Upon arrival in Panama, we make our own way to our hotel. The Odyssey Program Leader will greet the group and the rest of the day is free until we meet again in the evening for our welcome dinner.

Today we will be touring the historic and cultural centre of Panama. Casco Viejo ("old quarter", also called Casco Antiguo), a neighbourhood in Panama City, has been inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1997. Casco Viejo was established in 1673 by Spanish colonisers and other settlers, and experienced neglect, poverty, and gang violence before finally undergoing restoration in recent years. We will walk around the old quarter to view the colonial buildings and experience its museums and restaurants. We will continue to the Miraflores Locks to view the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal, completed in 1914, is a man-made waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the narrow Isthmus of Panama. Ships travelling through the canal save a lot of time--for example, ships sailing between the east and west coasts of the United States need only go through the canal instead of rounding Cape Horn in South America.

Today we will visit the community of the indigenous Emberá tribe, who have been living in the region even before "Panama" as a state was formed. This tour will give us an opportunity to know more about their culture and history.

Having viewed the Panama Canal on Day 2, today we will be taking a closer look at this engineering feat. From the Pacific coast, we take a voyage through the Miraflores Locks, Pedro Miguel, and the Gaillard Cut. We disembark in Gamboa, and travel by land to Colon on the Atlantic Coast. At Colon, we travel via the Panama Canal Railway, the world's first Trans-Continental rail route, which will take us through lush rainforests across the Isthmus of Panama and back to the city.

Today is a free day! Use this time to rest or explore the area near our accommodation. You can also use this time to pack as we will be flying out of Panama tomorrow.

Today we fly from Panama City to the city of San Jose, capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Founded by the cabildo (legal representative of the Spanish Crown) in 1736, San Jose became a tobacco centre and in the 1840s a centre of coffee production. Coffee remained a chief export of Costa Rica and its largest source of income throughout the 19th century. With this history in mind, upon arrival, we commence the tour by exploring the Doka coffee plantation to learn the process of cultivating and processing coffee. We then experience Costa Rica's natural wonders at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, viewing the beautiful Magia Bianca Waterfall and the Butterfly Observatory.

After breakfast, we take a drive northeast to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica to visit the Tortuguero National Park. Tortuguero means "turtle catcher", and the park indeed is an important hatchery in the western Caribbean for green sea turtles, and a nesting place for three other turtle species. Species diversity in Tortuguero National Park is among the highest in Costa Rica, due to the diversity of the habitats within its reserve. Tortuguero is not accessible by road, so the final part of our journey will be by boat. We will stay at our accommodation in the area, and go on a river safari in the early evening. Please note that the park will be warm with high humidity, so dress accordingly!

We continue our exploration of the Tortuguero National Park to experience its abundant wildlife and vegetation. The park is home to 57 species of amphibians, 111 species of reptiles, 60 species of mammals and more than 300 species of birds for all or part of the year--which makes for an exciting day of exploration.

We leave Tortuguero and drive to the shores of Lake Arenal, Costa Rica's largest landlocked body of water. With a surface covering nearly 85 square kilometres (33 square miles), the lake sits at the base of Arenal Volcano in the northern highlands. We cross the lake by boat and travel on the road to the town of La Fortuna. The rest of the day is at leisure. At our accommodation, we can enjoy views of the volcano and relax.

The Arenal Volcano stands 1,633 metres (5,358 ft) high, towering over its surroundings. Currently dormant, the volcano was Costa Rica's most active volcano until 2010. Today we will have a chance to move closer and explore the forest surrounding Arenal Volcano.

After breakfast, we cross the Arenal Lake to the small community of Monteverde.

Today we will be exploring the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, founded in 1972 and home to half of Costa Rica's flora and fauna and 2.5 percent of the world's biodiversity. A "cloud forest" is called as such due to the mists produced by the cooling of wet air currents in the mountains. Sitting at an elevation of 1,600 metres above sea level, the reserve is also mist-covered, and we will experience the same dreamlike atmosphere as we cross the skywalk through the forest canopy.

Still in Monteverde, we visit another ecological reserve, Selvatura Park. We can walk across the Treetop Walkways to give us fantastic views of the cloud forest. After lunch, we drive to San Jose.

This morning, we transfer to the San Jose airport for our flight to Guatemala City. Upon arrival in Guatemala City, we travel by road to the beautiful city of Antigua, where we will check into our accommodation.

The beautiful city of Antigua in Guatemala has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979. Its full name, "Antigua Guatemala", means Old Guatemala, and here you can see preserved ruins and monuments dating back to the 16th century when it served as capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala. Its horizon is dominated by three majestic volcanoes. In the morning we will enjoy a guided walking tour of Antigua, and have the rest of the day free to spend at our leisure.

Brightly coloured chicken buses (modified buses) ply the roads of Antigua, and we will board one for our journey to San Miguel Escobar. We transfer to 4WDs for a short ride to coffee fields to learn about coffee production and also take part in coffee picking. We will enjoy lunch with a local family before heading back to our hotel in Antigua.

After breakfast, we go on an hour-long scenic drive through the highlands to the town of San Juan Comalapa, which became famous for its indigenous Kaqchikel painters. Kaqchikel painter Andrés Curruchich (1891–1969) made oil paintings depicting village life and traditions, and gained international renown. He then decided to teach a new generation of Kaqchikel artists. We will take a tour of the town's local market, which also display paintings and murals of the local artists. After lunch, we continue on to Lake Atitlan, which we will explore in the next few days. The rest of the day can be spent at our leisure.

Lake Atitlan ("between the waters"), located in the Guatemalan Highlands, is the deepest lake in Central America. It has been renowned as the most beautiful lake in the world, surrounded by volcanoes and wildflowers. The lake is surrounded by villages wherein Maya culture remains strong, displayed proudly through the people's traditional dress. Today we will go on a leisurely cruise and visit a number of these villages and communities.

We leave Lake Atitlan and continue on to the town of Santo Tomas Chichicastenango ("city of nettles"). The town is the centre of  K'iche' Maya culture--a huge majority of the residents belong to the K'iche, who speak both their indigenous language and Spanish. Chichicastenango hosts market days twice a week (Thursdays and Sundays) where traders from all over Guatemala sell their goods. We will take part in this vibrant atmosphere and see the textiles, pottery, and flowers, among others, on display. After lunch we drive to Guatemala City.

In 1773, Antigua Guatemala (which we have visited earlier) was destroyed by an earthquake, prompting the creation of a new centre. That city became Guatemala City, capital of the captaincy general of Guatemala in 1776 until it became the capital of the independent Republic of Guatemala in the 19th century. Guatemala City is the economic and cultural heart of Guatemala, and today we will have a walking tour to take in its colonial architecture and Mayan history narrated by its art galleries.

After breakfast, we begin our five-hour journey to the border between Guatemala and Honduras. Near the Guatemala-Honduras border is the town of Copan, occupied for more than two thousand years and now an important archaeological site of Mayan civilisation. After lunch at our hotel, we visit Macaw Mountain, a bird rescue, rehabilitation and release centre.

Today, we will continue our exploration of the ancient Mayan world in Copan. Copan was once a powerful city ruling a kingdom in the western Honduras, and we will be able to view its ruins and learn more about its history today.

We cross the border back into Guatemala and visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Quirigua, another ancient Maya archaeological site. Its monuments, carved stelae and sculpted calendars are important in providing insight to Mayan civilisation. After exploring the site, we transfer to Puerto Barrios (Guatemala's main Caribbean Sea port) for our transfer by boat to the town of Livingston, where we will stay for the night.

This morning we explore Livingston. Livingston is surrounded by verdant forests and water and sits at the mouth of the Río Dulce at the Gulf of Honduras, with no road connection to the rest of Guatemala. This is a settlement of the Afro-Caribbean Garifuna people, who founded a rich cultural heritage in the city. We enjoy a boat tour on the Rio Dulce,  and after lunch we journey north to the Mayan city of Tikal.

Tikal is located in the ruins of an ancient and great Mayan city, declared a World Heritage Site in 1979. We will explore this sprawling complex founded in the heart of a rainforest, and view the huge temples rising above the forest canopy. This is an incredible place to conclude our multi-week tour of Central America.

This morning we transfer to the airport for our flight to Guatemala City. We will enjoy our final night with a farewell dinner to look back on the amazing sights we've experienced together on this tour.

Our tour and our services conclude after breakfast.