Best of Panama Retreat

Bienvenidos! Welcome to Panama! Our private airport transfer will pick you up from the Panama Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in the late afternoon and we'll have a relaxed check in. Join our informal first group gathering to do intros and get more information about our time together. Afterwards, we'll head to a group dinner at one of our favorite local spots! 

After an optional morning meditation over our coffee, we'll head out for a group breakfast at one of our favorite local spots! Afterwards we'll meet up with our guide and hop on our bikes for a tour. For the next few hours, we'll pedal the wide bike lanes to check out Panama's more modern side, learn a bit about the country's complex history and stop for a drink at a local watering hole on the way home. The ride is about 5-6 miles total and almost totally flat - very accessible for those out of practice with being on two wheels. We'll be back at the hotel in the afternoon and the day is yours to explore, shop and dine on your own. 

By now, you'll be totally comfortable navigating the old town of Panama City and you'll probably feel like a local. So you'll have the day to make your own adventures. Whether you choose to sleep in, shop the local markets, sample Panamanian chocolate, or take a guided tour of the Panama Canal (we've got the best guide!), the options are endless. We'll gather together in the evening to enjoy a happy hour at one of our favorite spots and toast to an epic few days in one of the world's hidden gems of a city (and we'll do so with amazing skyline views in the background!)

Take it slow as you enjoy breakfast on your own and do some last minute shopping. Then we'll get ready to hop on a short afternoon flight from Panama City to David in western Panama (about an hour). In the late afternoon, you'll be greeted outside the Enrique Malek International Airport (in David - DAV) by your private transfer and enjoy an hour long scenic journey to the villa. Enjoy a leisurely check-in and get settled into your new home! Soak up the sunset views as our private chef prepares our first delicious dinner. To prepare our bodies and minds for our time in this magical space, we will have an optional grounding and gentle yoga practice after dinner. You'll have to take just a few steps back to your comfy beds to sleep the night away. 

We'll wake up to have an invigorating morning yoga flow class followed by a gourmet made-to-order breakfast. Join for an optional guided walk to our nearby beach area. The day is yours to relax and enjoy the scenery. Feel free to hang at the beach in a hammock, take a swim in the Pacific or sit by the pool and dive into a new book. Lunch can be ordered poolside at your leisure. We'll gather in the early evening for an optional journaling workshop followed by a restorative and meditative yoga class. Then it's another chef group dinner (maybe the fresh catch straight from the ocean) while overlooking our villa's infinity pool. You could get used to this life, right?

After our morning yoga class, enjoy another specialty breakfast dish + tropical fruit and local coffee. We'll head out late morning for an adventurous drive to the next province and deep into the jungle and small indigenous villages. We'll meet up with our hiking guide who will help us descend deeper and deeper into the valley. The hike is short (less than a mile) but extremely steep. The views are more than worth it! After traversing behind the falls, you'll be able to swim in their cool, clear pools. We'll return to one of the local villages to enjoy a traditional Panamanian lunch in an open air restaurant. Once we're back at the villa in the late afternoon you can hop in the pool until it's time for another delicious group dinner.

Enjoy our sunrise flow morning yoga class and breakfast (it wouldn't be one of our sand + sea retreats without this blissful combo!) and then join us for another journaling workshop or head to the beach to soak up some more sun! You'll still have plenty of time to enjoy a free afternoon before a yin evening yoga class and another mouthwatering dining experience like local prawns with a tropical sauce at the villa this evening.

Enjoy our favorite combo of amazing outdoor morning yoga + strong coffee + a breakfast of tropical fruits, yogurt and homemade granola.  After breakfast we'll head out for a 30 minute drive to the nearby town to board a boat for our island day! We'll explore a local island that's white sand beach and tropical palm trees -- a castaway's dream. There's a small local restaurant tucked into the shoreline where we will enjoy a local lunch such as a whole fried fish with the usual Panamanian sides! Grab a frozen beverage and float in the ocean afterwards. We'll be back to the villa by late afternoon time, so we suggest you grab spot by the pool to watch the sun go down before another amazing group dinner by the pool. 

Parting is such sweet sorrow! After your final tropical breakfast and last cup of delicious Panamanian coffee, we'll head out as a group in the morning back to the airport in David for your flights to Panama City and onward to your final destination. But you're a part of the Above Yoga family for life and we know we will see you on another retreat soon!