Panama City with the Canal, an Embera Village and Taboga Island, 4 Nights

A representative meets you at Tocumen airport and a private car takes you into the city, with the skyline of towers along the bay ahead. The rest of the day is free. Panama City is hot and humid all year, so rest by the pool and head out in the evening; the Cinta Costera, a waterfront promenade along the bay, is a pleasant first walk.

A full day with a guide. Start at Panama Viejo, the ruins of the first Spanish city on the Pacific, burned after the raid of Henry Morgan in 1671. Then Casco Viejo, the walled city that replaced it, now a restored quarter of plazas and balconies, where the church of San Jose keeps a carved golden altar. End at the Miraflores Locks visitor centre, watching ships raised and lowered between oceans.

An early road journey out of the city to a river landing, where a motorised dugout canoe carries you upstream through rainforest to an Embera village. Members of the community explain their way of life, language and crafts, and there is music and dance. A light lunch in the village, often fish with plantain, is confirmed with your quote. There is time to buy the fine woven baskets and carvings before the canoe and road back.

A shared catamaran sails out past the ships waiting to enter the canal to Taboga, a hilly island in the Bay of Panama known for its flowers. Relax on the nets or in the shade on board, then spend time on the beach and walk up through the small fishing village to its whitewashed church. The return sail gives a fine view of the city skyline in the afternoon light.

Breakfast and check-out, then a private transfer to Tocumen airport, timed from your flight. Allow extra time, as city traffic is heavy at rush hours. With a late flight, the Biomuseo on the Amador Causeway, with its bright, folded roof, is an easy last visit and explains how the isthmus joined two continents.