January 2006 Trip Advice
 

Traveling to Panama in January. Trying to decide between a visit to the Kunas or a visit to the Emberas. We travel a lot. Not looking for a pre-fab tourist experience or a shopping spree. Any advice?
What about the flower and coffee festival in Boquete? Has any one been there during the festival? If so, can you tell us a little about it? In order to stay in Boquete long enough to experience one day of the festival, we have a lot of changes to make. Would it be worth it? Thanks!

We spent two nights at Dolphin Lodge in the San Blas islands last January. It was one of the highlights of our two week trip. Very interesting culture. Dolphin Lodge was ok, I think about as good as it gets in the area, but not fancy. Food was variable, one night fair, the other much better. One night we were the only people there who spoke English. We didn't mind.

Coming from the midwest in January, we were looking for sun and heat, so didn't make it to Boquete.

To visit the Kuna you need to overnight at least one night, but you can do the Embera in a day. My favorite village is the Embera Drua, it's the furthest up the Chagres so a bit harder to get to, only a few of the local tour operators go there but you can do it yourself if you speak decent Spanish. Otherwise an English speaking guide is a good idea.
In Kuna Yala the two "best" lodges are Dolphin and Sapibenega - both very rustic but with more private facilities than the others. A more "authentic" island is Kuanidup, sand floors in the bungalows, outdoor plumbing etc.
The flower and coffee festival is pretty good except someone told me yesterday that last year there was Reggae music which didn't really fit in. I doubt it would be worth reworking your whole schedule for just one day. You need to book early if you do as the hotels fill up quickly.

Cheers,
Andrew

Thanks to you both - this is very helpful!

I just wanted to agree with the others. I don´t think it is worth rescheduling your trip to go to this festival in Boquete. Boquete gets noisy and full of people during the festival.

I just saw this post. I went to the coffee flower festival in Boquete and it is definitely not worth the trip. Boquete is fantastic, a lovely little spot, but the festival is a non event.

Based on your collective wisdom, we have decided to skip the fesitval and go to Bosquete earlier as originally planned - but we are still unsure of whether to go to San Blas or visit the Emberas. An agent/friend we asked talked to a contact in Panama and was told that the Embera trip was a "boutique experince" - not something we would want - but perhaps they were referring to the trip you book through one of the local traval services and it is different if you don't go with a tour company but book directly with the Embers through their site. The
feeback we get on San Blas continues to be contradictory....so....any other or additional feedback will be much appreciated! We are both academics and would like to learn more about culture and politics during our visit as opposed to going shopping!

We have quite a few pictures of our trip to the San Blas Islands this past January. If you e-mail me, I'll send you the link. [email protected]