Our Costa Rica/Panama tours have been quick to sell out this year.  As of right now we only have an 8 day Costa Rica tour scheduled for June 22 - 29.

The tour August 11 - 20 from San Jose, Costa Rica to Panama City, Panama, is now open for booking. Click Here to Sign Up  Be sure to put the dates of the tour you want on the form since we use that form for both the Costa Rica Panama tour and the Panama Costa Rica tour.  If you want to join us after reading the details below, please submit your tour application via the link toward the end of this email (or right above). You must have a passport to travel outside the US and it can’t be expiring within 6 months of the arrival date per Costa Rican rules. You need no immunizations for either Costa Rica or Panama and no Covid test is required to enter either country.  Your return to the US no longer requires a Covid19 test to re-enter, nor does your return to Canada, for Canadians.  Panama Canal

We collect half the tour fee 30 days before the tour date, with the balance collected 15 days out. Cancellations within the last 30 days will incur a fee of 50% of the tour fee (the deposit). Cancellations in the last 14 days will incur a cancellation fee of 70% of the tour fee. I have to book and pay for most of the hotels we use, in advance, so cancellations have a real cost and keep others who were interested in joining the tour from being able to do so. This tour will be sold out and expect 12 people on the tour, plus the driver and guide (Steve Linder)

For those who are on the Costa Rica Panama tour, you’ll be booking a flight into San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO airport code) to arrive anytime on (or before) the first day of the tour (August 11, 2023). The only event on the first day, is a cocktail party at the hotel Martino that night. Dinner is not included on that first night but the hotel Martino has a nice restaurant and that's the only time that a meal is not included.  If you arrive earlier than the first day of the tour, we can extend our tour operators discount rate for you. There’s a fun zoo across the street from the hotel that you can visit, entrance fee is roughly $25 per person for non-residents, since the entry fee is used to fund animal rescue and rehabilitation.

You’ll need a flight departing Panama City on the last day of the tour (August 20), or later. We do have a quick real estate tour on the last morning but we are done by 11:00 am. Drive time from Panama City to the international airport is roughly 35 minutes. You need to check-in for your flight 2 hours before departure, so based on your plan, you’ll need to decide if you can join that real estate tour on the 19th. I provide airport transportation on both ends of the trip.

The trip is $3,400 for a couple or $2,400 for a single in a private room. Nearly all meals are included, but not beer, wine, or liquor. All lodging, transportation (other than airfare), and activity/entrance fees are included in the tour fee. We have the same driver each day, who takes great care of us, so if you like the tour, please tip the driver. He’s great and not paid well by the transportation company I contract with. I cover all other gratuities, other than any tip you want to leave your housekeeper in the rooms in the various hotels we stay at. You can pay by credit card but we add 3% credit card processing fee.  You can also mail a check to avoid the fee.

You can see a sample itinerary for the tour here as well as sign up for the tour again if you are still interested, given the additional requirements listed above Costa Rica Panama Tour (pacificlots.com) Please confirm back if you want to join this tour if you submit an application and don't hear back from us right away.

 

The tour includes all entry fees, all transportation within Costa Rica and Panama, all lodging, nearly all meals except if you want to eat on your own and on the day of your arrival at the Hotel Martino, where meals are on your own. Otherwise all meals are included, all national park fees and even airport transfers.  For other tour dates, use this for a reference.   These tours are mostly about tourism but we do see a smattering of real estate offerings in some of the more sought out destinations in both Costa Rica and Panama.  Keep in mind however that the majority of the tour is simply tourism, with a few quick real estate viewings while in Jaco and Ojochal, Costa Rica and Panama City, Panama.  We can add or subtract real estate touring based on interest by the group.  

Click Here to Sign Up

Day 1: We have you take a taxi from the airport to the hotel Martino, the hotel will pay for the taxi when you arrive.  If you arrive early in the day you can go to the zoo across the street from the hotel (at your own expense) and meals are on you that day since guests will be arriving at all different times of the day.  We will have a welcome cocktail party on day one at 6:30 pm at the Hotel Martino bar.  No meals are included today. Lodging - http://www.hotelmartino.com

Day 2:  8 am trip to Doka Coffee Plantation https://dokaestate.com/coffee-tour and then to La Paz Waterfall Gardens www.waterfallgardens.com.   All meals are included on day 2.  Staying another night at the Hotel Martino

Day 3: We’ll start the day after our included breakfast leaving for Manuel Antonio early morning and staying at the Costa Verde Hotel www.CostaVerde.com.  We have breakfast, lunch and dinner  included in the tour fee.  We’ll try to watch the sunset from the Hotel La Mariposa www.hotelmariposa.com (time permitting) and dinner will be at the Barba Roja or El Avion restaurant. The hotel has several tours available including zip-lines (at your expense) but most of us will go to Manuel Antonio National park that afternoon, which is included in the tour fee http://www.fodors.com/news/story_1320.html  beach, hiking trails, lots of animals..  

Day 4:  Relaxing morning at the hotel or optionally go to the beach in Manuel Antonio via taxi if desired ($5 taxi).  We'll be leaving the hotel at noon and heading to the Hotel Villas Rio Mar in Dominical or the hotel Casa Roland, in Golfito, later that day.  either way, we'll have lunch in Dominical and head to the outside crafts market at the beach.  We'll end the day early to enjoy the pool at the hotel and dinner is included that night.  Laundry service is available at this hotel (for a fee) to keep from having to pack everything for the entire 10 days.  All meals included.

Day 5: We will be touring the area around Dominical or Golfito  We'll be visiting the area as we pass through and depending on the wishes of the group, we may visit a few real estate offering.  Alternatively we may be staying the night at the Casa Roland Hotel, in Golfito. We can enjoy the pool after dinner and the night is free to relax.  All meals included.  

Day 6: We will leave Villas Rio Mar, in the morning and might visit our guest house in Ojochal.  We MAY view some lots available for sale, see our 10,000 sq. ft. wood shop where we make our windows, doors, cabinets, counters, etc.  We'll see the 80,000 sq. ft. hospital in Cortez, visit a local supermarket and end the day with a swim in the ocean at Playa Ventanas, where we will see the caves to the ocean.  All meals are at our guest house and we'll spend the evening by the pool.  Depending on the wishes of the group, we may skip our guest house and go to Golfito, staying at the Casa Roland Resort.  All tours are customized to the group.  We still tour the Sierpe River and just adjust a day a bit.

Day 7: We depart our lodging after breakfast and will be going on a river cruise on the Sierpe River to see birds, animals, flora and fauna.  We will have lunch at Kokopelli and then head to the border of Panama and then head on to David where we will spend the night at the Grand Nacional Hotel and Casino.  The border crossing requires a bit of time since there's typically 15 of us but it goes smoothly.  We arrive in David around 5 pm and have a chance to unwind at the Gran Nacional.  All meals are included. 

Day 8: We'll likely head to Boquete for the day, a quaint and popular tourist and retirement destination in the mountains of Panama.  We'll visit their central market and have a chance to shop in their boutiques and galleries but more importantly we'll see what's there for those who have interest in potentially living in Boquete.  We have a realty partner in Boquete if anyone wants to see some listings.  We'll be staying that night in Santiago, Panama at the hotel Mykonos. 

Day 9: We head to Panama City after breakfast.  This is the longest driving day and we stop a few times along the way to break up the drive. We have a scheduled stop in Santiago for lunch. We are staying at the RIU Plaza in Panama City, and will post that location soon)   Since it is high season in Panama, we've splurged to add this luxury 5 star hotel. With 300 rooms and built in 2011, the RIU Plaza hotel has great views of the Panama skyline and is centrally located – We'll visit the Panama Canal, Casco Viejo and the Fish Market among other things on this day. Lunch is included at Tantalo restaurant http://tantalohotel.com/kitchen/#lunch in Casco Viejo and dinner will be announced depending on time.  There's a number of great restaurants a short drive away or within walking distance of the hotel. We will be touring around Panama City, seeing some of the highlights including the Armador Causeway and some of the more popular sites in Panama City, an amazing visit to this historically rich city, the finance capital of the Americas.

Day 10: Property tour of Panama City condos in the morning and providing transport to the airport, PTY airport code.  The rate for an extra night will be $120 at the RIU Plaza.

 

Click Here to Sign Up - This Tour is likely to sell out...