Private Journeys

Explore and Relax Costa Rica and Panama Coast: Pacific route

13 days from £2,940pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Costa Rica / Panama

Places visited

Overview & Highlights

Spend time at an enchanting wildlife lodge in Costa Rica before moving on to Panama, full of delightful surprises and unspoilt landscapes. After these explorations, laze on a sunlit beach on Panama’s Pacific coast.

Tiny Costa Rica is a volcanic country of fertile plains, rolling hills supporting acres of coffee plantations and tropical lowlands bursting with fruit. Throughout, it has a friendly, relaxed ambiance. Arriving at the modern capital San José, you’ll be taken out into the valley surrounding the city to peer into the steaming crater of Poás volcano. Move on to a wildlife lodge in an area of the Pacific coast where exotic flora and fauna is especially prolific, and follow trails through the rainforest.

Continue to Panama, an up-and-coming destination for nature lovers with some amazingly unspoilt beaches to boot. You’ll spend time in the glorious, rugged mountain landscapes surrounding Boquete, a centre for active adventures: you’ll be very tempted to pull on your walking shoes and get out on to the wooded trails in search of quetzals.

After this, travel to the Panamanian Pacific coast for a few days’ relaxation based at an intimate boutique beach hotel in low-key Boca Chica, a fishing village at the end of the road opposite a string of tiny islets. The beaches here are powder-white, backed by coconut palms and dense, untouched forest.

San José: Guided excursion to Doka, Poás vocano and La Paz waterfalls
Osa Peninsula: Activities at the lodge
Boquete: Guided coffee farm visit
Boca Chica: Activities at the beach resort

THE UK’S № 1 SPECIALIST IN TRAVEL TO LATIN AMERICA

Charlotte Daubeney

Travel Expert

Talk to our experts

Outline itinerary

Day 1

Arrive in San José and transfer to your hotel.

Day 2

Guided excursion to Doka, Poás volcano and La Paz waterfalls.

Day 3

Osa Peninsula

Days 4-5

At leisure.

Day 6

By road over the border to Boquete, Panama.

Day 7

Visit a Panamanian coffee finca

Day 8

Transfer to Boca Chica.

Days 9-11

At leisure on the Pacific coast.

Day 12

Fly from David to Panama City.

Day 13

Transfer to Panama City for international flight home.

View full itinerary

Things to do

We proudly offer the widest range of activities, excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences across all our destinations, tried and tested personally by our travel experts.

Poas Volcano and La Paz waterfall gardens

cos18-spot-wildlife-in-coastal-rainforest-free-ict

Spot wildlife in the Osa coastal rainforest

Go white-water rafting in Panama

Go snorkelling at Osa Peninsula

Take a Panamanian coffee tour

Accommodation

Browse our unrivalled portfolio of accommodation . Every option has been carefully chosen by our team of travel experts, so you can rest assured that you’ll relax in utter comfort.

Costa Rica / San Jose, central highlands and central valleys

Grano de Oro

Costa Rica / Osa Peninsula

El Remanso

Panama / Boquete and the Chiriquí Highlands

The Riverside Inn

Panama / Azuero Peninsula and Pacific coast

Bocas del Mar

Panama / Panama City

Tryp by Wyndham

Itinerary Essentials

What our clients say

Excellent professional service both before and during the holiday. Would certainly recommend Journey Latin America as a company to discover South America with.
EW, Weston-Super-Mare
Nov 2018
Enjoyed the trip to the equator while in Quito. Loved Alausi, very interesting place, people. Cuenca was lovely, very easy to get around, felt safe, staff at hotel very helpful, happy hour cocktails 2 for 1 delicious! Las Cajas national park very interesting. The Galapagos week was fantastic! Staff really professional, islands and wildlife more than I imagined, learnt to snorkel, scenery fantastic. The group were also really nice, and as a single traveller this made my holiday really special. And on the whole the weather was very sunny and warm. Enjoyed the picnics we had during our trips in the Andes, which the tour leader arranged, especially the exotic fruits which she advised us to try.
JC, Bury
Feb 2016
Every place we visited is just so different, it's hard to pick the most memorable. I loved it all.
This was my first visit to South America and although I realise we only scraped the surface of this vast continent,I feel that i have had the most amazing experience and very much hope to visit again.
SB, Ilkley
Mar 2016
We knew from the itinarary that alot of travelling would be involved. Given the amount we saw it was well worth time spent in the bus. We compared this itinerary to several other adventure travel companies, and this was by far the most comprehensive. We have had alot of good tour leaders over the years, but we have never one so generous with his time. Max was always happy to take us anywhere we wanted to go -from an ATM to a 3 hour walking tour.
JN, Peterborough
Mar 2018
Highlights? Friends have asked us this and we struggle because there were so many! The magic of Easter Island and we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were actually there and seeing sights which had excited and intrigued us for a long time. El Tatio geysers at dawn were stunning. The Perito Moreno Glacier on a beautiful sunny day was awesome. The 'reveal' moment at the end of the 4wd tour at Estancia Cristina seeing the panoramic view of the Upsala Glacier.
LW, Chesterfield
Feb 2014
We were extremely satisfied with our Sandpiper Journey which provided us with a broad view of the Countries visited and the cultures, history, wild life etc. All in all, a great experience and a wonderful holiday.
PH, Farnham
Feb 2016

0 1 2 3 4 5

Our expert's view

Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

Get in touch Meet our experts

Inspired by this trip

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

Papagaio

Your edit for Latin American inspiration

View Extraordinary Inspiration

View Extraordinary Inspiration
Other
Panama in the 2018 World Cup
Learn more
View Extraordinary Inspiration
Other
Winter sun destinations
Learn more
View Extraordinary Inspiration
Other
Costa Rica’s Fourth World Heritage Site: Diquis Stone Spheres
Learn more

Wildlife

Panama Canal Wildlife Tour

Learn more

PAN_PanamaCity_PanamaBeachView_shutterstock_235011739_freewithcredit

Top Hits

Top 5 bars and restaurants in Panama City

Learn more

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

Get in touch Meet our experts

Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert
After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!
Carrie Gallagher - Travel Expert
A former JLA tour leader, Carrie brings a wealth of on-the-ground experience to our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours department.
Ben Line - Travel Expert
Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.
Millie Davies - Travel Expert
Having caught the travel bug as a child, Millie has travelled all over Latin America before making her home in Buenos Aires for 3 years.
Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert
Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.
Sophie Barber - Travel Expert
Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.