Panama — The Old City and the Canal

The included Canal visit is the Miraflores Locks, where you watch ships pass through the chambers a few metres away. If you want to sail the Canal itself, we can arrange a partial transit by boat in place of the locks visit — the boat sails on set days of the week, which vary by season, so tell us when you enquire and we will build your dates around it.

There are no nonstop flights from the UK, and that is exactly why this trip works: you connect via a European or US hub, and Panama City is the hub for the whole region. Many travellers take these four nights on the way to Costa Rica or Colombia rather than as a standalone long-haul.

Yes — and it matters, because even changing planes in the USA requires an ESTA. There are no nonstop UK–Panama flights, but KLM (via Amsterdam), Air France (via Paris) and Iberia (via Madrid) all fly nonstop from their hubs to Panama City, so you never touch US soil. From Panama City, Copa Airlines' network covers most of Latin America — which is why these four nights work so well en route.

For the old town, the Canal and a day in the rainforest, comfortably — the pace is deliberately unhurried, with free half-days built in. If you want more, we extend it as a tailor-made add-on: the Chiriquí highlands for coffee and cloud forest, or a Pacific beach stay.

Yes. Panama City is a major cruise turnaround port, and this itinerary runs neatly either side of an embarkation. If your ship makes the full Canal transit, we shape the days so nothing repeats what you saw from the deck.

The Emberá communities along the Chagres host visitors on their own terms, and the day supports them directly — the crafts are made and sold in the village, and lunch is cooked there. One practical note: the jagua body painting is optional, and the ink fades over a week or two.

The dry season, from mid-December to April, is the most reliable. The green season brings afternoon showers rather than washed-out days, and this programme runs any day of the year.