General Information for Tours to Panama
Note: The information presented here is an abbreviated version of our formal General Information for Tours to Panama. Its purpose is solely to give readers a sense of what might be involved if they took this tour. Although we do our best to make sure what follows here is completely accurate, it should not be used as a replacement for the formal document which will be sent to all tour registrants, and whose contents supersedes any information contained here.
ENTERING PANAMA: Panama now requires a valid passport for entry by U.S. citizens. Citizens of other countries may need a visa and should check their nearest Panamanian embassy. Your passport, as a general rule, should be valid for at least six months after the date the tour ends. Tourist cards are required and are obtained upon arrival to the Panama City Airport. These cards cost $5.00 (as of summer 2007) and can be purchased immediately prior to entering the immigration line. If required by the embassy or visa-granting entity, WINGS can provide a letter for you to use regarding your participation in the tour.
PANAMA MAP AND COUNTRY INFORMATION: You can view maps of Panama in the University of Texas series here. The size of the map can be adjusted by clicking on the lower right corner of the map. You can review the U.S. Department of State background notes on Panama here.
HEALTH: It is the opinion of the Centers for Disease Control that travelers to rural areas in Panama are no longer at risk for malaria. Due to extensive and decade long efforts at mosquito control in the area the disease has been virtually eradicated. You should consult further with your doctor about the CDC’s recommendation and what action you should take.
No specific inoculations are necessary, although up-to-date tetanus protection is always a good idea.
Biting insects and arachnids are seldom a major nuisance although chiggers and biting gnats can be locally numerous around the Panama Canal and in the dry forests below the Canopy Tower.
Please note that any health/medical information contained herein is gleaned by WINGS from websites that are dedicated to traveler’s health issues. Advisories and recommendations by agencies such as the CDC can, and do, change frequently. We urge you to consult with your physician, local health department or the CDC for the most up-to-date health advisories for travel to Mexico. You can check with the CDC here.
PACE OF THE TOUR: As with all tours in the tropics, we will try to be in the field at dawn. Mercifully, this does not usually entail a 4:30 departure, as in some other regions. Most birding sites are about 30 to 60 minutes from the hotels, except the excursions to Achiote Rdoadand Cerro Azul. Breakfasts will be at either the Canopy Lodge or Tower before our departure. Some lunches will be picnic and some will be held at the lodges. All dinners will be at either the Canopy Tower or Lodge, save for the final dinner at the Hotel in Panama City. Birding in and around central Panama is from Sea Level to 3,500 feet in elevation and, other than uneven ground and some potentially muddy and narrow trails, the walking presents no particular problem. The sun can be intense, so have a hat and sunblock lotion.
CLIMATE: We will encounter a variety of climates. The days will likely be between the mid 70s and low 90s, with some afternoon showers. Rarely do these showers reach the intensity or duration that would compromise a birding excursion. At the higher elevations it can be cool (in the 60s), and if rainy the temperatures can feel downright chilly.
ACCOMMODATIONS: Three hotels are used during the tour. The Canopy Tower, near Panama City is a retrofitted US radar tower. Although the rooms are not large and the noise-proofing leaves something to be desired, the novelty of your surroundings makes up for any of the hotel’s spartan conditions. Guests staying in the single rooms will have to share bathroom facilities with up to four other people. The newly built Canopy Lodge is opulent, with large staterooms, balconies and all new fixtures. The Canopy Tower has a public (free) Internet terminal, and the Lodge may have wireless access by the summer of 2007. The last night of the tour will be spent at the Country Inn Amador, a large modern hotel just west of Panama City near the shores of Panama Bay.
ELECTRICITY: Electrical current and plugs are the same as in the U.S., i.e., 110V, 60-cycle, parallel prong. Power failures occur, but not with any regularity. Appliances with especially broad ground prongs may not fit outlets at our hotels. A converter may be available at the desk, or you might want to bring your own. Very useful in these matters is the catalog of Magellan’s International Travel [Box 5485, Santa Barbara, CA 93150, phone 800-962-4943, website: www.magellans.com] which contains an extensive guide to world outlets and electricity as well as a complete range of adapters and converters.
DRESS: Informal throughout.
TRANSPORTATION: Transportation during the tour is by specially modified rainforest trucks. Transfers from the airport and between hotels will be by 15-passenger vans.
SMOKING: We request that you do not smoke in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a nonsmoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, we ask that you do so well away and downwind from the group, if possible.
GENERAL INFORMATION & CONDITIONS OF WINGS TOURS: Please take a moment to read the WINGS General Information & Conditions. This section contains important information about how we conduct tours, e.g., what is included in the tour price, refund and cancellation policies, pace of the tours and other information that will help you prepare for the tour.
FINAL INFORMATION: Final information with instructions for meeting the group, hotel addresses, etc., will be mailed about three weeks before trip departure. Other news will be communicated as necessary. If you have any questions, please let us know.
Updated: February 2008