Central America

Panama Vacation Package

14 Days The Birds of Panama Tour Package

Duration: 14 Days / 13 Nights
Priced From: $2,439 pp dbl. occ.
Dates: Contact Travelwizard

Group Size: Min 2 - Max 16

Accommodations: Hotel, Resort, Field Station

Day 1. On arrival to Tocumen International Airport our Naturalist Guide will meet us. Transfer to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort near Soberania National Park. Welcome cocktail and briefing. Night at GAMBOA RAINFOREST RESORT VILLAS

Day 2. This morning we drive to the nearby Pipeline Road within Soberania National Park. Soberania is home to some 525 species of birds. Before entering the road we bird the scrub habitat near the ponds looking for Crimson-backed Tanager, Rufescent Tiger Heron, White-throated Crake as well as several Tyrannulets and Greenlets. Located within this protected area Pipeline Rd. is the site where Audubon Society held its world Christmas bird count record for 19 years straight, with 357 species of birds identified in a period of 24 hours. As one of the most accessible rain forests in the world, Pipeline Road is a great place to look for birds like Slaty-tailed and Black-throated Trogons, Golden-collared Manakin, White-bellied Antbird, Semiplumbeous Hawk, Black-breasted Puffbird, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Blue Cotinga, Pheasant Cuckoo and army antswarm followers. A picnic lunch will be served at Summit Ponds. Here we will look for the Boat-billed Heron, Rosy Thrush-Tanager and other Pacific woodland species. At Plantation Loop we will walk along a low ridge where we find some of the humid forest birds such as Royal Flycatcher, Golden-crowned Spadebill, Blue-crowned Manakin and others.

Night at GAMBOA RAINFOREST RESORT VILLAS (BLD)

Day 3. An early morning drive will take us to the areas of Escobal and Achiote roads on the Caribbean side of Panama. This spot is probably one of the best places to search for diurnal raptors. Also an excellent place to look for specialties like Spot-crowned Barbet, Black Hawk-Eagle, Rufous-crested Coquette, Montezuma Oropendola, Brown-hooded Parrot, Black-bellied Wren, Pied Puffbird and rarities like Gray-cheeked Nunlet and White-headed Wren. Late afternoon birding around the hotel grounds back in Gamboa.

Night at GAMBOA RAINFOREST RESORT VILLAS (BLD)

Day 4. Today we drive to Metropolitan Nature Park (the only protected rain forest within capital city limits in Latin America). With an impressive list of 260 species the possibilities are great. Specialties include Lance-tailed Manakin, Orange-billed Sparrow, Green Honeycreeper, Rufous and White Wren and many more. We will also look for the Red-napped Tamarin on the trail named after them. We will take a mid-morning flight to David, capital of the Chiriqui province. Chiriqui province is known as "Panama's breadbasket" having some of the most breathtaking highland scenery in Central America. Transfer by van to the western side of the Baru Volcano to the town of Volcan. Lunch will be at the hotel's restaurant. In the afternoon we proceed to a coffee farm which offers great birding such as Rufous-browed Peppershrike, White-winged Tanager, Fiery-billed Aracari in a transitional area between the highlands and lower foothills of the western mountain range.

Night at HOTEL DOS RIOS (BLD)

Day 5. Shared with neighboring Costa Rica and recognized in 1982 as a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site, La Amistad is located at a point on the Central American land bridge where flora and fauna from North and South America reach their maximum species mix, with great ranges in altitude, precipitation, soils and temperature. We spend the morning hiking and exploring La Amistad in the area of El Retoño in search of Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Andean Pygmy-Owl, Barred Becard and many other western highland species.

After lunch at a local restaurant we drive to Baru Volcano National Park located along the Talamanca mountain range and also being the highest point of the country (3,475 meters above sea level). The Baru Volcano and La Amistad parks are part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. Here we will search for Buffy Tuftedcheek, Resplendent Quetzal, Ochraceous Pewee, Silvery-throated Jay, different hummingbirds and other highland species.

Night at HOTEL DOS RIOS (BLD)

Day 6. This morning we will stop at Tapir's Canyon in search of Lesser Elaenia, Bay-headed Tanager, Crested Oropendola, American Dipper, and a myriad other species. In route to Boquete we will descend back to the lowlands and drive through some rice, corn and sugar cane fields where we keep an eye out for Brown-throated Parakeets, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Dickcissels, and other grassland birds. We continue our exploration on the Eastern side of Baru Volcano to Boquete, a countryside town dotted with flower, fruit and vegetable farms, coffee plantations and also lush tropical cloud forests. Afternoon birding around the hotel grounds and main road.

Night at HOTEL PANAMONTE (BLD)

Day 7. We explore Finca Lerida, a privately owned preserve, just outside Baru Volcano National Park. At an elevation of 2,286 meters above sea level, we have an opportunity to see the elusive Resplendent Quetzal, Three-wattled Bellbird, Black-faced Solitaire, Volcano Hummingbird, Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher and Prong-billed Barbet in their cool habitat of orchids, bromeliads and wild avocados. After a picnic in the cloud forest we continue birding before returning to our hotel to get ready for our transfer to David for our flight back to Panama City.

Night at HOTEL EXECUTIVE (BLD)

Day 8. This morning after breakfast we will proceed to Albrook domestic airport where we board our chartered plane to Santa Cruz de Cana, in Darien National Park and World Biosphere Reserve, where Ancon Expeditions manages a field station. As we fly in we can admire the vast forest cover of Panama's largest park (1.3 million acres). Cana is located at the foothills of Pirre Mountain, which stands like an island in the most remote area of Panama. Very few places in the world rival Cana in birding potential. From the plane be on the lookout for King Vultures and Macaws.

After getting settled at the Field Station we explore the Boca de Cupe Trail and surrounding area. Specialties here include Blue and Gold, Red and Green, Great Green and Chestnut-fronted Macaws, Black tipped Cotinga, Swallow Tanager, Red-throated Caracara, Streaked Antwren, Dusky-backed Jacamar, Ornate Hawk-Eagle and others.

Night at CANA FIELD STATION (BLD)

Day 9. Today is a good day to explore the Mine Trail where rusting machinery was left to be overtaken by the jungle after the British Gold Mine ventures collapsed at the beginning of the last century. Specialties of this area include Great Curassow, Crested Guan, Dusky-faced Tanager, Olivaceous Piculet. Also the Seteganti Trail with open scrub areas and mature forests are good for various Woodpeckers such as Crimson-bellied and Red-rumped, Red-billed Scythebill, Brown Violetear.

Night at CANA FIELD STATION (BLD)

Day 10. Today we begin our slow-paced 5-hour hike to the Pirre Cloud Forest. At 1,200 meters above sea level, the Pirre Cloud Forest is a good place to look for specialties such as Beautiful Treerunner, Tooth-billed Hummingbird, Slaty Antwren, Tody Motmot, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Rufous-breasted Ant thrush, Immaculate Antbird, Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo, Pirre Warbler, Pirre Hummingbird, Pirre Bush Tanager, Greenish Puffleg, Orange-bellied Euphonia.

Night at PIRRE CAMP (Screened tents with sleeping mats) (BLD)

Day 11. This morning we hike to the top of Pirre Mountain in search of the Golden-headed Quetzal, Gray and gold Tanager, Sharpbill, Chlorophonia and several Tanagers among other highland species. Late afternoon birding around the Pirre Tent Camp.

Night at PIRRE CAMP (Screened tents with sleeping mats) (BLD)

Day 12. After breakfast we will start our descent to the field station. This afternoon is spent looking for birds around the main camp. Possibilities include Gray-cheeked Nunlet, Spotted Barbtail, Barred Puffbird, Yellow-green Tyrannulet, Jet Antibird, Black-crowned, Fulvous-bellied, Ochre-breasted and Scaled Antpittas, White-fronted Nunbird, Cinereous Becard, Golden-headed Manakin.

Night at CANA FIELD STATION (BLD)

Day 13. This morning our charter flight takes us back to Panama City. Upon arrival, tide level permitting, we will visit the Old Panama Mudflats for a chance to see Collared Plovers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel and others. Lunch will be at a local restaurant. We continue to bird at Juan Diaz scrub and mangrove area where we will look for Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater, Northern Scrub-Flycatcher, Mangrove Black-Hawk, Mangrove Warbler, Sapphire-throated and Scaly-breasted Hummingbirds, Rufous-browed Peppershrike among others. We will also stop at Costa del Este in search of Black-necked Stilt, Least Sandpiper, Cocoi Heron, Yellowlegs, Night-Herons. Farewell dinner at a Panamanian cuisine restaurant.

Night at HOTEL EXECUTIVE (BLD)

Day 14. Today we are picked up at the lobby of the hotel 2.5 hours prior to our scheduled departure flight and transferred to Tocumen International Airport. Fly home (B)

• All Taxes
• Lodging
• All land
• Air and water transportation within Panama
• All airport/hotel transfers on scheduled arrival and departure dates
• Meals as specified in the itinerary (B - breakfast, L - lunch, D - dinner)
• Park, museum and related entrance fees,
• Guides' services and expenses and the services of an in-bound land operator for airline re-confirmations and tour operations.
• Camping gear (tents and eating utensils)

• Tourist card ($5 per person)
• Passport & Visa Costs
• Vaccination Costs
• Personal Spending Money
• Meals where not listed
• Drinks
• International Flights
• Travel Insurance
• Airport departure taxes

Prices & itineraries are correct at the time of printing. Itineraries & prices may change due to currency fluctuations, local conditions or events outside the control of A.I and her local operators. Please see our booking terms & conditions for full details.

Backup: Adventures Incorporated has a 24 hour emergency contact number available to all our clients. Our guides also carry a comprehensive Medical First Aid kits. All our ground operators have been fully vetted and in many cases we have been working with them for over 10 years. In most cases we are no more than 2 hours away from professional Medical assistance and at all times monitor the geographical and political climate of the countries we visit.

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Phone: 1-415-446-5252 or 1-800-330-8820

12/09

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