We spent a few days in Portobelo and Francesco's Bar Casa Vela became our regular place. Sailors, Backpackers and globetrotters from all over the world meet here. It was always... read more funny and we heard incredible stories.
For one day we rented kayaks and got the best tips for our trip through the mangroves directly from Francesco. The tour was wonderful and renting was totally uncomplicated.
Besides Francesco makes super tasty pizza and pasta. So be sure to stop by Francesco's when you are in Portobelo!

  I live in Panama, and had the pleasure of taking my parents and their friends to discover Portobelo and do a river walk with Panamore. It was amazing! Francesco was... read more a wonderful host. He was very knowledgeable about the area and provided great insights. Highly recommended!

  We got the contact details of Francesco via an acquaintance of ours. He became our regular guide during our stay in Portobelo. Francesco speaks a lot of languages ​​and has... read more a lot of knowledge about the village and the surroundings of Portobelo. He is originally from Europe, so he really understands the differences and similarities between cultures. We have experienced that he is patient, listens well and at the same time can think solution-based from our needs. He is willing to give you tips without immediately expecting something back. He gave us very good food suggestions which we really needed after one month of traveling with not always such good food. And some suggestions to visit small villages which you can’t find on your own. He has good connections with the local people. We did a combined trip where we went canoeing, hiking, chilling and snorkeling at a private beach. The day after we went hybrid snorkeling. That was stunning. Francesco has a very nice pace; he knows when to go slower and when to speed up. He was an incredible, enjoyable and helpful guide to us. We have booked our tours with him and will recommend to everyone to do this as wel. Our stay in Portobelo felt like we where visiting friends mainly because of Francesco and Camilla who where the nicest people and the best guides!

  We had a few days in the wonderful town of Portobelo and Francesco's tour company was fantastic! He offers a lot of different options and has a real enthusiasm... read more for both the nature and culture of Portobelo. We had a great day on the kayak - hike - beach tour. It is a fascinating kayak trip across Portobelo bay and then through some mangroves. This is followed by an easy hike through spectacular jungle - we saw two different types of monkeys, many birds etc. Then you arrive at a picture perfect beach for snorkelling. What a day!
Thank you Francesco - you made it a real fun day!
Call into Francesco's restaurant "Casa Vela" for great Italian food with a spectacular view of the bay.

  Thank you for your friendly, reliable and proactive approach. I can only recommend, especially thank YOU, Francesco

  Thanks to Francesco we got to see so many things of Panama and got to know a lot of the nature, the history, the society and more. We were in... read more the jungle on horses with Francesco and he showed us a lot. He is an experienced guide and lives there for now 10 years. He speaks good english and is really funny. He gave us everyday another nice activity to do. So we went on the ocean with his kayak one day, which was a real fun ride. The next day we went amphibia board riding, which is board pulled under water by a boat. He also showed us some secret beaches where we camped and stayed the night.

  We had a wonderful day with Francesco! We have traveled many places and have had many different tour guides but Francesco was by far the best! We kayaked through mangroves,... read more hiked through mud and the jungle, and spent time on a beautiful private beach. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day! He also helped us with many other things such as fishing, ziplining, etc. Thank you so much for all the memories Francesco! We will never forget you, and plan on staying in touch!

  My husband and I decided to take a kayaking trip in Portobelo bay in Panama. We searched online and came across Panamore which said they provided private tours which included... read more kayaking, hiking through a swamp forest and rain forest and then a private beach. It had only a couple of reviews but was so cheap (only about $45 per person).
On the day of the tour, we were picked up by a taxi, arranged by Panamore (paid $150) that drove us from Panama city to Portobelo bay. There, at a local restaurant, we met Francesco, the tour guide (I think he owns the restaurant too). We had never been kayaking before, but had the most amazing experience that we're looking forward to doing it again. We kayaked for about and hour through the bay and then through a swamp forest. We left the kayak and went hiking with rubber boots provided by Francesco. After about an hour of hiking we arrived at a beautiful private beach where we were even provided with snorkeling gear. We spent about two hours there and were taken back to where we had started with a beautiful speedboat ride.The entire trip Francesco told us about history and culture, showed us things and kept us company.
After getting back, we cleaned up in the bathroom there which wasn't the best bathroom but was okay I guess . We then had lunch at the restaurant (it was so good! Cost about $20 each) and were taken back to our hotel with the same taxi driven by Luis.
Overall, it was an incredible trip and Francesco is an amazing tour guide. We highly recommend it to anyone travelling to Panama. This is one activity you have to do!