Highlights of Central America: Costa Rica & Panama
12 days | 15 days with Cartagena extension | Estimated monthly payments as low as $149
From sipping coffee to spotting crocs, indulge your senses one stop at a time.
The foggy foliage of Monteverde’s cloud forests. The pristine shores of Manuel Antonio National Park. The urban buzz of Panama City—and the chirps and coos of the wildlife in nearby Chagres National Park. Wherever you look, Central America has something to catch the eye, and this tour of Costa Rica and Panama packs in the highlights. Colombia’s a short flight away, too, so why not follow the sweet sound of cumbia to Cartagena on the extension?
Your tour package includes
- 11 nights in handpicked hotels
- 11 breakfasts
- 3 lunches
- 5 dinners, some with beer or wine
- 2 food tastings
- 9 sightseeing tours
- Expert Tour Director & local guides
- Private deluxe motor coach
Included highlights
- Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve
- Heliconia Ranch
- Manuel Antonio National Park
- Gesha coffee tasting
- Chitré artisan workshops
- Gatun Lake cruise
- Miraflores Locks
- Casco Viejo
- Chagres National Park
- Emberá community visit
Itinerary

San José
Day 1: Arrival in San José
Welcome to Costa Rica! Touch down in San Jose and transfer to your hotel. Settle in, then meet some of your groupmates in the evening over a light dinner.
Please note: If you arrive after 9 p.m., dinner will be served in your hotel room.
Monteverde
Day 2: Transfer to Monteverde & hiking tour of Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve
Included meals: Breakfast, Welcome lunch
Kick off your trip by heading to mountainous Monteverde, where you’ll stop at a family-owned ranch for a three-course welcome lunch, served with beer or rum punch. Then, hit the road again and prepare for an afternoon in the Costa Rican wilds.
Sitting at an elevation of roughly a mile above sea level, the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve is permanently shrouded in fog—and that only adds to its majesty. With your Tour Director in the lead, hike into the jungle to observe Costa Rica’s biodiversity in full bloom.
Learn about, and keep a lookout for, the reserve’s array of flora and fauna. Orchids and ferns dot the forest floor, while 30 types of hummingbirds—as well as three-wattled bellbirds, black-faced solitaires, and other hard-to-spot bird species—flit about overhead.
Please note: In the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, you should be able to hike around two miles over wet, and potentially slippery, paths.
Reviews
Showing 1-6 of 31 traveler reviews
What a wonderful trip to Costa Rica and Panama! It far exceeded expectations. Our local guides Carlos in Costa Rica and Gabriel in Panama made sure that our group had an unforgettable experience in both countries. We explored the amazing rain forest, learning all about the flora...
I really enjoyed the Costa Rica and Panama tour. We stayed in excellent hotels, had great food, and saw some wonderful sites. It was great meeting local people as well as seeing crafts that they had made. Our tour guide for Costa Rica was excellent and made us all feel welcome...
I loved the tour and learned so much about both countries. Our tour guide in Costa Rica was amazing
Our Tour Directors Geraldo, Gabriel and Bilkin were all wonderful. They were knowledgeable, fun and wanted us to have a great experience in their countries. They also made arrangements for special things we wanted to do. All the events and extra excursions were super. Hotels...
Our 2 tour guides, Gerardo and Gabriel, were both experts in their respective countries. Not only did they afford us an overwhelming sense of safety and knowledge, but they had a real kinship with the local people which carried over into our cultural experiences. 5 stars!
EF Go Ahead Tours
Hi Julie Thank you for your fantastic review! We're thrilled to hear that our tour guides made such an impact on your tour experience. It's...
Some of the buses were not very comfortable for long travel. Many of the days were constantly on the bus and rushed from one activity to another. 3 Cloud forests were repetitive and long bus rides for a one hour excursion was ridiculous. We did not see many of the...
EF Go Ahead Tours
Hello, Thank you for taking a moment to share your experience with us. We are disappointed to hear that you felt the busses in the region...
Showing 1–6 of 31 reviews
Hotels
We handpick every hotel to strike the balance of comfort, location, and local charm. Specific accommodations will vary based on your departure date, but these are frequently used hotels for this tour and we're confident you'll be satisfied.
Flights
Round-trip flights are one more thing we handle to make your journey as smooth as possible. Our team of travel experts will find the best flight itinerary for you at a competitive rate, thanks to our partnerships with top airlines.