Wind Star - Costa Rica & Panama Canal

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 1 sea day over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Panama Canal (Transit)

   PanamaDepart
   Panama Canal (Transit) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   Panama City (Fuerte Amador)

   PanamaPort
   Panama City (Fuerte Amador) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
4. Day 4

   Panama City (Fuerte Amador)

   PanamaPort
   Panama City (Fuerte Amador) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
5. Day 5

   Isla Parida

   PanamaPort

   Isla Parida is an uninhabited island in the Gulf of Chiriquí off Panama's Pacific coast, inside a national marine park. There is no town, no pier and no facilities. Expedition ships anchor off and land passengers on the beach by Zodiac for a few hours of swimming, snorkelling and walking, and it appears only on small-ship itineraries.

   • A Zodiac beach landing and open swimming
   • Snorkelling in the Gulf of Chiriquí marine park
   • Kayaking along the island shoreline
   • Birdwatching on the interior trails

   Getting ashore

   Zodiac beach landing from an anchored ship; there are no port facilities of any kind.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is the dry season; May-Nov is wet

6. Day 6

   Golfo Dulce (Puerto Jimenez)

   Costa RicaPort

   Golfo Dulce is one of a handful of tropical fjords in the world - deep, still water on Costa Rica's remote southern Pacific coast, with the Osa Peninsula shielding it. Puerto Jiménez is a one-street town of dirt roads and scarlet macaws in the almond trees, and it exists mainly as the gateway to Corcovado National Park. Only small expedition ships come here.

   • Guided hikes into Corcovado National Park
   • Kayaking the Golfo Dulce mangroves
   • Dolphins and, in season, humpbacks in the gulf
   • Scarlet macaws around Puerto Jiménez itself

   Getting ashore

   Ships anchor and land passengers by tender or Zodiac; facilities ashore are minimal.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is the dry season; the Osa is one of the wettest corners of Costa Rica the rest of the year

7. Day 7

   Quepos

   Costa RicaPort

   Quepos is a small Pacific fishing and sportfishing town whose value to a cruise itinerary is Manuel Antonio National Park fifteen minutes down the road - a compact rainforest reserve where sloths, capuchins and squirrel monkeys are genuinely easy to spot from the trails. Ships anchor and tender to Marina Pez Vela. Only smaller ships call here.

   • Manuel Antonio National Park's wildlife trails and beaches
   • Marina Pez Vela's waterfront restaurants
   • A mangrove kayak trip on the Damas estuary
   • Sportfishing, which is what the town is actually built on

   Getting ashore

   Tender port - a short ride to Marina Pez Vela, with Manuel Antonio about 15 minutes further by taxi.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is dry; Sep-Oct is the wettest stretch on this coast

8. Day 8

   Puerto Caldera

   Costa RicaArrive

   Caldera is the cargo alternative to Puntarenas, ten miles down the coast - a container and bulk terminal with no town, no beach and nothing at the gate but a line of waiting coaches. The excursion menu is the standard Pacific-slope set: crocodiles on the Tárcoles, monkeys at Manuel Antonio, coffee, and the cloud forest. Judge the day by the tour you booked, not by the port.

   • Tárcoles River crocodile boats and Carara National Park
   • Manuel Antonio National Park
   • A central valley coffee plantation tour
   • Jacó beach and the surf coast

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at the commercial port; Puntarenas is about 20 minutes by road and nothing is within walking distance.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is the Pacific dry season; Sep-Oct is the wettest stretch