Best Hotels Packages and Specials in Panama

The path between the seas – Package

“One had only to look at the map to see that Panama was the proper place for the canal. The route was already well established, there was a railroad, there were thriving cities at each end” -- David McCullough, The Path Between the Seas, the Creation of the Panama Canal, 1879-1914

The Itinerary
Pick-up will take place early in the morning at the lobby of The Bristol Panama Hotel by a tour guide of Ancon Expeditions, the only Virtuoso-On-Sites agent in Panama. The trip will begin with an introduction to the Panama Canal from the top of Ancon Hill, from where you will enjoy impressive views of the Pacific Ocean, the entrance to the canal, the mega-port of Balboa, Miraflores locks and Panama City.

Next you will drive to the Panama Canal visitors’ center at Miraflores locks for an up-close view of the locks operation, considered one of the seven man-made wonders of the modern world. In it you will see how ships in transit are raised and lowered in a system of chambers that has been operating the same way for 100 years since the canal was inaugurated on August 15, 1914. The visitors’ center has an interactive museum with exhibits, depicting aspects related to the Panama Canal’s history, its engineering, its contribution to world commerce and communication and about the waterway’s current expansion project which is due to be completed in the first half of 2015.

After lunch at Miraflores locks, you will drive across the Isthmus of Panama to the Caribbean province of Colon. The drive is just 55 miles and in about one hour you will have crossed the continent, from ocean to ocean, for a tour of the Panama Canal’s expansion works in Gatun.

From the vantage point of an observation deck you will have the opportunity of viewing the assembly of one the new sets of locks being built as part of the project. The US$5.25 billion project includes, among other tasks, dredging works on both ends of the canal and the route itself in order to increase water depth and the straightening of bends along the route that will allow larger ships to transit through the canal. The most important aspect of the project, however, is the building of two new sets of locks, one at each terminus of the canal, which will increase the waterway’s capacity to move cargo from one ocean to the other by 50% within the next 15 years and will allow the passage of bigger ships (almost 3 times the capacity of Panamax, the largest size vessels currently transiting through the canal). An astonishing 4.2 billion cubic meters of structural concrete are currently being poured in the excavations where the new locks will be operating soon. You will experience history in the making as the Panama Canal projections call for another 100 years of successful operation using the new technology that will be implemented.

In addition and time-allowing, you will visit the Gatun earthen dam which contains the water that gives way to Gatun Lake, once the largest man-made lake, essential for the operation of the Panama Canal.

The return to Panama City will be aboard the Panama Canal railroad train. The railway follows a similar route as the original train built to transport gold prospectors, the 49ers, which came in the mid to late 1800s from the east coast of the United States across the Isthmus of Panama to continue their journey by steamboat on their way to California. The route was diverted when Gatun Lake was formed to give way to the Panama Canal. The train will take you along the magnificent waterway, flanked by the exuberant rainforests of Soberania National Park. After an approximately one hour train ride you will arrive at Corozal Station in Panama City and will then be taken back to The Bristol Panama hotel.

Tour Details
INCLUDED:
• Bilingual guide
• Lunch, snacks and bottled water
• Park, museum and related entrance fees
• Train fare
• Transportation from/to your hotel in Panama City
• Panama Canal memento

TOUR SCHEDULE:
9:00AM – Pick up at The Bristol Panama hotel
6:30PM – Return to The Bristol Panama hotel (on weekends without train ride return time might be earlier).

NOTES:
This tour operates on non-holiday weekdays due to the train’s schedule. The tour may be offered on weekends and holidays without the train ride.

The Hotel
Ranked as one of the Top 5 hotels in Central America by Condè Nast Traveler, The Bristol Panama reflects Panama rich architectural heritage in an atmosphere of magnificent sophistication. Minutes from many lively and leisurely attractions, the hotel features 158 luxurious guestrooms and residences, an outdoor swimming pool and solarium, a world-class Spa and an impressive culinary experience featuring the internationally-acclaimed Chef Cuquita Arias and our Sal Si Puedes signature restaurant.

The Bristol Panama is a member of The Leading Hotels of The World, as well as the only Virtuoso and Signature Network hotel in the city.

Rates are as follows:

April 15, 2013 – April 15, 2014
3 nights
2 Adults
All tour fees
Executive Guest Room and/or Tower Studio Guest Room
Buffet Breakfast
Wireless Internet
Butler Service
20% Discount at our Wellness Spa
One complimentary Dessert for two at our famous Sal Si Puedes Restaurant

TOTAL PACKAGE: $1,350.00 for three nights, two adults

Extra Adult: $495.00 for three nights
Children: $190.00 for three nights

Booking Information
Please call our reservations department at +507 264-0000 or email us at reservation@thebristol.com

Chagres River & Embera People – Package

A one-of-a-kind opportunity to visit an indigenous village in the midst of an exceptionally-wonderful natural setting that supports in harmony their lifestyle and traditions.

The Itinerary
Early in the morning you are picked up at the lobby of The Bristol Panama hotel and transferred to El Corotu on the shores of Madden Lake. Unequivocally the main reservoir of drinking water for the cities of Panama and Colon, Madden Lake also supplies 40% of the water required for the operation of the Panama Canal. Here, you board a motorized piragua (dugout canoe) and travel up the Chagres River to the Embera indigenous village of Embera Drua.

The boat journey takes you through the rainforest of the 320,000-acre Chagres National Park, which is the largest of the National Parks protecting the Panama Canal Watershed. Along the Chagres River, you may be able to spot Little Blue and Green Heron, Great Egret, Anhingas, Neotropical Cormorant, Amazon, Ringed, and Green Kingfishers, along with Keel-billed Toucans and Ospreys flying above. At the Embera village you will be greeted with dancing and music, and will learn about Embera customs and their relationship with nature. There will be handcrafts available for sale and you will have a chance to be painted with the traditional “jaguar”, a natural dye the Embera use to adorn their bodies. After a traditional Embera lunch you will be head back to Panama City.

Tour Details
INCLUDED:
• Bilingual guide
• Museum and related entrance fees
• Traditional lunch
• Transportation from/to your hotel

TOUR SCHEDULE:
8:00AM – Pick up at The Bristol Panama hotel
4:00PM – Return to The Bristol Panama hotel

The Hotel
Ranked as one of the Top 5 hotels in Central America by Condè Nast Traveler, The Bristol Panama reflects Panama rich architectural heritage in an atmosphere of magnificent sophistication. Minutes from many lively and leisurely attractions, the hotel features 158 luxurious guestrooms and residences, an outdoor swimming pool and solarium, a world-class Spa and an impressive culinary experience featuring the internationally-acclaimed Chef Cuquita Arias and our Sal Si Puedes signature restaurant.

The Bristol Panama is a member of The Leading Hotels of The World, as well as the only Virtuoso and Signature Network hotel in the city.

Booking Information
To book this package you may go to www.thebristol.com or call the travel agent of your choice. For direct reservations please call +507.294.7810 or email us to reservation@thebristol.com.

Rates are as follows:

April 15, 2013 – April 15, 2014
2 nights
2 Adults
All tour fees
Executive Guest Room and/or Tower Studio Guest Room
Buffet Breakfast
Wireless Internet
Butler Service
20% Discount at our Wellness Spa
One complimentary dessert for two at our famous Sal Si Puedes Restaurant

TOTAL PACKAGE: $795.00 for two nights, two adults

Extra Adult: $275 for two nights
Children: $100 for two nights

Booking Information
Please call our reservations department at +507 264-0000 or email us at reservation@thebristol.com

The Panama Canal Rainforest Boat Adventure – Package

Aboard an expedition boat explore the waters of the Panama Canal through coves and inlets in search of wildlife including countless species of birds, reptiles and several species of monkeys. The most comfortable and accessible way to discover the natural attributes of the Panama Canal watershed

The Itinerary
Early in the morning you are picked up at the lobby of The Bristol Panama hotel for a 45 minute drive to the town of Gamboa, where the Chagres River meets the Panama Canal. At Gamboa you will board an expedition boat and depart on an adventure that will include a voyage across Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal, passing by gigantic cargo ships transiting the waterway and making a surreal contrast with the natural surroundings. Along the way, you will have the opportunity to spot green iguanas, three-toed sloths resting on tree branches, crocodiles, osprey in the hunt for peacock bass, snail kites and keel-billed toucans among other wildlife.

Gatun Lake was formed to give way to the Panama Canal in 1914. With a surface of 423 square-kilometers, at the time of its creation was the largest man-made lake in the world. The flow of all the rivers within the Panama Canal Watershed is contained in Gatun Lake to provide water for the operation of the lock system. More than 52 million gallons of fresh water are used for every ship that transits through the Panama Canal from one ocean to another. Your expedition boat will allow for close approximations to rainforest covered islands (former hill tops) in Gatun Lake to search for the white-faced capuchin, the mantled howler monkey, the Central American spider monkey, and Geoffrey’s Tamarin. You will enjoy a picnic lunch on a small island with extraordinary views of the Panama Canal and the natural surroundings.

Tour Details
INCLUDED:
• Bilingual guide
• Museum and related entrance fees
• Picnic lunch
• Transportation from/to your hotel

TOUR SCHEDULE:
7:30AM – Pick up at The Bristol Panama hotel
1:30PM – Return to The Bristol Panama hotel
The Hotel
Ranked as one of the Top 5 hotels in Central America by Condè Nast Traveler, The Bristol Panama reflects Panama rich architectural heritage in an atmosphere of magnificent sophistication. Minutes from many lively and leisurely attractions, the hotel features 158 luxurious guestrooms and residences, an outdoor swimming pool and solarium, a world-class Spa and an impressive culinary experience featuring the internationally-acclaimed Chef Cuquita Arias and our Sal Si Puedes signature restaurant.

The Bristol Panama is a member of The Leading Hotels of The World, as well as the only Virtuoso and Signature Network hotel in the city.

Booking Information
To book this package you may go to www.thebristol.com or call the travel agent of your choice. For direct reservations please call +507.294.7810 or email us to reservation@thebristol.com.

Rates are as follows:

April 15, 2013 – April 15, 2014
2 nights
2 Adults
All tour fees
Executive Guest Room and/or Tower Studio Guest Room
Buffet Breakfast
Wireless Internet
Butler Service
20% Discount at our Wellness Spa
One complimentary dessert for two at our famous Sal Si Puedes Restaurant

TOTAL PACKAGE: $635.00 for two nights, two adults

Extra Adult: $190.00 for two nights
Children: $60.00 for two nights

Booking Information
Please call our reservations department at +507 264-0000 or email us at reservation@thebristol.com

Panama City-Tour – Package
The Itinerary
During the half-day morning tour you will first visit the ruins Panama Viejo, the first official city founded by Europeans on the Pacific coast of the Americas and the starting point of the treasure trails that crossed the isthmus to the Caribbean. This city was attacked and looted by English pirate Henry Morgan in 1671. Visit the Old Panama Museum, climb up the Cathedral tower, and stroll among the stone walls and remnants of what was once considered the richest city in the Americas. At the folk market you will have the opportunity to admire and obtain local and indigenous handcrafts. Continue to Casco Antiguo (the old city compound) which dates from the late 1600's. Casco Viejo is home to monuments to Ferdinand de Lesseps and other Frenchmen instrumental in the ill-fated attempt of the French to construct a canal through Panama became the new Panama City of the times. This part of town was never successfully attacked, being protected by a wall that surrounded the new settlement. You will visit San Jose church with the famous Golden Altar, one of the few testaments to all the wealth that made its way through this city. You will walk along the French Plaza – a monument to the French canal effort and take a panoramic look of the modern city from this vantage point as well as the ships that are anchored in the bay awaiting transit of the canal. Conclude your afternoon with a visit to Interoceanic Canal museum that is housed in the same building that was the original headquarters for the French canal building effort in the 1880´s. The museum is beautifully restored and presents a broad perspective of the historical development of Panama from its Spanish colonial days to the completion of the canal in 1913.

Tour Details
INCLUDED:
• Bilingual guide
• Museum and related entrance fees
• Transportation from/to your hotel in Panama City

TOUR SCHEDULE:
9:00AM – Pick up at The Bristol Panama hotel
12:30PM – Return to The Bristol Panama hotel

NOTES:
On Mondays museums are closed in Panama City

The Hotel
Ranked as one of the Top 5 hotels in Central America by Condè Nast Traveler, The Bristol Panama reflects Panama rich architectural heritage in an atmosphere of magnificent sophistication. Minutes from many lively and leisurely attractions, the hotel features 158 luxurious guestrooms and residences, an outdoor swimming pool and solarium, a world-class Spa and an impressive culinary experience featuring the internationally-acclaimed Chef Cuquita Arias and our Sal Si Puedes signature restaurant.

The Bristol Panama is a member of The Leading Hotels of The World, as well as the only Virtuoso and Signature Network hotel in the city.

Booking Information
To book this package you may go to www.thebristol.com or call the travel agent of your choice. For direct reservations please call +507.294.7810 or email us to reservation@thebristol.com.

Rates are as follows:

April 15, 2013 – April 15, 2014
2 nights
2 Adults
All tour fees
Executive Guest Room and/or Tower Studio Guest Room
Buffet Breakfast
Wireless Internet
Butler Service
20% Discount at our Wellness Spa
One complimentary dessert for two at our famous Sal Si Puedes Restaurant

TOTAL PACKAGE: $575.00 for two nights, two adults

Extra Adult: $170.00 for two nights
Children: $45.00 for two nights

Booking Information
Please call our reservations department at +507 264-0000 or email us at reservation@thebristol.com