lisa

We love the biodiversity and hiking of the Osa Peninsula and have been there twice -- enjoying the monkeys, macaws, waterfalls, ocean, butterflies, toucans, etc. We would like to go someplace different this time and I was wondering about Panama. In CR we've been to both Lapa Rios and Bosque del Cabo and loved both -- are there any ecolodges in Panama like these with great access to wildlife and hiking?

volcanogirl

I don't know if you have your heart set on Panama, but have you checked out Belize at all? A place like Chan Chich might be what you're looking for. The wildlife pictures I've seen from there are amazing, and Belize is beautiful.

RAC

The Darien Gap is supposed to be amazing on that count, but there aren't any luxury accomodations there.

glover

We've been to the Darien with Ancon Expeditions - it's wonderful, but not upscale like BDC in CR. You fly from Panama City on a small plane and land on grass strip near Ancon's
facilities at Cana. There's a basic bunkhouse with basic private rooms and shared baths. Another building is dining and lodge. Just a few other buildings for staff. And that's all that's there. The nearest town is a 13 mile hike or some such if I recall. Birds and wildlife are great. We loved it.
But rustic and doesn't come cheap.

Panama is great. You could stay at a really nice spot in or near Boquete and do lots of great hiking and see lots of great wildlife - though you'd need to drive a bit to do so.
You might like the Coffee Estates Inn outside Boquete.
Or you might look into Los Quetzales near Cerro Punta. There's great hiking in both these places. At Los Quetzales you can rent a cabin in the jungle. We've stayed in and hiked in both these places and enjoyed both.

qwovadis

www.enjoypanama.com/hotels/yandup-lodge.htm

Overwater Bures pretty cheap rustic nice MORE exotic than Osa

Closest vibe in winter for less rain Kuna Yala

www.huaorani.com another amazing place in Ecuador

Although large mammal wildlife like Jaguars best in

Manu Biosphere Reserve out of Cusco www.inkanatura.com

www.manuadventures.com Spring Summer and Fall are good there

unlike Kuna Yala where it rains all the time.

plus you can do the Inka Trail incalandadventures.com

Happy Travels,

Arenalbotanical

Unbeknownst to most , especially Americans, Nicaragua(evul kommie friend of Hugo) has the thickest swath of primary forest north of the Amazon.Yes. More than CR or Panama. Try out MATAGALPA, CORDILLERA DARIENSE

snorkelluvn

You might consider the Jungle Lodge on Isla Bastimentos, offshore from Bocas del Toro, on Caribbean side. Go to tripadvisor for very high reviews. You would be in an open-air bungalow among the trees, with views toward the Caribbean. The meals included are really great, and you even get an education about the plants and animals and pick your own herbs to add to your meal. You could take an excursion in a dugout canoe to a native village. Snorkeling is very good and the beaches are stunning on Bastimentos Island.

snorkelluvn

I forgot to mention that there are different varieties of colorful tree frogs not found anywhere else, plus wide variety of birds, monkeys, sloths. A real eco-adventure place. You fly to Bocas from Panama City, then take a short water taxi to Bastimentos.