AfroLatinx Travel began its journey in 2014 with our very first AfroPanama trip—an experience born out of a desire to center and humanize Black world-building; the overlooked histories, cultures, and contemporary lives of Afrodescendants who have built, shaped, and continue to sustain life on the Panamanian isthmus. On this journey, we move through stories of resistance, migration, and cultural capital that span centuries.

Our trip begins in Panama City, tracing the city’s layered past from colonial walls to modern rhythms, before crossing to the Pacific pearl island of Taboga, a place of rare natural beauty and deep historical resonance. From there, we travel to the Caribbean coast of Colón Province and Portobelo, home to the revered Black Christ, where spirituality, music, and memory converge.

AfroPanama is not a "vacation"—it’s a meditation through living history, an invitation to bear witness to the endurance and creativity of Black Panamanians across generations.

This trip is educational in nature and centers the history and contemporary lives of Afrodescendants in Panama. There are direct and one-stop flights from major cities in the U.S. to Panama City (PTY). We recommend flying in a full day before or taking a flight in the evening the day prior to the start of the tour. Our first activity to kick-off our time together is our welcome dinner on July 2nd. 

Independent days are for the participant to spend however they wish.

Participants are required to attend monthly meetings, we will have at least three, to become familiar with cultural norms, etiquette, and expectations while in Panama, ensuring respectful, informed, and considerate engagement throughout the experience. Engagement with educational courses and readings are also part of the trip experience. Mutual aid is required where we will respond to the local needs of a community grassroots organization.

We want serious participants only who will make the commitment to attend the trip, participate in prep and experience the trip in all its fullness. We want participants who are mindful of the space they take up, considerate of others and themselves and want to be in equitable community with others. 

Our trips are intentionally designed as immersive educational experiences for thoughtful travelers who are genuinely interested in engaging with local Black communities in a spirit of respect, openness, and grace. We travel to regions where conditions reflect historiographies of inequity, displacement, state brutality and abandonment and ongoing manufactured economic scarcity, and we ask that participants approach these realities with sensitivity and awareness.

AfroLatinx Travel curates groups that value curiosity, flexibility, and collective synergy. For this reason, we seek participants who contribute to a positive and cooperative group dynamic—those willing to adapt, listen, and share in an experience that is as much about learning as it is about connection.

Our itineraries are dynamic and responsive to local rhythms, opportunities, and community needs. While a general outline is provided, more detailed information is shared as the trip date approaches. If this level of fluidity makes you uneasy, this experience may not be the right fit—and that’s completely okay. We prioritize travelers who are comfortable embracing the unknown, trusting the process, and engaging with intention.

All participants are required to sign a liability waiver upon sign-up. Trip insurance is recommended on your own and up to your own discretion.

Check back for updates as more details become available as we get closer to our tour. As with all of our trips, we curate the most comprehensive, dynamic and up-to-date events and content as possible. Let the trip be as it is moved to be.

Please note:

This trip is on a first come, first served basis. Your spot is reserved with your deposit which is immediately non-refundable. Initial deposit is followed by installment payments or you have the option to pay in full. Your installment payments become non-refundable five days after payment.  Any and all trip drop-outs will not be reimbursed nor re-scheduled. Any trip missed because of missed flights, expired passports or other error on the participants' part will not be refunded nor re-scheduled. Participant assumes this agreement when deposit is submitted.

We understand things come up and we also would like participants to understand that we also have a commitment to also fulfill and trip drop-outs make this harder. 

Itinerary may be subject to change before or during the trip to best accommodate the needs of the group. A deposit of $450 is due upon sign-up, the balance is to be paid in monthly installments, with final payment a month before the trip. Credit card payments incur a 3% fee. All guests must provide proof of travel insurance before the trip, or upon arrival to participate in group activities. Guest passports must not expire before February, 2027. All guests must complete and submit a liability agreement before embarking on the trip.

Welcome to Panama!

Included: Dinner

Today is arrival and our only activity is our welcome dinner. Pick-up at 6:30pm

The night is free to spend as you wish.

Suggested: El Faro rooftop 

Included: breakfast

Included: Breakfast and lunch - pick-up at 9:30am. There will be moderate walking.

We travel to the Atlantic Coast to the province of Colon and experience our

Portobelo Historical Walking Tour and Congos de Colon presentation and workshop with Mama Ari, keeping these traditions alive, working with local youth. We will go over the town’s patron saint El CristoNegro (Black Jesus) as well as the African and Afrodescendant labor that built the town and province, making it a principle region during Spanish pillaging of the Americas, as well as the resistance and maroon legacy of Africans who liberated themselves.

Included: Breakfast

We go to Taboga Island for the day.

Included: Breakfast and lunch - pick-up at 9:30am. There will be moderate walking.

We start off at the West Indian/AfroCaribbean history of Panama at the

AfroAntillean Museum near the city’s old colonial sector, to go over the history of the AfroCaribbean labor that not only built the Panama Canal but also the

country’s infrastructure from the railroad to the artificial 77 km waterway that is

the Panama Canal. One of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, it serves

the vital function of connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean across

the Isthmus of Panama, facilitating international maritime trade for over 100

years. We go to the historically Black neighborhoods of Santa Ana and San

Felipe just outside of the colonial city and within them where the residents are

undergoing gentrification. We end at the Panama Canal Miraflores Locks and

visitor center where we see what the AfroAntillean labor force built.

See you next time!