Panama to Costa Rica Cruise

Begin in the seaside city of Colon at the entrance to the Panama Canal. Visit the Canal Expansion Observation Center, a park with viewing platforms overlooking the Atlantic locks and Gatún Lake if you arrive early. Embarkation is at noon in Colon 2000, with departure at 1 p.m. A welcome snack and salad bar will be provided, with the ship transiting the canal at 5 p.m. It will cross Gatun Locks, entering Gatun Lake about the time your welcome dinner is served, followed by the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks crossing, with arrival to Panama City early in the morning. 

By the time you rise, we should be anchored in Panama City at Flamenco Marina. After breakfast, join us on an optional tour of Panama City, which explores old Panama City, the historic district known as Casco Viejo. Discover the magnificent architecture, including spectacularly restored colonial mansions, cathedrals, and other historical buildings, many of which have been transformed to their original glory. Once everyone is back on board, the cruise will continue by sailing in the late afternoon to Playa Muerto/Darien, a tiny coastal village in the national park, home to the Emberas Amerindian community.

• Optional Excursion Tour of Panama City

We highly recommend taking the optional excursion in Darien National Park this morning, one of the most biodiverse places in the world. You’ll arrive by tenders to access an Embera village, where members of the Embera tribe, one of the seven indigenous groups living in Panama. They’re known for their well-preserved traditions and exquisite handicrafts. You’ll even be invited to dance with them, a thrill you won’t soon forget. Enjoy lunch after returning to the ship and then continue cruising toward Granito Deo Oro, a pristine islet off the coast of Coiba Island in Coiba National Park, overnighting at sea. 

• Optional Excursion Tour of Darien National Park

Arrive at beautiful Granito de Oro Island around midday, enjoying this island paradise by snorkeling or swimming in the unspoiled waters filled with abundant marine life. After reboarding, enjoy a BBQ on deck while cruising to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Coiba Island. Upon arrival to Central America’s largest island, join our Ship Naturalist for a short walking tour through the forest to discover the local wildlife, possibly spotting agouti, white-tailed deer, and the mantled howler monkey. Finally, you’ll have time to swim or snorkel through the clear blue waters before we depart toward Golfito with the night spent at sea.

Arriving in the early morning for immigration procedures in Golfito, Costa Rica. Once that’s taken care of, you can join an optional shore excursion to Casa Orquideas. This garden, with its enchanting maze of landscaped paths, hosts some 100 species of orchids along with bromeliads, heliconias, many edible plants, and ornamental and fruit trees, looking like a fantasy world reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Watch for the frequently spotted hummingbirds, colorful toucans, and scarlet macaws. The cruise continues toward Drake Bay in the late afternoon, where we’ll arrive late in the evening, anchoring here overnight.

• Optional Excursion Tour of Casa Orquideas

From Drake Bay, your optional excursion this morning can bring you into the nature preserve and tropical rainforest that covers nearly a third of the Osa Peninsula in Corcovado National Park. The wealth of wildlife here is impressive, with sightings of all sorts of creatures practically guaranteed. Keep a close eye out for the tapirs, monkeys, scarlet macaws, harpy eagles, quetzals, red-eyed tree frogs, and more. Your expert guide can help you spot them with an in-depth knowledge of the jungle and its inhabitants. If you want to swim, you’ll be sharing the warm water with dolphins, marlins, and perhaps even pilot whales. Afterward, continue to Quepos, where we’ll overnight at anchor.

• Optional Excursion Tour of Corcovado National Park

Join an optional excursion to Manuel Antonio, a nature reserve and the country’s smallest national park, yet jam-packed with wildlife. One of the highlights of this cruise, there’s a good chance you’ll spot the very social howler monkeys, playful squirrel and capuchin monkeys, along with iguanas, sloths, agoutis, and hundreds of bird species. After returning to the ship for lunch, an optional Forest Canopy excursion is available. Those who take it will rejoin us in Playa Biesanz, our next stop for an afternoon swim. A special tropical evening will be held on the vessel before a late sailing to Puerto Caldera.

• Optional Excursion Tour of Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve

Waking up in Puerto Caldera, you’ll want to have your bags packed and ready as the most challenging part of our journey has arrived: the farewells. So enjoy one last breakfast on board to fuel up for your trip back home or wherever your travels might take you, allowing time for goodbyes and perhaps exchanging photos and contact information with new friends made. Disembarkation will be at 9 a.m.