Panama Canal Cruise

Day 1 - Fly UK to San Diego

Arrive in San Diego and make your own way to your hotel, spend the rest of the day at lesuire

Day 2 - At Sea

Relax on board your Holland America Cruise

Day 3 - At Sea

Relax on board your Holland America Cruise

Day 4 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Cruise to Puerto Vallarta and find yourself immersed in dynamic culture and history. Unlike other coastal resort towns in Mexico, Puerto Vallarta ("PV" to locals), retains quite a bit of its colonial-era charm.  Its town square, Plaza de Armas, and the gorgeous church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, serve as the loveliest representations of bygone ages. While on your Puerto Vallarta cruise, take in these echoes of the past and more modern attractions, including an ambitious public art project along the seaside walkway (the malecón) and trendy restaurants such as La Leche, serving contemporary Mexican cuisine. Round these out with plenty of fun-in-the-sun outdoor activities on and along Banderas Bay (whale-watching! snorkeling! jet-skiing!), cruise excursions that reveal the best of Puerto Vallarta's flora and fauna, and a side trip to one of Mexico's pueblos mágicos (magical towns, a designation conferred by the government to recognize smaller towns that possess historical and cultural value), and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more pleasant place to spend part of your cruise to Puerto Vallarta.

Day 5 - At Sea

Relax onboard your Holland America Cruise

Day 6 - Huatulco, Mexico

Huatulco, situated on Mexico's Pacific Coast in the state of Oaxaca, has nine bays and 36 beaches, offering more than enough opportunities for fun in the sun. The most popular beach is La Entrega, with clean white sand and calm waters, perfect for snorkeling and swimming . . . or just relaxing. But Huatulco's attractions aren't limited to sand and surf; there are also archaeological sites to explore, rivers to raft, and waterfalls whose pools invite childlike splashing. Bird lovers, in particular, will find Huatulco to be especially captivating. The region is home to more than 225 bird species, including many rare ones and a number that are endemic to Mexico, like the Colima pygmy owl and the wildly colorful orange-breasted bunting and citreoline trogon. Bring your bird list, because you're sure to add new species to your "sighted" column. And the food in Huatulco! The food will give you plenty to write home about. The state of Oaxaca has some of the most iconic dishes in Mexico's culinary repertoire. You won't go home hungry. 

Day 7 - Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Puerto Quetzal is Guatemala's largest port on the Pacific Ocean side of this Central American country, important for both cargo and cruise ships. There's not a great deal to see and do in Puerto Quetzal itself, and visitors should adjust their expectations accordingly. Yet you shouldn't despair, either; Puerto Quetzal is an ideal point of departure for exploring several corners of the country. Choose your mode of transportation—plane, bus, car or boat—and decide whether you want to take in Guatemala's stunning, volcano-studded landscape, one (or more!) of the country's Maya sites, the UNESCO–recognized colonial city of Antigua (the former capital), a coffee plantation or one of the many beguiling bodies of water. In addition to the gleaming Pacific, there's Lake Atitlán, which 19th-century German explorer Alexander von Humboldt described as the most beautiful lake in the world. All of these attractions are accessible as day trips, and getting to them is all part of your Guatemalan adventure. 

Day 8 - At Sea

Relax onboard your Holland America Cruise

Day 9 - At Sea

Relax onboard your Holland America Crusie

Day 10 - Enter Panama Canal Balboa

The town of Balboa stands at the Pacific end of one of the world's great engineering wonders, the Panama Canal. Long the administrative center of the Canal Zone, it was U.S. territory until the last day of the last century, when it was returned to Panama on December 31, 1999. The 77-kilometer (48-mile) route that begins here and ends at the Caribbean unfolds like an epic tale.

Over the span of a decade, tens of thousands of workers drilled dynamite holes, drove belching steam shovels and labored with pickaxes, all the while fighting off malaria. While the French builders of the Suez Canal ultimately gave up in Panama, American crews persevered as they hauled away mountains and created a route across the continent. As David McCullough recounts in The Path Between the Seas, it was a combination of sheer human might and what was at the time the latest engineering prowess that made this feat possible. It has since saved many sailors from the almost 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile) journey around the tip of South America. In 2016 an expansion more than doubled the Panama Canal's capacity, ensuring that it will continue to be central to the world's maritime traffic.

Day 10 - Cruising Panama Canal

The construction of the Panama Canal is one of those epic tales from the past, an old-school feat of engineering, ambition and courage. A cruise along it today is a journey through the centuries, from the Spanish fortifications near Limón Bay to the glittering skyline of Panama City, not to mention the canal itself. Over the course of a decade a little more than a century ago, tens of thousands of workers drilled dynamite holes, drove belching steam shovels and labored with pickaxes, all the while fighting off malaria. While the French builders of the Suez Canal ultimately gave up in Panama, American crews persevered and created a route allowing ships to travel across a continent. As David McCullough recounts in his sweeping history The Path Between the Seas, it was a combination of sheer human might and engineering prowess. In 2016 an expansion more than doubled the canal's capacity, ensuring it will continue to be central to the world's maritime traffic.While many think of the Panama Canal only as a remarkable manmade achievement, the area is also of interest to naturalists. Panama’s rain forest suffered great biodiversity loss during the canal's construction, but today more than 100 species each of mammals and reptiles, as well as some 500 different birds, thrive in the nature reserves along the length of the canal.

Day 10 - Exit Panama Canal Cristobal

Think of the Panama Canal, and the image that may come to mind is of the world’s huge tankers and cruise ships passing through a series of locks. That, however, reflects only one aspect of this part of the world. As ships travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic, they also pass colonial towns, historic fortresses and manmade lakes that are today home to sanctuaries for hundreds of different animal and plant species. At the canal’s Pacific entrance, Panama City's glittering skyline of office towers and condominiums reflects the country’s dynamic present and future. Some 77 kilometers (48 miles) to the north, at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal, Colón evokes the old Panama of yesteryear, with its historic buildings gradually being restored. Traveling between these two cities, an epic tale unfolds before you—an old-school feat of engineering, ambition and courage. As David McCullough recounts in his sweeping history The Path Between the Seas, it was a combination of sheer human might and engineering prowess that today allows ships to cross the Panama isthmus, saving sailors from making the dangerous, almost 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile) journey around the tip of South America. 

Day 11 - Cartagena, Colombia

Its official name is Cartagena de Indias—or "Cartagena of the Indies"—but call it Cartagena for short. The formal name hints at this Colombian city's colonial relationship with Spain; it was founded in 1533 and named after the mother country's Cartagena. Colombia declared independence in 1810, but there's plenty about its fifth-largest city that evokes old Spain, including the impressive fort of Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, and the wall that encloses the old town, one of the few intact structures of its kind in the Americas. Both were considered important enough to inscribe on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1984. They may be historical artifacts, but the fortress and wall aren't merely tourist attractions; they are central to daily life here. Take a stroll and you'll see couples sitting atop the wall, locked in passionate embraces; parents watching their children walk it like a balance beam; and friends chatting while enjoying the Caribbean breeze. Along with history, there's cultural and culinary intrigue here, too. This colorful city was a muse of the late Nobel Prize–winning writer Gabriel García Márquez, and is increasingly being recognized outside Colombia for its cuisine, which takes many cues from Caribbean ingredients. (Don't leave without trying the coconut rice.)

Day 12 - At Sea

Relax onboard your Holland America Crusie

Day 13 - At Sea

Relax onboard your Holland America Cruise

Day 14 - Fort Lauderdale - Miami

Depart the cruise in Fort Lauderdale and make your own way to Miami to spend the rest of your day at lesuire

Day 15 - Fly to UK

Today check out yout Miami hotel and make your own way to the airport. 

Speak to your consultant if you wish to extend your stay in USA