Super Travel Package Is the Perfect Excuse to Visit Now

July 16, 2008
Panama City, Panama

Dear Panama Enthusiast,

I’ve found a steal of a deal to get you to Panama. Check out Escapes Ltd's super offer of six nights lodging plus airfare and more for $699 (just dial 1-800-243-7227). Wow. This high-value package enables you to visit both Panama and Costa Rica for an amazingly low price. (If this trip doesn’t fit with your plans, see Panama’s Copa Airlines website for some very reasonable airfares.)

And what will you do once you get here?

If you are coming for the July 31–Aug. 2 Live & Invest in Panama Seminar (or at any other time) and want to mix pleasure with business, here is…

My Top 5 List of Fun Things to Do in and Around Panama City:

Go to the beach. The Pacific coast region known as the Arco Seco is just 1.5 to two hours from Panama City by car. But if you want to splurge and see extraordinary beaches, head to the Marcos A. Gelabert domestic airport and catch a flight to Contadora, an island in the Pearl archipelago. Spend the weekend hopping from island to island on a fishing boat, and see first-hand why, because of its camera-appealing beauty, this area has been the location for several seasons of the Survivor reality television program.

Go Gamboa. One of Panama’s best green areas is Gamboa, a neighborhood connected to the city by a single-lane iron and wood bridge. Here you'll find Pipeline Road, one of the world's best birding locales. Gamboa Rainforest Resort offers lodging (or a place to grab lunch), as well as canopy tours, indigenous village tours and handicrafts shops.

Go spend. No trip to Panama is complete without a little retail therapy. The city's many large malls are comfortable (my favorite is Albrook mall, where you'll find both upscale designer boutiques and bargain-basement stores), but to get the true, jostling Panama experience, head to La Central, where a pedestrian walkway is crammed with hawkers and you can get everything under the sun…buy meat-on-a-stick, get your knives sharpened or shoes polished, or visit one of the many discount stores.

Go for a walk. Spend a sunny day walking around the old city or Casco Viejo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site we wrote about in the May issue of Panama Insider . Have a $1.50 fresh fruit shake, a gourmet dinner or a $2.50 "worker's lunch"…plus many of Panama's most famous museums and cathedrals are all within walking distance of each other in Casco Viejo. Start at the Bolivar Plaza, where you'll see Panama's best colonial architecture, including the Salón Bolivar, where visionary Simon Bolivar attempted to create the world's first Pan-American congress.

Go crazy. Jump out of an airplane. There are plenty of experienced skydiving instructors that can take you on the trip of a lifetime. If you have enough time, take a course…but if you only have a day, you can always jump tandem. Panama Skydiving Association equipment and instructors are certified by the U.S. Parachute Association and the World Air Sports Federation. For information contact Panama Freefall.

Thanks for reading,

Jessica Ramesch
Editor, Panama Insider

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