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Father and Son take into the Panama Canal through the Chagres River

Story by Adventures Panama

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Here are their testimonials:

From Bob:

“I was DELIGHTED with this tour. I have been recommending this trip to all my friends whole-heartedly. Coming from New England in January, what I wanted was some warm weather, unspoiled nature, good water for paddling, a fun adventure, a somewhat comfortable back country camping experience, decent equipment, and someone to make ALL the arrangements. And if I could wish for something I did not want, it would be mosquitos. I couldn’t believe it, but I got everything I wanted. And very few mosquitos 

This trip combined radical 4WD to get to the rafting headwaters, a full day of Class II-III rafting, then four days of amazing paddling – all nature and we did not see another boater, tourist, or sign of civilization for most of the time. All this and only a few hours from the USA! Panama is a gem hiding in plain sight, and I was delighted to have it all to myself for the five days we were on the water.

We felt safe, comfortable, and we were certainly well-fed. Our guide, Orlando, is a professional chef and we enjoyed appetizers, beer and wine, multiple course hot dinners and breakfasts, and fresh pineapple with every meal.

The Aventuras Panama homeoffice tracked our every move with a special GPS that monitored our position and status (Orlando had to update our status every hour or so). The gear, training, and preparation were all good. All we had to do was paddle, enjoy the scenery, and eat the plentiful great food.

On a scale of one to five, where five is that all my expectations were perfectly satisfied, I’d give this trip a five. If there were a special category, though, for where most of what I got was beyond my expectations, I would not hesitate to give this trip that special category. The planning, logistic support, equipment, guides, friendliness, support, and packaging that Aventuras Panama provided was just fantastic.

From Tim:

“Honestly, I didn’t do a ton of research for this trip—my dad asked if I wanted to go join him in Panama, I said sure, and a few weeks later I landed at the airport. But nothing else was necessary: every important detail and logistic was already figured out, and there couldn’t have been a better itinerary planned for the next seven days. We hiked, we rafted, we kayaked, we ATE, we explored, we camped, we met indians and locals, we fished—we did it all!

I’ll admit that the price struck me as a bit steep at first, but by the second day of the trip any of my reservations were completely dispelled. The amount of people involved to make this possible was truly extraordinary: there was Jorge, who coordinated airport dropoffs, pickups, and city tours. There was Benito, the fearless AWD driver who drove our motley crew overs steep, rutty hills heaped with red mud on treacherous jungle roads. There were two horses and a contingent of locals who schlepped our rafting equipment through the forest to the mouth of the Rio des Piedras. Fabian and Javier, our seasoned rafting guides; the Emberra tribe, who picked us up in their motorized canoes and hosted us in their village; Orlando, who was our kayaking captain through Gatun Lake; Jose, our motorboat escort, and a handful of other people who met us along the way to help us portage around dams, locks, and isthmuses. By the end of the trip, I was amazed by how many people we had met and how much we had done.

To the avid adventurer: I can’t recommend this trip enough!