OGAYA Travel
Luxury Panama DMC
Panama-based and family-run, Ogaya is a boutique DMC redefining what luxury travel can look like. Every journey they craft is infused with care, intention, and respect for place. Ogaya’s hallmark is detail, and regenerative travel isn’t a trend for them; it’s a guiding principle. Specializing in tailor-made itineraries across Panama’s wild coastlines, tropical forests, and villages where indigenous traditions still thrive, Ogaya designs experiences that immerse travelers deeply and responsibly.
Quick Facts
Family owned and operated
Based in Panama City
Tailor-made journeys
Sustainability as standard
High touch and fully-inclusive trips
24/7 concierge service for a seamless, end-to-end experience
Key Selling Points
Exclusive access: Ogaya opens doors that bring travelers closer to Panama’s people and places. Think field time with local scientists and Indigenous community leaders, transiting the Panama Canal alongside an engineer, and a day at sea with a marine biologist.
Attention to detail: Every element is thoughtfully curated by the Ogaya team, for whom no detail is too small. Expect thoughtful details, like cool face towels at the end of a hike, or locally grown coffee after a brisk boat ride.
Luxury by default: True luxury lies in the details. VIP airport assistance and top-of-the-line transfer vehicles are two of the many touches that Ogaya includes as standard.
Community Oriented: Being from such a small country, Ogaya’s founders know everyone in Panama from hoteliers to sommeliers, Indigenous leaders to coffee shop owners, renowned chefs to expert guides. Travelers quickly feel like part of the family.
Unique Accommodations: From overwater bungalows to treehouses, historic city retreats, and fully staffed luxury catamarans – Ogaya has just the place.
Industry Resources
Regenerative Travel
A portion of each trip supports a conservation or cultural program directly tied to that journey. Each initiative is carefully vetted and handpicked. Current programs include:
Isla Cañas: Building protected nests for sea turtle conservation.
Emberá Drúa: Contributing to the rebuilding of the community center.
Sloth Conservation: Partnering with APPC, Panama’s leading wildlife rescue organization.
Ngäbe Soloy: Supporting trail maintenance with Caminando Panama Foundation in an area proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Guna Yala: Supporting Indigenous youth in a traditional spirituality learning program.
Why Panama?
Most travelers know Panama for the canal, but it’s a country that stands on its own. While its neighbor, Costa Rica, has been well on the beaten tourist track for decades, Panama has remained a hidden gem - offering an equally profound array of experiences but with a more authentic, less-crowded feel.
Within a few hours’ drive, landscapes shift dramatically: from quiet coffee farms to a modern metropolis, from Pacific surf towns to pristine Caribbean islands, from highland cloud forests to lowland rainforest. It’s one of the easiest countries in Latin America to explore - small, connected, and surprisingly diverse. The mix of cultures is just as vivid, shaped by Indigenous, Afro-Caribbean, and Latin influences.
Panama is not just ecologically diverse, it is an ecological champion. The nation is one of only three in the world that is carbon-negative, meaning its vast, preserved forests absorb more carbon dioxide than the country emits. This commitment is supported by its astounding biodiversity: a narrow land bridge connecting two continents, Panama is home to over 10,000 plant species, nearly 1,000 bird species, and vast tracts of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
This incredible natural heritage is intrinsically linked to its people. Panama is home to seven distinct Indigenous groups, including the Guna, the Emberá, and the Ngäbe-Buglé, who maintain their vibrant cultures, languages, and, critically, manage nearly a quarter of the national territory, making them essential stewards of Panama's extraordinary biodiversity. Their communities offer travelers a unique opportunity for respectful cultural exchange.
Add excellent infrastructure, strong conservation efforts, and a growing portfolio of design-forward lodges, and Panama starts to feel less like a stopover, and more like the destination itself—a globally conscious country waiting to be explored.
About the founders
María Amelia Pezzotti & Iván Eskildsen
Iván and María Amelia founded OGAYA Travel from a shared conviction: that engagement with Panama’s landscapes and cultures can transform the way we see the world.
Iván, who grew up finding solace in nature and later served as Panama’s Minister of Tourism, brings an intimate understanding of the country’s natural and cultural wealth. María Amelia, a strategist with nearly two decades shaping high-impact projects across hospitality and travel, curates every detail of OGAYA’s luxury, regenerative journeys.
Together, they design experiences that connect travelers to Panama’s communities, ecosystems, and the kind of reflection only travel can inspire.