Embera Village Tour from Panama City

I took my daughter to Panama City, Panama for her birthday. I had gone in December and was so pleased I decided to take my daughter. It was “shock and “awe”. She was thrilled at each leg of the tour. The waterfall in the rain forest was magnificent.. The Embera Village tour was a cultural tsunami. We work for the airlines and she has not stopped talking about the trip and showing the photos. She is a great marketer for Panama. Our tour guide became our friend...he was fabulous. If you are trying to decide if this is for you believe me GO!!!!!!!!!!

The tour guide sent a note a few days before the tour asking if we could go another day. We could not as we had plans for each day we were there. He did not contact us farther. The day before I made MANY attempts to contact him at the number given, sent emails, and sent messages with no responses. There was NO voice mail to leave a message. Finally at around 6PM I finally was able to reach him and he said he would pick us up at around 10 AM. We waited in the lobby until 10:20 and they did not show up. I called several times and was not getting a response. Finally about 10:30 I tried the backup number and reached someone. When I asked what happened I was told they had car problems and will be there shortly. I asked how long and was told 15 minutes. They finally did show up around 11:00AM. After they picked us up they picked up some other passengers who were obviously displeased and told us that he had not contacted them at all. The van ride took about 45 minutes with a short stop at a fruit market at which the person helping with the tour bought some fruit and proceeded to eat a banana in front of everyone without offering any to anyone else. We got to the river where we boarded a small powered canoe for a 20 minute ride in the river to the Embera Village. It was a pleasant ride on the river. When we got to the village we were seated on benches where some of the people from the village spoke and it was translated for the large group that was there. This lasted for about 20 minutes and was not very interesting. After this we were offered lunch which was quite tasty fish and plantains. The guide for our tour gave us some great fruits. This was certainly the highlight of the tour. After lunch we were let free to look at the souvenirs that the locals had for sale. Then we were seated again and they played some music and danced a bit. All in all it was not too interesting and felt like it was rather a forced production. When this was finished we talked to our guide and asked about the part of the tour where we were supposed to hike to a waterfall. He told us it was muddy and not very interesting and there is really no waterfall at all. He said he did not want to go there. All in all this was a very poor experience and would have been overpriced at 20. Not worth the money by any stretch of the imagination and suggest avoiding this tour.

One of the best experience ever away from the city. Our tour guide Mario and his partner were very nice and tour given in your preferred language. The drive is to the rural area then on a canoe to the village and rainforest. Prepare to get wet. The natives are accepting and food is provided. Great.

Really enjoyed this tour. We had two tour guides they picked us up on time we had to switch to a rather old car but it was all part of the fun. They stopped at a local fruit stall and got some amazing fruits for later in the day. The canoe ride is great fun and the area is absolutely beautiful. The walk to the waterfall is fun but be prepared to get your feet wet - you have to walk through a river it took us days to dry out our shoes the walk would be hard for those with mobility issues as it is uneven and requires a bit of scrambling. The Embera village is beautiful and really interesting. I highly recommend the tour.

The Embera Village tour is amazing! Mario and Julietht were are tour guides and they were lot of fun! It was a wonderful day canoeing down the Chagres River, hiking National Chagres Park to a beautiful waterfall and visiting the natives Embera village. The only thing for the next tour, they must inform the tourist to bring water shoes. We hiked in the river were the water was up to our knees, over mud and rocks until we reached the waterfall. It you like adventure take this tour. The scenery is spectacular. At the Embera village, the lunch they served was tilapia with green plantains which was amazing and fruits.

What a wonderful one. Mario and Julietta are amazing. They are funny. This trip is a must in a lifetime. The guides are nice poeple with a lot of knowledge. The canoe ride to the waterfal and then to the Emberá village was awesome. We also took walk at the villge too. Very very amazing trip. MUST

Very unique tour and we were had lots fun. Nice and very friendly village people. Good tour:

Realy enjoyed the boatride and the waterfall. The Embera village was also very interesting with the explanation of their way of life and how that changed when they came to live here. The Embera themselves seemed a bit shy. Was looking to buy some small souvenirs but none off them came to me when I was browsing through the handicrafts on display. Our guide als had a lot of information to share and was fun to listen to.

Tour guide was really good but, it is not really providing a lunch and not enough with just snacks.