 Combine a Costa Rica tour with a Panama Canal cruise on Tauck’s 11-day journey to The Panama Canal & Costa Rica. Begin with a Costa Rica tour exploring some the country’s many natural treasures. See flying kaleidoscopes of colorful wings all around you at the Butterfly Observatory and the Hummingbird Garden. Walk on the lunar-like lava landscape at the summit of mighty Volcano Irazú, Costa Rica’s largest volcano. After your Costa Rica tour, board the sporty yacht, Le Levant, for 6 days spent exploring the abundant wildlife of Panama, meeting people whose lifestyle has not changed in hundreds of years and cruising through one of the world’s greatest man-made marvels, the Panama Canal.
2008 Eastbound Itinerary
* Westbound itinerary is the reverse of Eastbound.
Day 1: Arrive San José
Tour begins: Costa Rica Marriott Hotel. Welcome to Costa Rica! A transfer is included from San José – Juan Santamaria International Airport to the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel. Set amidst a flourishing coffee plantation, this gracious hotel will be your home for the next three nights. Dinner at the hotel is at your leisure this evening.
Meals: Dinner
Lodging: Costa Rica Marriott Hotel, San José, Costa Rica
Day 2: A walk on the moon
Begin your Costa Rica tour with a visit to Volcano Irazú National Park, where you'll walk along the lava trails and through the surreal lunar landscape of the tallest volcano in Costa Rica. Although there hasn’t been a significant eruption since 1963, Irazú still grumbles a bit upon occasion. Peer down at the strangely colored lake at the bottom of the Diego de la Haya crater and, if the weather is clear, see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Please join us for our welcome reception and dinner this evening with local entertainment.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Costa Rica Marriott Hotel, San José, Costa Rica
Day 3: Wet and wild
Five marvelous waterfalls cascade into the rainforest at La Paz Waterfall Gardens. After a stroll among them, you’ll be dazzled by the kaleidoscope of jewel-like butterflies soaring around you in the Butterfly Observatory and be enchanted by the multitude of brightly colored wild hummingbirds that visit the many feeders in the Hummingbird Garden. No Costa Rica tour would be complete without a visit to a coffee plantation to learn about the process of roasting coffee.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Lodging: Costa Rica Marriott Hotel, San José, Costa Rica
• Day 4: By land and by sea
Continue your Costa Rica tour with sightseeing in charming San José, seeing the National Theater, the National Museum or the Parque National, depending on the day of the week. After taking the opportunity to stroll around the famous artisan town of Sarchi, continue on to Puerto Caldera to board Le Levant. You’ll be welcomed aboard with warm smiles from the friendly crew.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 5: Wild and wonderful Costa Rica
A most biologically interesting place, the Marenco Biological Reserve on the remote Osa Peninsula has many natural wonders to share during this Costa Rica tour. Go ashore with a knowledgeable naturalist to look for one of the many species of exotic birds or the three species of monkeys that make their homes in the rainforests of the reserve, and perhaps enjoy a swim in a freshwater stream. Please join us tonight for the Captain's Dinner aboard Le Levant.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 6: A day in paradise
Le Levant anchors off Panama’s idyllic Coiba Island National Park to offer you the delights of a day spent in the sun and the sea. Swim in the warm, clear water, observe the underwater world while snorkeling or try your hand at kayaking. A barbeque lunch on the island will be a special treat on this day of your Costa Rica tour.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 7: Meet the people of the Darien
A visit to an indigenous Indian community in this remote area of Panama’s Darien Province reveals a lifestyle that has hardly changed since the Spaniards first encountered the ancestors of these Choco Indians in the early 16th century. Travel by local boats on the Mogue River to meet the local people, observe their daily lives, view their traditional dances and admire their artful carvings in Cocobolo wood and Tague “vegetable ivory.”
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 8: The “big dig”
Our voyage from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea through the Panama Canal will be a fascinating and memorable experience as the great locks open and close, ultimately lowering Le Levant 85 feet. Ships were once towed through the locks by four-legged mules, and the tractors that do the job today are still called mules in their honor. As we pass through Gatun Lake, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, during our 8- to-10 hour transit, you’ll see islands that actually once were the tops of jungle hills. The bustling Panama Canal is truly a modern engineering marvel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 9: San Blas Sights
The captivatingly beautiful San Blas Islands are home to the shy Kuna Indian people. Go ashore this morning to meet them and admire their famous, exquisitely embroidered molas. Usually made to be part of a woman’s blouse, a framed mola is a work of art. See how this intricate needlework is done or spend the afternoon swimming or snorkeling.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
Day 10: Natural treasures and man-made marvels
Bid farewell to Le Levant today and travel to Panama’s Gamboa Rainforest Resort where you can choose an aerial tram ride with a naturalist or a boat ride and short hike into the jungle. Get a shore-side look at the workings of the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal, through which you passed aboard Le Levant.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: InterContinental Miramar Panama, Panama City
Day 11: Journey Home
Tour ends: Panama City. A transfer from the InterContinental Miramar Panama to Tocumen International Airport is included. Please allow at least 2 ½ hours for check-in formalities.
Meals: Breakfast
Don’t miss the opportunity to transit the Panama Canal and explore the treasures of Panama and Costa Rica with us on this Costa Rica tour in 2008!
Dates & Prices
Feb 9, 21
11 Days from $5,490 | 2008 Price Per Person | Double | Single | Triple | Champlain Deck
| $5490 | $9020 | $4840 | La Pérouse Deck
| $5790 | $9320 | $5140 | Bougainville Deck
| $6290 | $9820 | N/A |
Special Single Departure dates of Jan. 28 and Feb. 9 where the single price is: Champlain Deck $6020; La Pérouse Deck $6320; Bougainville Deck $6820. Ask at booking for detials.
28 meals included.
Land / Cruise Price includes private Tauck shore excursions, cruise fare, port charges, wine with dinner aboard Le Levant, and gratuities to ship staff.
International Airfare is additional. Tauck can book your international air for travel originating in the United States, subject to availability; inquire upon booking for special airfares that may be available.
Travel West or East: Cruise operates both Eastbound from San José and Westbound from Panama City. Sightseeing is identical.
Note: Costa Rica Departure tax is not included and must be paid at the San José International Airport.
All prices are per person in U.S. dollars. |
