ac23

My husband and I are planning a trip to Panama this March. We generally prefer smaller hotels in more remote/less touristy areas. We enjoy nature and hiking, some beach (if only for morning walks), and we want to see the canal and Panama City. This itinerary has been suggested for us. I've read reveiws of the Bristol and it looks great. The Cala Mia website looks lovely, but I have been unable to find any reviews. Has anyone heard of or been to this hotel or area? Do you think this itinerary is workable or is there a better alternative that you can suggest? Thanks so much!

March 26: arrive and stay at Bristol in Panama City
March 27: Soberania National Park hike and boat ride on
Gatun Lake
March 28 - 30: Cala Mia Boutique Hotel on Boca Brava Island, Chiriqui Archipelago, which is part of the National Marina Park in the golf of Chiriqui.
March 30: Panama City and Canal Tour
March 31: travel home

AndrewSSH

The Bristol is a very nice hotel - one of the most expensive in town... The DeVille is a good option also there's a very nice small B&B called Villa Baboga with only 5 rooms but also has a pool.
Soberania is an old golf course so there's lots of paths to walk on in the main area - there's also a zoo that's a bit weak... Outside this are there are marked trails that you can go on as well. Boat ride on Gatun - any idea who this would be with - there's a great boat trip but it starts at the other side of the lake not near Gamboa/Soberania...
We have just taken on Cala Mia as clients - haven't been yet but it really does look great - hope to get up there in the next couple of weeks... Think about time - it's about a 6 hour drive from Panama City or a 1 hour flight to David and then the transfer to the hotel is about an hour or a bit more - two ways to go described on their site. Two nights would be a minimum for sure but doable without being too rushed especially taking the early morning flight to David (6:30am)...
There are a number of good tour operators for a city and canal tour... March 30 is a Friday so all the museums etc will be open - don't miss the Canal Museum in Casco Viejo, the ruins of Panama Vieja, Miraflores locks and visitor's center, the Amador causeway etc...

Have a great trip...

Andrew

fluffnfold

We stayed at the Bristol on our last night in Panama City. It was a great, cushy end to our trip. The hotel is lovely, Barandas restaurant was excellent, the staff is very caring, the rooms were very comfortable. It would be absolutely perfect if it had a swimming pool!

ac23

Thanks so much for your advice. Our current plan is to stay at the Bristol our first and last nights in Panama. We're still undecided on the middle three days of our (rapidly approaching) trip. I'd like to see Boquete and we are still considering the Cala Mia or somewhere in Bocas del Toro for two nights. I'm off to research now. Also, any recommendations for the best way to experience the canal? We'll likely do that on Friday. Thanks again!

fluffnfold

ac23:

I really liked the way that we chose to experience the canal. Yes, there are larger boats that go out every Saturday for either the partial transit or the full transit (full is only one Saturday per month, while the partial takes place on the other three Saturdays), but we chose to do a private tour using a small boat. So it was just my husband and I, our guide and driver from Panama Pete Adventures (previously called Adventures in Panama), and the "captain" of the boat. We spent about 2 hours on the actual canal, "putting in/out" at Gamboa. The rest of the day was spent driving (in a nice air-conditioned van) along the canal, from the Amador Causeway to the Miraflores Locks (we had about 2 hours at the visitors center, which was really worthwile) to Gamboa and then back. We saw the traditional boats with hundreds of people on them, and were glad that we chose a more private way of seeing it.

www.panamapeteadventures.com

ac23

Thanks, fluffnfold! That sounds perfect. I just sent an email to Panama Pete Adventures. Did you do your Canal tour on a Saturday or a weekday? Unfortunately, we don't have a Saturday in Panama, so I'm hopeful a weekday would work.