Panama Outdoors tours has
somethings for everyone

By Luis Iván Herrera, CEO Panama Outdoors

Everyone loves tubing down a river.

Summer is here and on the isthmus of Panama, one finds an infinite supply of wonders like the Panama Canal, the Pearl Islands archipelago or the San Blas Islands, which themselves are reason enough to visit this small country. There is so much to do and fun to be had in this country. The offer is diverse, with activities for the adventurous and non-traditional. The activities are day-long or half-day and can be picked and scheduled in any order.

Panama’s incredible biodiversity is owed to its unique geographic location and layout. With long, stretching beaches which are teeming with life, beautiful islands surrounded by coral reefs, tropical rain forests, bird-filled mountain forests, wide rivers and fast rapids, beautiful lakes and many mountains. Panama offers so much to the visitor.

Among all this beauty, are activities like river tubing, rappel, wet rappel in waterfalls, jungle trips, exploring caves, kayaking rivers, snorkeling, fishing in a lake or the sea, learning about indigenous cultures or walking the streets of colonial times visiting timeless structures.

Panama Outdoors was founded in 2005 by Ivan Herrera and his children, Ana Lorena and Luis Iván. The company offers all of these services to individuals and tourism promoters wishing to enjoy or share Panama’s ecological, historical and wild sides.

The company works with outdoor experts who are trained in rescue, climbing ropes, water rescue and have a wide range of experience in first aid and jungle survival. Guides are also trained in customer service for tourists and many speak different languages like French and English. They are connoisseurs of Panamanian history and culture as well as Panama’s flora and fauna.

For the more adventurous types, rapelling in a waterfall
is a favorite activity.

Panama Outdoors has many alliances with tourism companies to widen the range of activities offered to the international tourist. But they do not work just with large companies, and they also work with small businesspeople like transportation providers, boat owners, restaurants, country people, farm owners and others who collaborate in unique aspects when visiting different destinations.

Another interesting service offered by Panama Outdoors is team building. They use rope workshops and group exercises to develop team building skills within other companies, groups or organizations.

Examples of tours and services

Panama Province
Just 45 minutes from the capital city, real adventure tourism is available and 100% safe inside the tropical rain forest of a National Park like Parque Chagres, Parque Portobelo, Parque Campana or Parque Soberanía. Tours like river tubing, rappel, wet rappel or a cave tour are really exciting. A river trip in Indian canoes, surrounded by tropical forest followed by a river rapid kayak tour is exciting. Waterfall rappelling is followed by bathing in the river below.

Indigenous tourism
Destinations are close, which allows for the possibility of meeting indigenous cultures like the Embera Indians. Or with a little more time, one can reach San Blas and meet the Kuna Indians. The natives tell of their history, culture, traditions and offer their delicious food and show their artworks and homes.

The mountains
The mountains of the Cocle province are two hours from the capital city. There, the setting is ideal for a hike, mule ride, waterfall rappel or a river tour in kayak. At the end of the day, tourists enjoy a much-deserved Panamanian- style dinner. All of these activities are close to El Valle de Anton (the crater of an ancient volcano), where all of the modern conveniences are located.

Canal monkeys
The Panama Canal is surrounded by a dense tropical forest, offering great ecological tours aboard boats. Tourists enjoy spotting the abundant monkeys and birds or fishing.

Fishing
For sea lovers, Panama Outdoors has the boats ready to go sport fishing. They can also arrange a sea kayak tour and even snorkeling, wrapping the tour up with a visit to old castles and monuments and a seaside Caribbean meal.

If you have been in Panama for a while but have not had the chance to enjoy its wonderful nature, take a day to see the wild side of Panama, you won’t regret it! If you are visiting Panama for the first time, don’t forget to include a forest adventure in your itinerary. A river or coastal tour will add spice to your tales. If you are Panamanian, take some time out to enjoy the natural wonders that our beautiful country offers and share them with your family and friends.