Host since ...
2005
We offer birding, kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, stand-up paddle boarding, swimming, and wildlife watching onsite or directly off of our dock. We include a guided session each day of 2 – 4 hours with one of our naturalist guides as part of each stay. We also offer birding and wildlife watching from our canopy observation tower each morning and evening.
Creature comforts: We know how important it is to be comfortable for a vacation to be memorable. Curated Adventure: We do not compromise on our activities and excursions. Educational adventures with our naturalist guides will wow your party and keep them all talking about the vacation for years. Conservation Preserve: Our nature preserve encompasses 200-plus forested acres of Panamaβs Western Caribbean Coast and over a kilometer of Caribbean coastline.
My husband, Jim Kimball, and I met Jay Viola through one of my husband’s cousins in Houston, Texas over 30 years ago. The three of us shared an interest in “doing something different.” Over time we determined that our difference would be to open a lodge in a rural setting somewhere in the Caribbean Sea. We looked throughout the Caribbean – The Bahamas, Belize, etc. but none of them felt right. Jim and Jay traveled to Bocas del Toro in October 1999 and decided the archipelago was right, but it was not until Jim resigned from his job and came to Bocas in December 1999 that we found the exact location. We opened Tranquilo Bay in July 2005 and our lives are much richer than we had hoped for.
Tranquilo Bay is an authentic and all-inclusive wildlife adventure experience, where you can unplug, connect with nature and recharge by exploring the pristine reef and rainforest of Bocas del Toro, Panama.
A family-owned and operated eco-lodge where guests feel like part of the family
2005
English, Spanish
Panama, United States
We understand that travel is an investment. Inviting travelers to invest in a vacation opens their minds to creating a return on that investment. The return should support both their travel party and the place they are visiting. This mindset helps protect the place and its rich nature, culture, and adventure mix.
Our approach has been about being a permanent part of the community in which we live. We focus on the aspirational side of regenerative tourism. We are never finished. We can always learn more and do better once we know more. We began with a permanence mindset. Because we planned on making Bocas del Toro our home, we took steps to manage our relationships with our neighbors and our community from the beginning. We got to know our neighbors. We applied The Golden Rule (one of our core philosophies) of taking care of your immediate neighborhood to our new home. Laying this groundwork has been an essential part of the foundation for our business. Mutual respect makes for a better long-term relationship. We post regularly about our impact metrics in our Transparency on Thursday series on Instagram and have an Impact Report on our website.
Bastimentos Island, Bocas del Toro Province, Panama