10 nights, Amador (Panama City) to Los Angeles
Explora's name for it: A Journey of Mayan Discovery & Mexican Exploration
This is a 10-night one-way run up the Pacific coast from Amador, at the Panama Canal's Pacific entrance, to Los Angeles, with seven stops across Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States. The shape is steady port-to-port, and the character shifts north. The southern half is country-not-harbor: Acajutla is a working container terminal where the day is really Los Cobanos, the largest Pacific reef between Mexico and Panama and close enough to the pier that the snorkeling is the draw. Puerto Quetzal is a gated compound whose entire reason to call is the inland run to Antigua, a UNESCO colonial city of cobblestones and ruined churches that sits near 5,000 feet, cool enough to want a light layer. Further north the days get easier to self-direct: Huatulco ties up right at Santa Cruz Bay, beach beside the pier and protected reefs inside a national park, and Puerto Vallarta docks a short ride from a walkable old town and a seafront promenade on a humpback bay.
This itinerary rewards a traveler who likes a true coastal traverse and will commit each port to one inland lane rather than chase everything. Several stops, Acajutla, Puerto Quetzal, and Puerto Chiapas, are industrial or purpose-built terminals with nothing walkable past the gate, so the reward is the drive inland. If you want beach-club ease at every stop, look elsewhere. And Los Angeles lands you at San Pedro, the port and not the city, so stay local rather than burn the day in traffic toward Hollywood.
Explora III is all-suite and all-oceanfront.
The itinerary, port by port
7 calls over 10 nights, Amador (Panama City) to Los Angeles. Open any port for my full day-ashore guide, what to see, when to go, and how the day actually runs.
Getting there: Flights to Amador (Panama City) (PTY) are already bookable for these dates. I watch the fare for booked clients so you book at the right moment. When to book your flights →
- Embark
- 2 Acajutla
- 3 Puerto Quetzal
- 4 Puerto Chiapas
- 5 Huatulco
- 6 Puerto Vallarta
- Disembark
Fares on this departure, decoded
Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:
- Invitation to Discover More
- Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
The ship and your suite
This sailing is aboard EXPLORA III, all-suite, every suite with a private ocean-front terrace. Suites run from the entry Ocean Terrace to the Owner's Residence; the right tier depends on how you travel. Compare suites → · What's included →
Keep exploring
- More about EXPLORA IIIsuites, venues, decks
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- How Explora's fares work