Signature Costa Rica and Panama Coast: Pacific route

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. After a night in the modern capital San José, you’ll 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 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.

Your trip finishes in Panama City, a thriving cosmopolitan metropolis with a rich and varied history and the location for one of the greatest feats in engineering, the Panama Canal.