Day 1. Panama City.

Day 1 in Panama. Welcome Briefing.

Exploring Panama means relaxing at the beach, cruising the Panama Canal, learning about its fascinating history, sharing with indigenous in isolated villages  and more...  Well, Panama awaits for your visit!

Many Tour Operators bring you to Panama. This companies not only have well organized daily activities but also very strict when we talk about quality, punctuality and excellence. Having  hotel, transportation, local guides, a Tour Director during the whole trip and ALL the meals included is, a great way to travel! An important detail to check before you buy is that there are no hidden costs and no extra tours will be sold to you by the company.

When you arrive to Panama the first day, you will be greeted by a   Representative. Relax and take advantage of al the comforts of your hotel before dinner at the Pacific Grill Restaurant, on the second floor. At 8 PM a briefing will be held at one of the conference rooms. 

Your Tour Director will give you very important and useful information for your 8 day Panama adventure. You will get to meet the rest of the passengers that will join the tour  tonight.

What to bring for the trip?

When visiting Panama, you should be prepared for warm tropical weather (85º average) and visits to mountains, beaches, and    cruises through the Canal.

Bring casual clothing, mainly shorts, t-shirts, a pair of long pants, sneakers, bathing suit, sandals or flip flops, hat, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, over the counter medication as prevention, rain gear, cameras, binoculars.  Casual and mostly informal  is suggested,  and smart casual for the farewell dinner (long pants will be required for this evening).

The first 2 nights and the last one you will be staying in the City. Temperatures vary from the 75º´s during the night, up to the 90º`s during the day with small variations. The area of El Valle is generally cooler (75º).

Bring comfortable shoes for walking, sneakers for daily use (streets are not always in good repair).

When you stay on the beach, temperature could reach the high 90º between january and april.

For all  daily trips keep handy your sunscreen, hat, bug repellent, rain gear, binoculars and  camera!

Sunblock is also a must! Being closer to the equator means that there is more risk for sun burns, so try to protect your skin even on a cloudy day and try not to lay in the sun between 10am and 2pm. Do not forget your hat the day you Transit the Canal even though the ship is covered.

You can also read each page on this blog for information about what you can expect for each day of the tour,  which hopefully will help you on your planning.

About money exchange, Panama is dollarized. Once in a while you will get Balboa coins as change when you shop!

There are two more very important things: 

First, you will be traveling with a group and timing is very important. This schedules are based on years of experience in the business.  Please be on time, the rest of the passengers count on you! 

Second, you are traveling to the rain forest. Of course there will be some bugs! Of course  it could rain! Believe it or not sometimes people seem surprised when they see an insect in the jungle!. This is the charm of the rainforest!  Just be prepared with a little bug repellent when you visit the Emberas and in the surroundings of your rainforest Hotel.

For the rest, you Tour Director will be giving you daily suggestions and instructions and will be helping you at any moment with any question you may have.

Enjoy your journey!