2027 confirmedFull hotel program

Costa Rica Kosher Adventures

Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort

Rio Hato, Panama

The operator is advertising Pesach 2027 on its own website.

Visit the operator’s website Write the first review

Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort, from the operator's website — Photo from Costa Rica Kosher Adventures’s website.

The CRKA team takes over the whole Playa Blanca beach resort on Panama's Pacific coast, two hours from Panama City, with an eruv for Shabbat. Food is glatt and cholov yisroel with no kitniyot (gebrokts is served), supervised by Rabbi David Eshkenazi of Panama's Shevet Ahim kashrut board. Guided Chol Hamoed trips to Panama City, the Canal and the Anton Valley are part of the program.

Dates: Apr 21-30, 2027 (9 nights); pre-night Apr 20 and post-stay Apr 30-May 2 optional
Price: From about $9,000 per person
Operator’s track record: Operator in business since 1994.Operator has run Passover programs since 1994; site calls Panama 'a new location'.
Whole hotel: The program takes over the whole hotel
Setting: Beach, Resort
Languages: English
Contact: kosherletters@gmail.com

Kashrut and standards

Taken from the operator’s own website. A dashed outline means the operator hasn’t said, not that the answer is no.

Supervision: Rabbi David Eshkenazi, Vaad HaKashrut Shevet Ahim, Panama
Who it suits: Mixed/all welcome

Who is the supervisor?

The names below come from the operator. Each links to a page of what public sources say, with the sources.

Shevet Ahim Kosher (Kosher Panamá), Sociedad Israelita Shevet Ahim
Kosher certification of the Shevet Ahim Jewish community of Panama.
On the cRc agency list
Rabbi David Eshkenazi
No public source linked yet. That says nothing about him either way. Ask the operator the questions below.

Worth asking the operator

Who signs the kashrut certificate for this program, and can I see this year’s certificate?
How many years has he supervised this operator’s Pesach programs, and this hotel in particular?
Does an agency or beth din stand behind the certificate, or is it his personal hechsher?
Is he in the hotel for the whole of Yom Tov, and how many mashgichim work under him?

Everyone named for kashrut supervision

Gebrokts is servedCholov YisroelGlatt meatPas YisroelShmura matzahSeparate swimmingNo kitniyot

Ask before you book

The operator’s website doesn’t state these. If any matter to you, get the answer in writing:

Pas Yisroel
Separate swimming

Standards can change from year to year. Confirm with the operator and your own rav.

The hotel

About the building itself, all year round. The Pesach program is run by the operator, not the hotel.

Photo from Costa Rica Kosher Adventures’s website, number 1 — Photos from costaricakosheradventures.com. They belong to their owners; tap one to see it on their website.

Address: Decameron, Farallon, Coclé, Panama

Hotel details from © OpenStreetMap contributors, checked 2026-10-03. Confirm with the hotel before you rely on them.

Ratings and reviews of the hotel

These are year-round guests rating the hotel, not Pesach guests rating the program. For the program, see the guest reviews further down.

Google reviews Tripadvisor Booking.com

Food

Glatt kosher meals from separate meat and dairy kitchens in a main dining room, plus three specialty outlets: fish, vegetarian/vegan and an Italian coffee house.

Plated dinnersTea roomCommunal seder

Entertainment and activities

Lectures & shiurimDay trips & touringSpaWater sportsFitness & yoga

In the operator’s words: gebrokts served, chalav Yisrael, no kitniyot, mevushal wine, airport transfers included, kids camp on Shabbat and Yom Tov, trips to Panama City, the Canal and El Valle de Anton, zipline, waterfalls and water sports, lectures.

Kids and teens

Day campTeen programBabysitting or infant care

Kids' camp on Shabbat and festival days only.

Price

From 9,000 USD

Per room, single occupancy, full 9-night stay, including tips, taxes and service

That works out to roughly $9,000 per person in US dollars, which is the figure we use to compare programs. Exchange rates as of early October 2026.

From $9,000 per room (single); $12,000 for two, $14,000 for four, all-in

Check what’s added on top: many programs add taxes, service charges and tips of 20 to 25 percent. Work out your real total.

Getting there

Where are you flying from?

There is a nonstop flight from New York (JFK), about 5 hours in the air.

Panama City lists year-round nonstops from New York JFK, Newark, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago O'Hare, Toronto and Paris Charles de Gaulle. No nonstops from London or Tel Aviv. Río Hato's own airport lists only a seasonal winter flight from Toronto.

Most North American travelers fly to Panama City and take a transfer of about two hours to the beach.

Routes come from each airport’s published route list, checked October 2026. Flight times are estimates from the distance. Airlines change schedules, so confirm before you book (route list we used).

From the airport

Tocumen International Airport, Panama City (PTY): about 2 hours by carPanama's main international airport; nearly all visitors arrive here and drive west along the Pan-American Highway.
Scarlett Martínez International Airport, Río Hato (RIH): about 10 minutes by carA small airport next to the beach resorts, used mostly by winter charter flights.

Late April weather

Hot and mostly dry, with highs around 91°F (33°C) and nights near 75°F (24°C); the Pacific is warm at about 82°F (28°C) and good for swimming.

Good to know

Panama is one hour behind New York in late April.
Panama uses the US dollar (the local balboa exists only as coins of the same value).
US passport holders do not need a visa for a vacation stay; other passports should check entry rules.
A rental car or arranged transfers are needed; the resort is about two hours from Panama City.

The hotel on Google Maps

Google’s star rating and reviews are for Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort all year round, not for the Pesach program.

Read the reviews

This content is hosted by Google Maps, which may set cookies.

Safety and travel advisories

What governments say about travel to this country. Nothing here is this site’s own judgment.

US State Department travel advisory for Panama

Level 2 of 4: Exercise increased caution

Reasons the advisory gives: crime.
The advisory treats some parts of the country differently. Read it for the area you are going to.
The level is for the whole country, not for the hotel or its neighborhood. Level 1 is the lowest of the four and Level 4 the highest.
Advisory dated August 18, 2026; I read it on October 4, 2026. Levels change, so open the advisory before you book and again before you fly.

Read the US advisory UK government advice

This is the governments’ own wording, not a rating by this site. Israel’s National Security Council also publishes travel warnings for Israelis abroad. Ask the operator what security the program itself arranges, such as guards and entry checks.

Things to do near Río Hato (Playa Blanca)

Ideas for chol hamoed. Check opening times before you go; some places close or get very busy during the holiday.

El Valle de Antón
Nature, about 50 min away
A cool mountain town inside an old volcanic crater, with a craft market, waterfalls, hot springs and easy hikes.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Chorro El Macho waterfall and canopy
Adventure, about 55 min away
A tall waterfall near El Valle with hanging bridges and a zipline course through the forest.
Good for teens, couples
Playa Blanca and Farallón beach
Beach, about 0 min away
The long stretch of pale sand in front of the resorts, with calm water for swimming.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Santa Clara beach
Beach, about 15 min away
A wide public beach a short drive east, with simple seafood shacks and gentle surf.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Penonomé
Shopping, about 35 min away
The provincial capital, known for its market and for traditional handwoven Panama-style hats.
Good for couples, grandparents
Natá de los Caballeros
History, about 45 min away
A small town with one of the oldest churches still standing on the American mainland.
Good for couples, grandparents
Panama Canal at Miraflores Locks
History, about 110 min away
The visitor center where you watch ships pass through the locks; a long day trip, often combined with the old city.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents

More about this destination

Guest reviews

No guest reviews yet. Ratings on this site only ever come from guests, so this program has no score until someone who went writes one.

Were you there? Tell other families how it went

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Where this information comes from

Checked on October 4, 2026. These are the pages we read:

Run this program, or spotted a mistake? Send a correction.

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