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Combine a Costa Rica tour with a Panama Canal cruise on Tauck’s 11-day journey to The Panama Canal & Costa Rica. Begin with a Costa Rica tour exploring some the country’s many natural treasures. See flying kaleidoscopes of colorful wings all around you at the Butterfly Observatory and the Hummingbird Garden. Walk on the lunar-like lava landscape at the summit of mighty Volcano Irazú, Costa Rica’s largest volcano. After your Costa Rica tour, board the sporty yacht, Le Levant, for 6 days spent exploring the abundant wildlife of Panama, meeting people whose lifestyle has not changed in hundreds of years and cruising through one of the world’s greatest man-made marvels, the Panama Canal.
2008 Eastbound Itinerary
* Westbound itinerary is the reverse of Eastbound.
Day 1: Arrive San José
Tour begins: Costa Rica Marriott Hotel. Welcome to Costa Rica! A transfer is included from San José – Juan Santamaria International Airport to the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel. Set amidst a flourishing coffee plantation, this gracious hotel will be your home for the next three nights. Dinner at the hotel is at your leisure this evening.
Meals: Dinner
Lodging: Costa Rica Marriott Hotel, San José, Costa Rica
Day 2: A walk on the moon
Begin your Costa Rica tour with a visit to Volcano Irazú National Park, where you'll walk along the lava trails and through the surreal lunar landscape of the tallest volcano in Costa Rica. Although there hasn’t been a significant eruption since 1963, Irazú still grumbles a bit upon occasion. Peer down at the strangely colored lake at the bottom of the Diego de la Haya crater and, if the weather is clear, see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Please join us for our welcome reception and dinner this evening with local entertainment.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Costa Rica Marriott Hotel, San José, Costa Rica
Day 3: Wet and wild
Five marvelous waterfalls cascade into the rainforest at La Paz Waterfall Gardens. After a stroll among them, you’ll be dazzled by the kaleidoscope of jewel-like butterflies soaring around you in the Butterfly Observatory and be enchanted by the multitude of brightly colored wild hummingbirds that visit the many feeders in the Hummingbird Garden. No Costa Rica tour would be complete without a visit to a coffee plantation to learn about the process of roasting coffee.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Lodging: Costa Rica Marriott Hotel, San José, Costa Rica
• Day 4: By land and by sea
Continue your Costa Rica tour with sightseeing in charming San José, seeing the National Theater, the National Museum or the Parque National, depending on the day of the week. After taking the opportunity to stroll around the famous artisan town of Sarchi, continue on to Puerto Caldera to board Le Levant. You’ll be welcomed aboard with warm smiles from the friendly crew.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 5: Wild and wonderful Costa Rica
A most biologically interesting place, the Marenco Biological Reserve on the remote Osa Peninsula has many natural wonders to share during this Costa Rica tour. Go ashore with a knowledgeable naturalist to look for one of the many species of exotic birds or the three species of monkeys that make their homes in the rainforests of the reserve, and perhaps enjoy a swim in a freshwater stream. Please join us tonight for the Captain's Dinner aboard Le Levant.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 6: A day in paradise
Le Levant anchors off Panama’s idyllic Coiba Island National Park to offer you the delights of a day spent in the sun and the sea. Swim in the warm, clear water, observe the underwater world while snorkeling or try your hand at kayaking. A barbeque lunch on the island will be a special treat on this day of your Costa Rica tour.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 7: Meet the people of the Darien
A visit to an indigenous Indian community in this remote area of Panama’s Darien Province reveals a lifestyle that has hardly changed since the Spaniards first encountered the ancestors of these Choco Indians in the early 16th century. Travel by local boats on the Mogue River to meet the local people, observe their daily lives, view their traditional dances and admire their artful carvings in Cocobolo wood and Tague “vegetable ivory.”
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 8: The “big dig”
Our voyage from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea through the Panama Canal will be a fascinating and memorable experience as the great locks open and close, ultimately lowering Le Levant 85 feet. Ships were once towed through the locks by four-legged mules, and the tractors that do the job today are still called mules in their honor. As we pass through Gatun Lake, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, during our 8- to-10 hour transit, you’ll see islands that actually once were the tops of jungle hills. The bustling Panama Canal is truly a modern engineering marvel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
• Day 9: San Blas Sights
The captivatingly beautiful San Blas Islands are home to the shy Kuna Indian people. Go ashore this morning to meet them and admire their famous, exquisitely embroidered molas. Usually made to be part of a woman’s blouse, a framed mola is a work of art. See how this intricate needlework is done or spend the afternoon swimming or snorkeling.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Aboard Le Levant
Day 10: Natural treasures and man-made marvels
Bid farewell to Le Levant today and travel to Panama’s Gamboa Rainforest Resort where you can choose an aerial tram ride with a naturalist or a boat ride and short hike into the jungle. Get a shore-side look at the workings of the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal, through which you passed aboard Le Levant.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: InterContinental Miramar Panama, Panama City
Day 11: Journey Home
Tour ends: Panama City. A transfer from the InterContinental Miramar Panama to Tocumen International Airport is included. Please allow at least 2 ½ hours for check-in formalities.
Meals: Breakfast
Dates & Prices
Feb 9, 21
11 Days from $5,490
| 2008 Price Per Person | Double | Single | Triple |
| Champlain Deck | $5490 | $9020 | $4840 |
| La Pérouse Deck | $5790 | $9320 | $5140 |
| Bougainville Deck | $6290 | $9820 | N/A |
Special Single Departure dates of Jan. 28 and Feb. 9 where the single price is: Champlain Deck $6020; La Pérouse Deck $6320; Bougainville Deck $6820. Ask at booking for detials.
28 meals included.
Land / Cruise Price includes private Tauck shore excursions, cruise fare, port charges, wine with dinner aboard Le Levant, and gratuities to ship staff.
International Airfare is additional. Tauck can book your international air for travel originating in the United States, subject to availability; inquire upon booking for special airfares that may be available.
Travel West or East: Cruise operates both Eastbound from San José and Westbound from Panama City. Sightseeing is identical.
Note: Costa Rica Departure tax is not included and must be paid at the San José International Airport.
All prices are per person in U.S. dollars.
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Important Terms
- * This product is priced in USD (USD), AUD rates can fluctuate depending on exchange rates, final rates in AUD will be confirmed by your consultant at time of booking.
- Prices shown are fully inclusive of taxes unless otherwise stated.
- Advertised price includes any bonus nights, special offers or discounts listed in the inclusions.
- Surcharges may apply due to demand, Christmas & New Year's Eve, school or public holidays, trade shows, special events & other unforeseen circumstances.
- Prices may be based on Dynamic Rates and as such, may fluctuate at anytime without notice, due to matters outside our control, such as adverse currency fluctuations, fuel surcharges, taxes and airfare increases, or at the property's discretion.
Cruise Line
Tauck Cruising
Go beyond the ordinary and experience cruise travel at its best with Tauck. What makes Tauck’s Small Ship Cruising and River Cruising unique is the focus on the destination. Each scenic ports of call connect you with people and places, which will give you a moving, compelling and heart-warming experience both onboard and ashore.
Time ashore is enriched by in-depth cultural exploration and insider access that ensures up-close-and-personal connections with the locals and daily life. Tauck’s cruise travel adventures include guided sightseeing with local experts such as naturalists, historians, and accomplished lecturers. You’ll dine on regional cuisine on land at aboard ship that showcases specialties of the destination. After a day of extraordinary sightseeing, Tauck welcome you back onboard the hand-picked vessels for warm camaraderie and lively conversation that’s inherent on every Tauck cruise travel experience. The stories are endless, the memories are timeless and the connections priceless.
You can expect to see the sights a bit differently than you would with anyone else. Tauck explores Europe’s great waterways from the Rhine and the Danube to the Rhône and the Seine in France. Their luxurious riverboats are spacious and comfortable, welcoming you to an onboard experience characterized by the Tauck. Discover river cruises that go beyond the ordinary!
Tauck Voted World’s Best River Cruise Line
For the second time in three years, Tauck has been named the “World’s Best River Cruise Line" by the readers of Travel + Leisure, one of the world’s most authoritative and respected publications for travellers. The World’s Best Awards from Travel + Leisure are selected by the magazine’s readers. Every year, T+L holds a survey for readers to fill out on their main website. The survey remains open until April.
Winners are announced in the August/September issues of Travel + Leisure. These awards are given in categories such as hotels, resorts, spas, cruises, airlines, travel companies, tour operators, cities, islands, family travel, and more.
River Cruising
The heart of history meets the art of sophisticated river cruise travel aboard Tauck’s river cruises. Experience the Tauck difference on cruise travel days along great European waterways from the Rhine to the Danube, from the canals of the Netherlands to the Rhône, from the Main to the Danube and the Moselle…
You’ll cruise aboard spacious riverboats that have been custom designed to meet American standards with well appointed outside facing cabins and suites, a choice of on-board dining venues, complimentary wine with dinner, fitness centers and attentive personal service from Tauck’s staff and the ship’s crew.
Ancient civilizations beckon on cruise travel days along the River Nile in Egypt and China’s Yangtze River on Tauck’s Exotic journeys, where 3- and 4-night river cruise travel enhances land journeys.
Small Ship Cruising
The difference in Tauck’s small ship cruise travel lies in the choreography of the total cruise travel experience – the combination of personalized cruising with cultural land exploration. How you spend your days ashore – where you go, what you do, who you meet – that’s the Tauck difference. From the moment you step ashore, with 85 years of expertise on land ensures that on every cruise travel day, every moment of your shore excursions (all included in the price) count! Smaller ships hold fewer passengers, which means more personal attention from the captain and the crew – you’ll find the on-board atmosphere to be both club-like and comfortable. The pace is more relaxed, the conversations are richer, and the day-to-day experiences are shared with like-minded travelers.
