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FAQs

Roughly half our overseas guests fly to Panama City and then take a National Flight on either Copa Airlines or Air Panama to our closest airport in Western Panama, David.

 

From there, guests can rent a car or 4 x 4 truck for a reasonable fee when booking several months in advance.

 

Los Quetzales also recommends taking a taxi from David to our EcoLodge on the main road in Guadalupe. This will cost between $45-60 (a 10% tip is nice but not mandatory) to make the roughly 1.5 hour trip.

 

We also can arrange to pick you up from David airport if you provide us with advance booking, to ensure we have a driver available to meet you at your arrival time.

 

Typically Copa Airlines can be the more cost-effective of our two main airlines and they usually run flights 2x daily, leaving Panama City at approximately 7:30am or 3:30pm as of January 2020, and arriving roughly 50 minutes later in David Airport. Please check their current schedule to ensure the connections work well for your itinerary coming to Panama.

 

Many of our guests’ international flights arrive after the last flight of the day out of Panama City, requiring them to spend a day or so in Panama City. This can be a great way to see two very different sides to our beautiful country, adding on a couple of days and a visit for you to the Canal Zone and Casco Viejo, or other sites of interest.

 

Some of our guests, as a result, prefer to take a series of buses up from Panama City to come stay with us. Please note that very few bus routes are express! But this is an inexpensive and fun way to see more of our country. The main bus station in Panama City has buses that leave daily to every part of the country, (though sometimes it may be easier to just fly if your time is short). The bus terminal, known as the ‘Gran Terminal de Transportes’, is in the Albrook neighborhood. You can take a bus from there to David, though it will most likely make a number of stops on the way and can take up to 12 hours. Remember: our Lodge is 1.5 hours beyond David and as we are in a rural area, and most buses only travel from David to Guadalupe during daylight hours.

Los Quetzales EcoLodge & Spa was founded by environmental conservationists, who, to this day, remain committed to the goal of taking care of our land in order to take care of our community and guests. As such, we grow our own organic vegetables and herbs in the garden at the EcoLodge, from which we prepare a variety of healthy dishes. Our chefs are trained to be able to handle requests to cook food to order and preference and we offer a variety of options for those following a variety of lifestyles and diets for health.

 

We can offer some great selections for guests looking for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, paleo, low-sodium, and low-fat or low-sugar options. If you have a specific food intolerance or allergy, please note that our kitchen can not guarantee a 100% allergen-free environment as we prepare multiple foods in our main commercial kitchen. However, please do speak to our manager and / or our restaurant staff so that we can accommodate you with something nutritious and tasty for you.

All spa services are open to the general public and you do NOT need to stay overnight at Los Quetzales to enjoy a wonderful Spa package or single service. Visit our Spa Page to learn more about the variety of professional services we offer including massages, facials, hot stone treatments, reflexology treatment and use of the sauna and hot tubs.

The Resplendent Quetzal can be seen year round a couple of times a week. Mating season is from mid February to June, when it can be seen almost every day. There are three types of trees that produce the Aguacatillo fruit; Bambito, Cigua and Raton. One of the best ways to see a Quetzal, as well as identify the over 1000 bird species one can possibly see in our preserve is to book a private birding Guide, who is both an expert at spotting the birds, as well as the person with ideal equipment to help you see our wonderful birdlife most easily. Visit our Excursions page for more info or pick up a copy of George Angehr’s BIRDS OF PANAMA book in our gift shop to take out on your next birding adventure!

Every night we see kinkajous and cacomistles at our cabins #8 and #9 feeding on bananas. On occasion, an ocelot can be seen as well as armadillos, porcupines, white faced monkeys, sloths, squirrels and bats. We can also see footprints and excrement of the jaguar, puma, and tapir. At the main lodge, in Guadalupe, more than 34 species of birds can be seen within an hour. It is rarer to see lots of animal life, compared to bird life due to the orientation of our valley and the way the wind blows as our human scent often can ‘give our presence away’ to wildlife that would prefer to keep to itself. A great option can be to get out early in the day with an experienced private Guide, who can help you spot an early morning visitor. Also, many guests enjoy the experience of staying in one of our secluded cabins, which are tucked up in the National Forest. Please see our Accommodations page to book your Forest Cabin experience today! Or feel free to learn more about booking with one of our expert guides on our Excursions page.

There is electricity and wifi in the lower cabins (2, 4, 5, 6). There is wifi and battery-powered electricity (can also be used to charge cameras, laptops, cell phones, etc.) in cabins 8 and 9. We provide gas and battery operated lanterns for additional light. For cooking and heating we have gas heaters and stoves. We also provide basic provisions such as our El Cotito coffee, sugar, drinking water, firewood, and matches for heating each cabin. You will need to bring your own food provisions while we provide the essentials for the kitchen in each cabin, such as plates, bowls, glasses, cups, coffee pot, cutlery, pots and pans and washing up soap for dishes, plus towels and all warm bedding for each bed. Please note that cabin access can be muddy and slippery, as well as wet, so we encourage you to pack solid hiking boots, waterproof gear, and layers for cooler nights and warmer days. 

Guided tours are offered for a fee by booking in with us to schedule a private guide. The meeting place is usually in our Main Reception and is typically recommended for a 7am or 7:30am start. Depending on your destination for the day, and whether you are already staying in one of our forest cabins (1.5 KM from the main lodge), we will need to provide your group with 4×4 transportation to get you to your mountain hiking trail.

 

We have four 4×4 vehicles that will take you and your guide from the lodge to the meeting area at flexible booking times for a $30-60 round trip fee (depending on the trail condition and distance).

 

If you are already staying in one of our forest cabins, the transport staff will provide you with two free trips to help you get to and back from your forest cabin at the start and end of your journey and your private guide will simply meet you at your cabin around 7:30 or 8am to start your guided hike together. The capacity of each of our 4×4 vehicles is up to nine passengers with luggage, though during busy times, please be advised you will need to book with us in advance as our vehicles may not be available at all times if we are serving other guests. It’s also possible to share the price of extra 4×4 transport rides with others making the same trip as you or your group.

 

Should your hike be around our private preserve, it’s possible to forego paying for a 4×4 ride as all of our overnight guests automatically have free access to our private 400 hectare cloud forest preserve and trails. If you are staying at the main EcoLodge Hotel, Chalet, Suites, or Dorms, you are welcome to take the scenic walk up the mountain to our trail head, past Finca Dracula, which takes about half an hour. Our horses can also be rented and used as transporation to the cabin area.

 

Please visit our Excursions page for more information on our Hiking options, maps, horse rental options and more.

 

If you are staying with us at our Coffee Farm ‘El Cotito’ please note that a 4 x 4 vehicle is a requirement to get up the 5km or so of off road trails to reach the farm. Please call our hotel for details on rates, should you prefer for us to pick you up from David airport, if you prefer NOT to rent your own vehicle. As this is a farm road, please be aware that from time to time the condition of this road can mean fallen trees or other difficult conditions that can delay access to the farm, so we advise renting a vehicle on your own if you have experience with this kind of driving, otherwise our staff will be happy to arrange transport with you to our beautiful property.

 

Our aim is to provide you with the best service according to your needs and preferences and we look forward to helping you organize the best transport options for your vacation.

Most roads throughout Panama are paved, including the road from David to Guadalupe, where our EcoLodge is. It is a 1.5 hour drive in car or taxi ($45 from David to Guadalupe), and a 2.5 hour bus ride ($3.50 per person). While the road to our main lodge is paved, the roads to our forest cabins, as well as to our Coffee Farm ‘El Cotito’ require 4 x 4 vehicles with a high chassis. We offer transport for a fee to both these specialty lodging options. Please review the above FAQ for details on our transport fees.

Pets allowed in the rooms. We have policy for pets. For check in you can pay $30.00 for a pet Has additional charges if you pet damaged or dirty someting in the room or cabins.

Should you require a high chair for meal time, the hotel can provide two.

There is a small market within a block and a larger supermarket 3 km. from the lodge. There you can find most products except fresh fruit. We have different product fresh fruit and vegetable from our garden, as well as a few vendors in town that offer some good seasonally available produce, honey, snacks and more in the town of Guadalupe. The town itself can get quite busy on weekends, especially in the high season and is fun to visit for our visitors. Should there be a particular item you need to make your stay more enjoyable, please ask in our Reception for a list of products we have available through our own store on sight.