Istmo sits on four acres of jungle close to the Pacific coast, roughly 1.5 hours from Panama City Airport (PTY). The property opened in 2015 and has hosted retreats, university programmes and private groups ever since. It is a retreat centre rather than a scheduled retreat: you come with a group and a purpose, and the team builds the week around it.

For wellness groups, there is a yoga studio set in the jungle, plus space for meditation, coaching sessions, salsa and movement classes, and massage therapy. Evenings often end with a bonfire and stargazing on the beach. The beach itself is secluded, good for swimming and quiet walks.

Adventure options include waterfall and rainforest hikes, surfing lessons and stand-up paddleboarding for all skill levels, ziplining through the forest canopy, and seasonal whale watching and snorkelling. Fishing trips run on both fresh water and the ocean. Cultural excursions take groups to the Emberá Indigenous Village, Panama City and the Panama Canal, and local artisan markets. Community service projects, beach cleanups and sea turtle conservation work can be built into a programme.

For universities and faculty-led groups, Istmo runs study abroad programmes with a place-based focus: service learning and community engagement, Spanish immersion and cultural learning, and environmental and conservation programmes. The owners' Peace Corps backgrounds and a decade of partnerships with local schools, conservation organisations and community groups underpin how these are designed. Istmo is a member of the Forum on Education Abroad.

The property is owned and run by Ayesha and Sean. Sean served in the Peace Corps in Chile and worked as Environmental Education Coordinator for the Peregrine Fund before founding an international school in Panama City. Ayesha served in Paraguay and spent 10 years as an environmental engineer designing water and environmental programmes across Latin America, funded by the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. They built Istmo while working in Panama City and still run it as a family operation, with a private chef cooking fresh local food for each group.

What's included

- Private, air-conditioned bungalow accommodation - Meals prepared by the property's private chef using local ingredients - Local coordination and logistics for the group - Access to the jungle yoga studio - Organised activities and excursions chosen for the group - Beach access on the property's secluded shoreline

What's not included

- Flights to Panama City (PTY) - Travel insurance - Airport transfers (coordinated by the property; confirm whether charged separately) - Massage therapy - Optional excursions not built into the group programme - Personal expenses

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