8 or 9 days
Panama City, Chitré
 
Start by exploring what remains of the first European settlement on the Pacific coast at Panamá Viejo, then see life in Panama today.
 
Meet with a scientist at a tropical research center, travel to lesser-known Chitré to visit a local farm, and try your hand at pre-Columbian painting during a workshop with an artist.
 
Then it's back to the city to marvel at the passage of ships through the locks of the Panama Canal and discover the region's flora and fauna in one of the lush parks that surround Panama City.