Panama Canal Cruise & Panama: A Continent Divided, Oceans United (2012)

Panama City • Anton Valley • Gamboa Rain Forest • Panama Canal Cruise • Panama Railway Train
  • 11 days
  • from only:
  • $2445
  • $223 per day
    Small Ship Adventure Only
  • 11 days
  • from only:
  • $3095
  • $282 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
Is this Adventure Right for You?
It's Included
Unique Accommodations
Extend Your Adventure
Bocas del Toro, Panama: Wild Archipelago
Colonial Cartagena, Colombia: The Emerald of the Caribbean
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Grand Circle Foundation
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your adventure, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two adventures to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the OAT adventure that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your adventure
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your adventure with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of OAT adventures to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta

5hrs

Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis, Newark, New York (JFK)

8hrs

Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

7hrs

Denver

9hrs

Los Angeles, Portland, OR

10hrs

Miami

3hrs

Phoenix, Seattle, Tucson

12hrs

San Francisco

11hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Panama City, Panama. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the OAT family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on an OAT trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-955-1925 or click here.

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Pre-Trip: Bocas del Toro, Panama: Wild Archipelago

3 nights from only $695

At Bocas del Toro today, you’ll find the same crystal waters and lush greenery that enchanted Columbus 500 years ago, along with the present-day charms of a colorful calypso culture. Before your journey along the Panama Canal, immerse yourself in an unspoiled paradise and discover the tropical birds and sea creatures that thrive in this wild archipelago.

Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: This extension only available on select departures. Ask your Adventure Specialist for details.

It's Included

  • Airfare from Bocas del Toro to Panama City
  • Accommodations for 1 night in Panama City and 2 nights in Bocas del Toro
  • 5 meals—3 breakfasts and 2 lunches
  • 5 small group activities
  • Services of our own resident OAT Trip Leader, who speaks English and the native language
  • All transfers

Day 1
Depart the U.S./Arrive Panama City, Panama

You depart from the U.S. and fly to Panama City. Your OAT Trip Leader will meet your flight at the Panama City airport and help you transfer to our hotel. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Day 2
Fly to Bocas del Toro/Starfish Beach

Off the northwest coast of Panama, near its border with Costa Rica, lies the Bocas del Toro (literally, "mouth of the bull"): an archipelago of nine islands and some 200 smaller islets with long white-sand beaches, vivid coral reefs, sheltered lagoons, rain forest jungles, and a wealth of birds and wildlife. It was here that Panama created its first national marine park in 1988, preserving a unique ecosystem for future generations to enjoy. This pristine region has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve.

The largest and most developed island of the Bocas del Toro archipelago is Colón Island, whose capital, Bocas del Toro, is home to half the population of the archipelago. Once the headquarters for United Fruit, Bocas del Toro is renowned for its easygoing ambiance and leisurely pace of life. Once well off the beaten path, Bocas del Toro is just being discovered by international travelers, so the time to see it is now.

After breakfast this morning, we fly with our Trip Leader to Bocas del Toro to check into our hotel. We then travel by boat to Bocas del Drago, where we visit Starfish Beach in search of the giant red starfish. After lunch at a local restaurant, we'll have some free time for snorkeling, swimming, or beachcombing before we return to our hotel. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Day 3
Bocas del Toro/Discover Dolphin Bay/Coral reef snorkeling/Hike and snorkel in Bastimentos Marine National Park

This morning, our first activity is a visit to Dolphin Bay to look for Bottlenose Dolphins (sightings are frequent here, but cannot be guaranteed). We then continue to Coral Key in search of varied fish species, colored sea fans, and sponges. We'll snorkel among the coral reefs and have lunch at a local beach restaurant.

After lunch, we'll cruise aboard a covered day boat, privately chartered for our group, past clusters of red mangroves to Bastimentos Marine National Park, which claims much of the territory and waters surrounding Bastimentos Island. The park is best known for the beaches fronting the Caribbean Sea and offers a rugged landscape of cliffs, rough waters, andcoves.

Among the beaches here is Red Frog Beach, home to the noisy Poison Dart Frogs that you might well hear before you see. Clad in bright neon shades of orange, yellow, red, purple, and lime green, these fascinating amphibians excrete a poison once used by the indigenous peoples on the tips of darts and spears. Though it's wise to be cautious, you needn't fear them, because casual contact with the poison doesn't penetrate the skin. As we hike through the park, keep watch for these little frogs, as well as other wildlife, such as Night Monkeys, Three-toed Sloths, and caimans.

We return to our hotel later in the afternoon and dinner is on your own this evening.
Day 4
Explore Bocas del Toro/Fly to Panama City

After breakfast, we enjoy some leisure time to explore the area around the hotel. After lunch on your own, we set out on a walking tour of the town of Bocas del Toro, followed by a little time to make your own discoveries.

Late this afternoon, we fly to Panama City to begin our Panama Canal Cruise & Panama: A Continent Divided, Oceans United adventure.