Panama Canal Cruise & TourTravel Tips & FAQsOpen All

The schedule of most activities is indicated in the Day by Day itinerary. Caravan does not post bulletins with this information in hotel lobbies, as Caravan feels that such bulletins are not in keeping with Caravan standards nor with your right to be treated as an individual guest at the hotels.

Caravan itineraries are carefully constructed to show you as much as possible at a pace that you will find comfortable. Your Caravan Tour Director has been instructed to follow these departure times and routings exactly. The Tour Director may deviate from them only in cases of extremely bad weather, extraordinary traffic conditions or other exceptional circumstances. Please do not ask the Tour Director to change either departure times or routings.

Caravan does not recommend or endorse any options that are not already included in your tour price. Please be advised that any additional options you purchase, you do so at your own risk, and they may not be covered by travel insurance.

Security at airports these days can be time consuming. Please make sure to arrive at least 2 hours early to allow time for security checks.

There is an airport departure tax of $40.00 USD. Most airlines include this fee in their ticket price, though some do not. If necessary, you may pay with cash or credit card. If you pay with a credit card, the transaction may be treated as a cash advance resulting in high fees.

Caravan's vacation packages include arrival transfers from Tocumen Panama International Airport (PTY) in Panama City, Panama to the Courtyard by Marriott in Panama City on the day the tour begins. After you clear customs and exit the baggage claim area, a Caravan representative with a "Caravan" sign will meet you. Please use your Caravan luggage tags to help your representative identify you. If you do not see your airport representative, please wait a few minutes as he or she may be assisting other passengers. The representative will arrange a transfer to your hotel, where you will spend the next two nights. When you arrive at your hotel, please identify yourself as a Caravan tour member to the front desk personnel. If your flight is delayed, there is no need to call Caravan, since your transfer representative will wait for you, no matter how late your arrival on the day the tour begins. However, if your flight is delayed to the following day, or your flight is cancelled, or your flight number is changed, please advise Caravan by calling 800-Caravan (800-227-2826) or 312-321-9800. Caravan transfers are included only on the day your tour begins. If you are arriving a day or two early, or later, you will need to transfer on your own, at your own expense. Taxi fares from Tocumen Airport to the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Panama City run approximately $30 USD. The driving time from the airport to the hotel is approximately 30-60 minutes, depending on traffic.

Caravan recommends bringing at least one sweater or light-weight jacket on all tours. Even in hot climates, the temperature may be cooler at nighttime. Caravan suggests clothing for warm and hot weather: 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 3 changes of shirts, a rain poncho, a swimsuit, and a sweater or jacket for the air conditioned bus. Quick dry clothing (especially a pair of convertible pants that zip at the knee to convert into shorts) is always handy when travelling in warm climates. All hotels offer laundry services for a fee. Other must haves are a small flashlight, bug spray, kleenex and sanitary paper products, sun screen and a reliable travel alarm. When traveling in Latin America, you might also want to pack a washcloth. A few large “baggies’ are always useful for keeping clothes, books and camera free from damp in humid conditions. Some passengers take along something to do during the longer bus rides, especially those traveling with children.

The best friend you can have while sightseeing is a comfortable, sturdy pair of walking shoes. Be sure to bring your favorites with you.

We suggest you bring a good flashlight and keep it by your bedside at night.

As noted on the General Information page of the Caravan brochure, all handling of one piece of luggage is included in your tour cost. Due to space limitations and for your own convenience, it is suggested that you bring only one piece of luggage. Most airlines limit suitcases to 60 linear inches (width plus depth plus length) and 50 pounds in weight. A second piece may be stored under the coach, but an additional $30 per piece service charge will be collected by your Tour Director to cover the handling of this extra baggage. A day bag (i.e. a backpack, camera bag or tote bag) may be personally carried on board the motorcoach in addition to a purse or handbag. Each tour member is personally responsible for handling his or her individual carry-on bag at all times. Please do not ask your tour director to lift your carry-on bags for you. If a tour member cannot personally handle his or her carry-on bag without assistance, it will be checked and the additional luggage fee will be charged. For the comfort and safety of all tour members, wheeled bags are generally not acceptable as carry-on luggage, and must be checked and counted as additional luggage. Unlike an airplane, the motorcoach does not have sufficient room to store this type of luggage in the passenger area.

Out of courtesy to your fellow tour members, please restrict cell phone conversations to emergency use only when you are on the motorcoach. Please also remember to turn off ringers; cell phone conversations and ringers are intrusive and can spoil other passengers' enjoyment of the tour. Outside the USA, using your USA-based cell phone can often result in very high roaming charges for voice and data. Some companies will allow you to add a temporary international data and/or voice plan to cover calls made from abroad. Please contact your service provider for information regarding cell phone reception areas, calling costs and surcharges. To reduce your data usage while out of the country you may also take the following precautions; power down your mobile phone entirely and change the settings on your phone so data is not automatically updated.

Caravan does not recommend having mail sent to you on tour as delivery is unreliable and mail often fails to arrive. Caravan has sent you a hotel address list which includes the hotel telephone number for your friends and family. In addition, all hotels have internet access for a fee. In an emergency, if a caller cannot reach a Caravan guest at a hotel, please contact Caravan directly at 1-800-227-2826. If the office is closed, you will have an opportunity to speak with an emergency operator who can connect you with a Caravan staff member on duty. Caravan will do its best to assist in relaying an emergency message. We also ask callers to continue to try to reach their traveler independently.

When sending letters or postcards, the most reliable method is to mail the item yourself. Most hotels in Panama do not offer mail service.

Please note that the cost of your phone calls can jump considerably for calls placed from your hotel, whether dialed direct or placed through the hotel operator. We suggest that you always check with the hotel operator as to what the charges will be before you make your phone call. The most economical way to make a phone call is to use a pre-paid calling card. Calling cards are generally widely available in larger cities, your Tour Director or Hotel front desk staff will be happy to assist. If you have a calling card from the United States, please be sure to obtain the correct access code from the calling card company for the country you are visiting. Caravan does not recommend making collect calls or credit card calls as there are sometimes expensive hidden fees (exceeding US$20) that are charged in the first minute. Hotels frequently charge much less to send a fax or e-mail than to place a telephone call.

We ask your kind cooperation in completing the survey forms which will be mailed to you at the end of the tour, as the information gleaned from these has been most helpful in maintaining the quality of our offerings to the traveling public. If you misplace your form, please write or call us and we will be happy to send a survey form to you. Write us at: Caravan Tours, Inc. 401 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 or call Caravan at: 1-800-CARAVAN 1-800-(227-2826)

Meals included in the land price are indicated at the beginning of each day by B (Breakfast), L (Lunch), D (Dinner).

We hope you find this information useful in planning your adventure. It can be helpful to be prepared in advance for some differences in the travel experience outside of the United States. You may find, especially in smaller communities, that plumbing, heating, ventilation, utility and telecommunication infrastructures are not as reliable as we have come to expect back home. This can mean hot water is not always available or that air conditioning may not work as efficiently as we would like. Our vendors are continually working to upgrade facilities but they themselves are often limited by local conservation initiatives and the existing public infrastructure. You may also see a difference in attitudes toward maintenance of public and private spaces. Please be alert to your surroundings. You may find that sidewalk potholes are not filled in or roped off, or that slippery surfaces have no warnings posted. Beaches and hotel pools are rarely patrolled by lifeguards, so please exercise caution and personally supervise your children. Differences in climate and land use often translate to different staple foods and flavors. Even familiar foods may taste different as a result of varied farming and grazing practices. Please be cautious around any animals and birds, domestic or exotic. They have become accustomed to human company but may still bite or scratch if approached. It is also not unusual to have insects or lizards visit your room, especially in park or beach areas. If you have any concerns, please let us know. We want your vacation to be a memorable adventure in the best possible way!

Children age 5 and over are welcome on tour when accompanied by an adult. Usually, children travel during the school vacation months of June, July and August, and also during spring and winter school breaks.

A practical suggestion before you leave home: make a list of all your credit cards, passport and airline ticket numbers. Make two photocopies: take one with you and carry it separate from your luggage for your reference in case these items should get lost or stolen while traveling. Leave the second copy with a family member or friend at home—in case of emergency or if you should lose both the copy and the items noted.

Before leaving any hotel or motorcoach, please check that you have not left any personal belongings behind. Hotels and motor coach companies have a very high lost & found volume and items are often discarded quite quickly. If located, international customs and shipping charges often exceed $100 for even a small item. If your item is found, please allow several days before the item is prepared for shipping. Lost cash is not covered by most insurance plans and many insurance plans cap coverage for expensive items such as jewelry and electronics. Most travel insurance plans offer secondary coverage, directing travelers first to claim on homeowners or renters insurance policies.

Smoking is not allowed while on motorcoaches. On days where motorcoach travel is involved, frequent stops are made affording time for smoking outside of the motorcoaches. All hotels used by Caravan are non-smoking. Please check with your hotel’s front desk to see if there are any designated smoking areas. It is now common for hotels to charge a considerable penalty (up to $500) for smoking in a nonsmoking room. Penalties have been charged even when the occupants smoked while leaning out of an open window or on a balcony. Caravan does not cover such penalties. Damage discovered after departure will be charged by the hotel and their collection services.

Should you plan to use a tape recorder, video recorder, camcorder, cell phone or other recording device while on tour, please be sure to ask the permission of any guides or your Tour Director before recording. You may find that some guides object to having their comments recorded, or they may be guiding you through a place which forbids recorders to be used. So, please, always ask first.

We strongly caution against purchasing real estate or timeshares during your vacation with us. Instead, we suggest you use the experience for the purposes of orientation and information gathering. If you are interested in such a purchase, we suggest you return for at least one more visit and seek the guidance of a lawyer.

Tips to hotel porters, restaurant waiters for included meals and local guides are included in the tour price. Tips to the Tour Director, driver and hotel maids are not included. We do not include these tips in the price of the tour as we realize, in an unsupervised work environment, tips provide a strong incentive for exceptional service. Many tour members have requested guidelines, so in response to their requests, we offer the following suggestions: Most tour members compute these tips by allowing a certain amount per day based on the service they have received. If you feel that service has been superior, you may wish to leave an appropriately more generous tip. US $5 to US $8 per traveler per day for the Tour Director US $3 to US $5 per traveler per day for the Driver These tips should be handed directly to the Tour Director and Driver on an individual basis. As tips are a personal matter, we request that no group collections be made. Personal checks are difficult for Tour Directors and Drivers to deposit - cash is best! Tips to water craft personnel, local guides, waiters, porters and bellmen are also included in the tour price. Tips to airport porters on flights not arranged by Caravan are at your own discretion.

Purchasing travel insurance can save you tens of thousand of dollars should the unexpected happen. Please keep in mind that most medical travel policies, including Caravan’s Travel Protection Plan, offer secondary medical coverage. In other words, the insurance will reimburse you for costs not covered by your primary medical insurance policy. In most cases, this does mean you will have to pay the hospital or doctor directly for your medical treatment and submit your claim for reimbursement on your return. Coverage for injuries or illness on tour generally requires a doctor visit while on tour as well. If you elect not to purchase a travel insurance plan (either from Caravan or an independent policy), please verify your existing medical coverage as many policies (including Medicare) do not include coverage for treatment outside the USA.  If you need to cancel all or part of your reservation, please call Caravan (or your Travel Agent) as soon as possible at 800-227-2826 or 312-321-9800 outside the US & Canada. You must cancel any flight arrangements directly with your airline (or Travel Agent). Any additional travel arrangements must also be cancelled with the providers directly. Any claim under Caravan’s Travel Protection Plan for flight costs should be directed to the insurance company, RoamRight at 866-892-2382 or (outside the US & Canada) 201-537-9871. For more information please see: www.caravan.com/page/terms-of-travel A Description of Coverage which fully details the coverages, provisions, reductions, limitations, exclusions, and termination provisions is available at: www.roamright.com/plans/caravan

Caravan can make no determination of your physical, mental or emotional fitness to travel nor guarantee your successful ability to manage a tour. If in doubt please consult your Doctor. While every tour is different in landscape and activities, all tours include some walking every day. All tours include travel by motorcoach, participants should expect to climb on and off the motorcoach several times a day. The average temperature, humidity level and altitude should also be taken into account when considering whether a Caravan Tour is right for you.

If you need assistance with any personal care; including walking or wheelchair pushing, you must bring a companion to assist you. Caravan’s driver, tour directors and tour members cannot offer this assistance. Caravan’s tour directors must take care of a large group of other tour members and cannot offer any special supervision or monitoring of clients. Companions to travelers with cognitive difficulties should keep in mind that multi-day itineraries with rapidly changing environments can increase anxiety and distress. We recommend you review the itinerary with a doctor prior to travel.

Caravan has worked closely with the various visitor centers, nature trails and boat dock owners to ensure the installation of handrails. Please take advantage of these handrails to help maintain balance or navigate wet and slippery pathways. Many hotels and resorts have natural walkways running throughout their grounds. These walkways are not always evenly paved or a level surface, please exercise caution when walking on these paths. Please exercise extra caution in pool areas where surfaces are slippery.

Another “before you leave” reminder: If you regularly take medicine, be sure that you bring along an adequate supply to last the whole trip. Please keep a second supply of essential medication in your carry-on bag or in your purse as insurance if your baggage is misplaced or delayed. If you wear glasses, a second pair, or a prescription from your eye doctor, is recommended for emergencies. If you use needles or other sharp disposable instruments, please be sure to bring along a sharps disposal container. If you do not have one, please ask your tour director if your hotel can supply one. Please do exercise special care when disposing of these items. Smaller items such as blood lancets can easily be lost and can injure housekeeping staff. All travelers, especially those with blood sugar related conditions, may wish to take along a small supply of snacks. Very occasionally the tour might experience a delay, causing the next mealtime to be delayed. Please be sure to let your Tour Director know if you have any medical condition that may require special attention. The information you give your Tour Director will be treated confidentially. A mandatory Yellow Fever vaccination may be required if you have recently visited an affected country. Please call your airline or the consulate in question if in doubt. At the time of printing, the USA and Canada are not on any affected list. Caravan does not have any doctors on staff and cannot give medical advice, so please consult your doctor at your earliest opportunity if you have any concerns. An unexpected hospital stay or emergency evacuation can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Please verify your medical coverage before leaving home, because many health insurance policies (including Medicare) do not cover policy holders for treatment outside the USA. Non-USA residents may also find they have no medical coverage when touring in the USA.   Short term travel medical coverage policies can be purchased from a number of sources prior to departure, including Caravan. (See Caravan’s $99 Travel Protection Plan). Most forms of travel insurance offer secondary coverage, meaning you pay the provider directly and seek reimbursement on your return home. Some travel insurance plans have exclusions on pre-existing conditions. Some plans restrict cancellation coverage to specified medical conditions. And some charge more based on age or destination. Read your description of coverage carefully!

Please remember that not all travel illnesses are transmitted through food and water. There are various highly contagious strains of “stomach flu” that are easily transmitted by person-to-person contact. The viruses and bacteria can survive on a hard surface for several days and once an outbreak is underway, it is very difficult to extinguish. Health authorities are agreed that the best way to avoid getting sick is to pay close attention to hand washing. Frequent cleansing, beyond one’s usual regimen, can help minimize exposure to sickness that might otherwise spoil your tour. Please take along a good supply of moist towelettes and/or hand sanitizer for times when soap-and-water hand-washing facilities are not available. Some travelers have found products such as Immodium or Peaceful Mountain’s Stomach Rescue to be very helpful for stomach problems. Caravan makes every effort to minimize the possibility of tour members becoming sick during their tour, but we cannot offer any refunds to clients who become sick during a tour (except where provided by our Travel Protection Plan). We recommend that you bring a small first aid kit—medications may be hard to find when you need them most for headaches, stomach upsets, diarrhea, insect bites, motion sickness and sunburn. It’s wise to pack plenty of wet wipes and hand sanitize. Mosquitos are prevalent in the region and we recommend you bring a supply of mosquito repellent. Don’t forget a good supply of disposable plastic grocery bags, which are very handy for personal trash disposal and temporary storage of wet clothes or swim wear.

Mosquitoes and “no-see-ums” are sometimes present at dusk and in the evenings. While the majority of mosquito bites are mere annoyances, certain mosquitos can transmit illness. Lightweight long sleeve pants and shirts can help prevent bites, but the most effective defense against mosquito bites is mosquito repellant. There are a variety of effective repellants available for purchase. Traditional mosquito repellants use DEET as the effective ingredient, often in different concentrations. Other more “natural” repellants include Avon Skin So Soft oil or mixtures of essential oils like lemon grass, citronella or oregano. Oil based repellants are often available at health food stores or grocery stores, either as a spray or a wrist band. A pre trip regimen of Vitamin B-1 has also shown some effectiveness in reducing mosquito bites. Please consult with you doctor before beginning any vitamin program. Insect repellant can also prevent bites from no-see-ums. You may not be aware of the insects until the next day when small, red and itchy bites appear. Out of courtesy to your fellow passengers, please refrain from applying insect repellent until you have disembarked from the motorcoach.

At the time of printing, no vaccines are required to enter Panama from the US or Canada. The CDC recommends that all travelers stay up to date on all routine vaccinations and consult with your personal physician if you have any questions or specific health concerns. The CDC has extensive information on their website https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list, or you may call them at 800-232-4636. Please note, the regions in Panama at risk for Yellow Fever are in the sparsely populated jungle areas near Columbia and are not on our tour route. In some cases these vaccines must be administered at least 1-2 weeks before travel. Please call your airline or the consulate in question if in doubt. Caravan does not have any doctors on staff and cannot give medical advice, so please consult your doctor at your earliest opportunity if you have any concerns.

Hotel rooms sometimes may not be available for immediate occupancy upon arrival at the beginning of the tour. The usual check-in time is 4:00 pm, although rooms are often available earlier. If your room is not available upon arrival, you may wish to leave your luggage with the hotel’s bell captain until your room becomes available.

Room assignments are made at random by the hotel. If you have a special request, such as a preference for a king bed or two beds, please advise Caravan before the tour begins or inform your Tour Director at the beginning of the tour. Caravan is always happy to try to fulfill your special requests, although no guarantees can be made. Requests made within two weeks of your tour departure are much harder to fulfill. If possible, please make your requests at the time of booking. Room requests are made by the Caravan office and assigned randomly by the hotel. Requests for non-smoking rooms and king beds or two beds will be forwarded to the hotels and accommodated by the hotels when possible. If you are part of a group, we will do our best to place you in rooms near each other. Sometimes space limitations and other hotel considerations can mean groups may be separated. If you have any other requests or special group needs, please advise Caravan at the time of booking, or as early as possible. Please also advise your Tour Director. We do request that any special group activities (i.e. lectures or meetings) be conducted in private.

As shown on the General Information page of the Caravan brochure, a limited number of single rooms are available on all tours at the single room charge shown on individual itinerary pages. Single travellers should expect to have a “seat companion” on the motorcoach.

Triple rooms usually offer two double beds. Cots and rollaways are not always available and local fire code regulations often limit the number of beds in a room.

Many hotels require a credit card upon check in to secure incidentals, minibar or restaurant charges. If you make any telephone calls from your hotel room or incur any extra room charges (i.e. drinks or in-room movie charges), please be sure to pay the hotel for your incidental charges before you leave. Caravan will forward any unpaid hotel incidental invoices.

To ensure fair and equitable seating for all members of the tour, seating is usually rotated once or twice a day in a clockwise direction. Your Tour Director will advise you of their procedure. We regret we cannot fulfill any requests for a front seat for passengers, even when medically recommended. Please contact Caravan as soon as possible if you have any special needs, to discuss other options. Single travellers should expect to have a “seat companion” on the motorcoach (i.e. there will probably be another tour member seated next to you). Larger groups of travellers may be temporarily separated as the group rotates around the coach. We recommend that families or groups who want to stay together in the seat rotation either sit in front of or behind each other, and not across the aisle from each other. Please note that Caravan reserves the two seats on the motorcoach behind the driver for the tour director.

Virtually everything! Hotels, all meals, all of the activities described in the itinerary pages, airport transfers in select cities, gratuities to hotel porters, restaurant staff and local guides. Caravan’s professional Tour Directors and local guides will be with you every step of the way, ensuring a worry free vacation. They are fluent in English, experienced and fun, ensuring a worry-free vacation.

Prices do not include air travel, country entry or departure fees, airport porters, visas, phone calls, valet, laundry, all items of a personal nature, extra food and beverages not on the regular menu, and tips to the Caravan Tour Director and Driver. General fees and taxes are additional and listed separately beneath each tour’s price.

Caravan’s Travel Protection Plan offers peace of mind if you cancel for any reason whatsoever prior to the departure of the tour. The travel protection plan also includes air, baggage, evacuation and medical coverage. The cost is $99.

Usually, you find a mix of different age adult travelers on a Caravan Tour. Children age five (5) and over are welcome, and children usually join tours offered during Christmas holidays, summer vacation and spring break vacation.

A well-paced and unhurried itinerary is our goal, after all, you are on vacation! Touring days begin and end at reasonable hours and include frequent stops. While the occasional early morning departure is necessary, we do our best to ensure a leisurely vacation.

It is recommended to bring at least one pair of quick-dry pants and one quick-dry shirt. The quick-dry pants that zip at the knee to convert into shorts are particularly popular. Be sure to also bring a sweater or jacket for the cooler night temperatures. Caravan does not make product endorsements, but many Central Americans feel that Avon Skin So Soft oil (not cream), or Avon's Expedition anti-mosquito spray is effective protection against mosquito bites in the jungle. Caravan does not endorse any vitamin, but please note that Central American pharmacies sell 500 milligram vitamin B-1 tablets, a non-prescription vitamin, as "anti-mosquito" pills. Many Guatemalans take Vitamin B-1 pills and eat garlic for about two weeks prior to and during their visits to the jungle because they believe that the smell of Vitamin B-1 and garlic repels mosquitoes. If you believe this may be of value, consult your doctor for further information on Vitamin B-1 and garlic. Guatemalans also avoid eating bananas in the rainforest, as it is believed that this smell attracts mosquitoes. Also, it is wise to wear light-weight quick-dry long-sleeved pants and shirts in these tropical areas.

Group sizes will vary depending on the reserved rooms at the hotels and the capacity of the boats and motorcoaches used. Usually, group sizes range from 30 to 44 passengers.

Caravan has been offering fully guided tours worldwide under the same family ownership and management since 1952. Caravan understands and truly cares about your great expectations.

You may choose to skip an activity and relax at your hotel or do some independent exploring instead. If you do not wish to participate in an activity, simply advise your Tour Director. In most cases, we cannot make refunds for missed activities.

The farther in advance that you book, the more likely it is that your preferred tour will be open. Late bookings are welcome if the space is still available.

Caravan.com is constantly updated and is likely to have more complete and current information about new tours, hotel descriptions, weather, transfers, packing and other useful information. While we strive for perfection, errors are inevitable, both in print and on the web site. If you have any questions or wish to confirm any information, please contact us.

Families are always welcome on any of our tours, but we do not have any programs specifically for or limited to families. Families can make specific requests for connecting, adjacent, triple or quad rooms, when available. Children should be at least 5 years old.