Between the dates between July 15 to October 15, the humpback whales from the southern hemisphere visit Panama. With your professional guide, begin your day around 7am, from the mountain town of Boquete, you will drive 1.5 hours, in a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle, to Boca Chica, a small fishing village on the Pacific Coast. After getting into the boat, you will pass through the mangrove forested volcanic islands of the Chiriqui lagoon and harbor toward the Gulf of Chiriqui National Marine Park, a 14,740 hectare marine park with around 25 uninhabited islands and serves as a refuge for howler monkeys, leatherback and hawksbill turtles, tiger herons, and exotic fish.
This area is also a haven for Humpback Whales during the months of July to October. You will spend some extra time in the boat looking for these majestic creatures as they nurse their young. Glimpses of newborn calves, as well as breaching males is very common to see. If you haven't had a chance to get up close and personal with a Humpback Whale, this is your best chance. You can also catch a glimpse of iguanas and sea birds such as magnificent frigatebirds, pelicans, cormorants, and hawks.
The sun tends to shine over the white sand, palm-lined beaches in the Gulf of Chiriqui even when it’s raining everywhere else! Depending on visibility and climate, you will snorkel at your own leisure around one of the beautiful islands and pass the late morning and better part of the afternoon lunching, exploring, swimming, relaxing in a hammock, and playing on the white sand beaches of Isla Gamez or Isla Bolaos. Views from the beach can often provide more Humpback Whales breaching just on the horizon.
Lunch is a healthy smorgasbord of fresh fruit and vegetables, assemble-your-own sandwiches, chips and salsa, cookies and crackers, and fresh coconut from the island. Drinks are also included with options varying between rum and pineapple cocktails, rum and cokes, national beer, or white wine, as well as sodas, juice, iced tea, and fresh ice water. After lunch, feel free to take a short hike to another uninhabited and pristine beach where you will hardly find another person. After a few more hours enjoying the sun, sand, and sea, you will return on the boat ride through the national park, and return to Boquete.