Costa Rica and Panama Trip Itinerary

It’s been almost 2 years since I went on an international trip. So I’m extremely excited to announce my next upcoming trip to Costa Rica and Panama! I’ve been to Costa Rica once before, so I won’t spend that much time there this time. I’ll be going on a bare-bones style trip, conducive to hanging out by the beach and hopefully a lot of snorkeling!

Below is my projected Itinerary for my trip to Panama:

Day 1

I’ll head to Denver International Airport in the late hours. I was excited to try out my TSA Pre-Check, but now realize that lane will likely be closed.

Day 2

After taking a red-eye flight from Denver to Charlotte, I’ll have a 5-hour layover. Hopefully, I won’t fall asleep in those nice rocking chairs they have. Afterwards, I’ll hop on a flight to San Jose, Costa Rica landing in the late afternoon. I’ll probably be jet lagged, so I’ll just stick around the hotel for the evening.

Day 3

Today, the only official item on the agenda is meeting my G Adventure tourmates for the intro meeting around 6PM. Before then, I want to go to the Gold Museum (I missed it on my last trip.) Beyond that no set plans. I may go back to the Jade Museum now that its moved to a different building, and check out the art market I stumbled onto last time.

Day 4

It’s a 5 hour travel day via local buses to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a beach town on Costa Rica’s Carribean coast. I’m excited because the last time I visited Costa Rica, I only stuck to the Pacific side.

Day 5

I’ll have a full free day in Puerto Viejo, and some of the activities I’m interested in are:

Take a Chocolate Farm Tour
Snorkel the nearby Nature Parks
Horseback Riding on the Beach
Visit the Jaguar Rescue Center

Day 6

Today is another long travel day on local buses (3 hours via bus, 3o minutes via boat, plus the time for the border crossing). We’ll go from Puerto Viejo de Talamanca to the border town of Sixaola before walking across to Panama’s Guabito. From there we’ll take a bus to Changuinola, then to Almirante, where we’ll board a boat to take us to Bocas Town in Bocas del Toro.

Day 7 & 8

These two days are free days in Bocas Town. I hope to do a lot of snorkeling, see some dolphins, and visit starfish and red frog beaches.

Day 9

Sadly, we’ll leave Bocas del Toro for the cloud forests near Boquete. It will take a 30-minute board ride and a 5-7 hour local bus to get there! This will be the worst travel day by far.

Day 10

This will be a free day in Boquete, I don’t really want to go hiking because I’ve read too much about the lost Dutch girls. So instead I may use this as a relax day. I may go horseback riding or get a massage. Or I might even go white water rafting!

Day 11

No more local buses! We’ll take private transport from Boquete to the Pacific side of Panama to Santa Catalina, although this will take about 4 hours to get there.

Day 12 & 13

I’ll be staying in a hostel on a beach. I’ll go snorkel the nature park at Coiba Island. Maybe lay out the beach, and if I haven’t already, go horseback riding.

Day 14

This will be another log travel day. 6 hours from Santa Catalina to Panama City.

Day 15

I’ll have just a day in Panama City, and so likely will only have time to see the Canal and wander Casco Viejo. If there is time maybe visit Panama Viejo and the Amador Causeway.

Day 16

My flight will be early afternoon, so won’t have much time for sightseeing in the morning. I’ll be flying through Miami this time, and will use my Global Entry for the first time. Then after a short layover I’ll head home to Denver. If I’m lucky I’ll make it home before its midnight and I turn back into a pumpkin.