MiamiBeachMomma

We are from Miami and trying to plan a trip during kid's Easter break to Panama. I have been researching the best itinerary and cant really come up with a plan. Our kids and 7 and 10 and great travelers. They are eager to see wildlife and the canal. We plan on spending time in Panama City and a friend got us a 2 bedroom suite at the Intercontinental Mirador for half off.
We arent sure where else to go (and if we should just stay in PC and drive back and forth.) We really dont want to take another flight once we get to Panama. We visited Argentina over Christmas and had 8 flights (with connections and all) in our 10 day trip. We loved it, but we were so tired. We want to relax more on this trip. With that said, we love the rain forest, zip lining is a must, monkeys are high on the kids' list.
I have reviews of Gamboa and El Valle and not sure what to make of it all.
Any suggestions?

medland

We went to Panama at Christmas with our 14 year old girl. It was great. I did my own tour but used Caravan Costa Rica tours as a guide. Go to Caravan.com (2010 issue.) We rented a car and had a gps. This tour book was a good guide with things to do and stay. We fly to Panama and then stayed at the Country Inn & Suite by the bridge of the Americans on the Panama Canal. Book with Expedia for the best rates. We then drove to Playa Blanca resort (also Expedia) and did El Valle(Zip lining and the Zoo.) The resort was great with good food and a nice place to lay low for a couple of days. We then came back to country Inn and Suite and did day trips. The canal tours and cruise to Monkey island. We did not go to Colon... not a safe place with young children. It is a shipping area and where told a number of times to spend our time in other places. We did also enjoy the pipeline rd and the birdwatching and also saw in the rainforest a number of monkeys. You can book tours in the hotels... there are many but you can hire a tour guide for the day if you wish. There was a number of families at the Country Inn. Breakfast also went with the hotel. This hotel is a good location and close for most of the tours in the area. Look on line for day tours... there are many.

Continental_Drifter

We took our three children ages 11, 13 and 15 last August and spent a first night in PC. We then drove north to Santa Catalina for a couple of nights. It's a sleepy little village with boat access to the national marine park offshore. It has a few little restaurants and a couple of eco lodges.

We they took off for the far north to Bocas Del Toro. Talk about an adventure! If you search on here you'll find my prior info posted on Bocas Del Toro. Accessible by plane or boat, it's a great escape. It's remote, funky and fun for the kids. We rented an oceanfront house for the week.

We then returned to Panama City and stayed in Casco Viejo at the Canal House hotel where Daniel Craig stayed during the filming of the last Bond flick. They have only three suites, two with a second sleeping area for kids. The staff there is fantastic.

If you have any interest in Bocas Del Toro, let me know and I can give you some additional detail.

travfirst

Visiting Embera Indians could be interesting for your kids. It’s top attraction on tripadvisor.com. Some visitors even stay overnight to get complete experience. It was one of the best things we did in Panama (also I have funny filling after my visit – are they for real or Indians run new business now - entertaining daily groups of tourists).
We visited Gamboa as a day trip from Panama City and El Valle overnight.
I liked the beautiful setting of El Valle I but think it will be somewhat boring for the children. Don’t visit El Valle for it’s market – it’s one of the most overrated experiences.
I would stay at Gamboa with kids for few days – it could be a bit touristy, but it’s better in some places to do touris activities. We enjoyed our buffet lunch at Gamboa Rainforest Resort restaurant Los Lagartos located by the water, not the one at the main building. Food was OK, but view added greatly to the experience. I saw young croc, turtles and lot’s of birds during our lunch.

raulpanama

Hi, traveling with family in Panama I recommend Sendero Panama www.senderopanama.com
The have a great family adventure program and also tailor to your needs, I would ask for Christian Gernez to be the guide, he was the lead guide for Thomson Family Adventures (one of the best family travel companies out of US) for many years.
Enjoy your vacation in Panama.

MiamiBeachMomma

raulpanama,
I took your advice and contacted sendorapanama. In order to book you must prepay in full in advance via direct deposit to their bank in California. They dont accept credit cards.

Did you do this? I find it odd and it raises red flags.

raulpanama

I know the tour operator, and have clients using their services, I was not aware of that requirement.
I understand your concern, maybe you would like to check with http://www.anconexpeditions.com, they also have similar tours and might not have the same requirement. My experience with them is that the quality changes depending on the guide that you get. Some of their guides are incredible good, others not so much.
I have send some of my clients and friends to Sendero Panama and never had a complain, none of them mention the above requirement to me.

MiamiBeachMomma

raulp - are you in the tourism industry in panama??

who are the good guides at ancon?

I just received info from ecocircuitos - and their options look more interesting than the standard tours offered by most of the other operators. What are your thoughts on them?

raulpanama

Hello, I am in research with the Smithsonian Tropical Institute (STRI) and also do sustainable consulting for different clients.
I was very involve in sustainable tourism in the past, not any more but I like to help.
Maybe in the future I will open a Eco Lodge (Dream), but that is not in the near future.
Ecocircuitos, not familiar with their operation or the quality of their guides. I know they are working together with Sendero Panama on a possible training program for guides in Panama. A good sign? If you decide to go with them, please let me know how did it go.
As for good guides of Ancon, I can tell you that names like Hernan Arauz and Richard Cahill are well known for nature, I do not know families.
The guide I recommended you with Sendero Panama use to be their lead guide for families.
Hope you find what you are looking for.
Raul

raulpanama

How did it go?

raulpanama

What did you end up doing at the end?

MiamiBeachMomma

Just got back in the wee hours this morning. Trip report coming up in the next few days!! Stay tuned

MiamiBeachMomma

Raul,
I posted out trip report.

http://www.fodors.com/community/mexi...rip-report.cfm

We went with 2 day tours with Sendora. It was wonderful. The guides were super. Thanks for your advice.

Would love to come back and stay in an Eco Lodge - so let me know when you are open for business

raulpanama

LOL. Once my dream comes true, you will be the first one to find out.
Hope you enjoyed your visit to Panama.
Raul