
- Mangrove Tour
- The Lost Waterfall Trail Hike
- Boquete Cloud Forest
- Cacao Plantation
- Music Workshop
- Cooking Class
- Smithsonian Institute
- Snorkeling
Trip Details
Accommodations
- 8 Nights’ Accommodations,
- Details of accommodations provided on last page.
- Mixture of Hotels and Lodges
Meals
- Daily breakfasts, lunches, and dinners included while in Panama
Transportation
- Coach airfare not included
- Private Bus Transportation for duration of tour, as needed
Additional Personnel
- 1 Evolve Tours Leader
- Local guides & staff as needed
Exclusives
- Creative trip programming and leadership activities
- Optional Videography and Photography
- Forever Green by Evolve Tours- Carbon Offset this whole trip (ask for details)
Insurance
- Insurance booked by the school
Package Price is based on
- Prices subject to availability and change until contract signed
- Total Package price may vary if number of paying customers changes
- Does not include airline baggage fees if applicable
- Tips for drivers and guides are appreciated
- Happy with what you see? Sign a 2-year contract with Evolve and pay the same rate for two years. Ask us for more information. *Based on same group size
Itinerary
Day 1:
Panama City
Evening
Arrive in Panama, transfer and dinner.
Day 2:
Panama City>David > Cerro Punta
MORNING/AFTERNOON
Copa or Air Panama to David. Morning flight – arrive in David 10am If afternoon flight arrive at 5PM
After our arrival we will transfer to Cerro Punta, check into our accommodations and have lunch.
After Lunch we will visit an Eco-Reserve, where we will hike to beautiful waterfalls, in the Sendero de Las minas. After our hike we will visit the Humming Bird Garden and have an opportunity to learn about the Colibri Bird.
EVENING
Group dinner and debrief
Day 3:
Cerro Punta /Baru National Park
MORNING/AFTERNOON
After our morning breakfast we will pack a day bag and head out for an adventure and hiking. Our day will begin in Los Senderos Quetzales, translated to the Quetzal Trail.
We will explore this trail is in the Volcan Baru National Park, which will give us a great opportunity to spot the elusive Quetzal bird. The Quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala as it plays an important role in numerous types of Meso-American mythology. Additionally, the Quetzal is a very striking bird with impressive green feathers on its back while on its front it is covered in striking red feathers. The Quetzal also has a long tail.
EVENING
Group dinner and group discussion/debrief
Day 4:
Cerro Punta>Punta Robalo>Isla Bastamientos
MORNING
After breakfast we will board our private 4×4 vehicles and travel to Punta Robalo. once we arrive we will take a private boat in small groups to Isla Bastimentos where we will spend the next three nights.
The northwest coast of the island is home to palm-fringed beaches that serve as nesting grounds for sea turtles, while most of the northern and southern coasts consist of mangrove islands and coral reefs that lie within the boundaries of the Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos.
The eco lodge where we will spend the next three days is meaningfully involved in the local community and respectful of our neighbours. They document their journey and share what they learn with guests, scientists and locals, promoting regeneration to everyone they touch.
EVENING
Dinner, Orientation, Night hike and group discussion
Day 5:
Isla Bastimentos
MORNING
Early morning bird watching excursion.
After our birding workshop we will explore Mangroves and learn about their importance in our eco systems. We will learn first hand how deforestation/development, pollution, climate change, over fishing, pollution and tourism have impacted this delicate system.
AFTERNOON
Snorkeling excursion around Isla Bastimentos.
In the later afternoon students will have an opportunity to climb the 100ft observation tower located directly in the eco lodge property. The wildlife and views of the forest canopy from the tower are absolutely incredible, but the natural history lesson alone is worth the ascent. From Volcan Baru’s 11,400’ peak in the cloud forest of the Talamanca mountain range, down the slope of Western Panama to the coral reefs beneath the Caribbean’s surface, every life zone known to the tropics can be seen from this single vantage point above the forest’s canopy.
EVENING
Group dinner and discussion
Day 6:
Bastimientos Island
MORNING
Tower Birding workshop
We will visit and explore Isla Popa which is the second largest island in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago. We will have an opportunity to learn about more birds, frogs.
LATE AFTERNOON
Kayaking in front of the Eco Reserve/Lodge
EVENING
Day 7:
BASTIMENTOS>BOCAS DEL TORO>PANAMA CITY
MORNING
Bird Watching and tower look out.
AFTERNOON
After lunch we will After breakfast we will travel by boat to Bocas del Toro. Where we will have some time to explore this small quaint town.
In the late afternoon we will board a local flight and land in Marcos A. Gelbert airport before transferring to our hotel for near the Tocumen international airpot.
EVENING
Group dinner and final discussion.
Day 8:
Panama City
MORNING
Panama Canal: we will make our way to the Miraflores Visitor Center, which offers a number of exhibits and movies introducing and explaining the incredible engineering marvel that is the Panama Canal. Most importantly, the Visitor Center offers observation decks, where we can watch mammoth ocean liners maneuver the narrow waterways of the canal as gates open, close, and fill up along the way. We will also have time here to eat lunch at the restaurant and/or snack bar while overlooking the canal.
AFTERNOON
Tour of the old city, Casco Antiguo, also known as Casco Viejo, or the ‘old quarter,” is Panama City’s historic district. Considered a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site, the district dates back to 1673, and features vibrant plazas and picturesque brick-paved streets surrounded by colorful buildings.
EVENING
Group dinner
Day 9:
depart.
Depart back to Colorado