Don't Miss this Window of Opportunity …

Protect and Grow Your Nest Egg Now
in Easy, Affordable, Thriving Panama

Panama Profit Expedition

November 27 - December 4, 2010

Dear Reader,

When it comes to investing overseas, every so often (perhaps once in a generation) certain key factors come together in just the right way at just the right time. For the folks who notice – and act – the results can be life-changing. A portfolio shored up, expanded. The freedom. The control. The peace of mind that comes with a pampered retirement.

Just think about the people who bought in Costa Rica in the early 1980s or in Belize in the early 1990s. Properties they picked up for as little as $35,000 – maybe even less – list today for $250,000 … even $500,000. They got in before the crowds and rode a wave of prosperity.

Right now, you can do the same thing in Panama.

The timing is right. Panama's economy is on an upward trajectory. And with the U.S. in trouble, more and more retirees are going to be looking beyond their home borders to places where they can stretch their dollars overseas. Panama will be at the top of their list.

Right now, you can still get there early. In fact, we'll take you. We're headed back November 27 - December 4, 2010 to show a small group of thoughtful investors the best beachfront, city, and highland regions. We'll show you the best values and introduce you to the contacts you need on the ground so you can claim a foothold quickly and easily.

Panama makes sense today for all sorts of reasons, among them:

• Panama’s dollar-based economy is thriving. In 2010, Panama’s economy will grow no less than 5%, reports that nation’s Finance Minister And with the greenback as the local currency, business transactions here are easy.
• This country is the most sophisticated – and stable – banking haven in the Americas. A hub for banks from around the world, these institutions tend to be stronger, better capitalized, and more liquid than many U.S. banks, which means your wealth can be safe here.
• It boasts some of the best-value beachfront in the region on both its Caribbean and Pacific Coasts. (Along the Caribbean coast, for instance, $56,500 buys you a hillside lot with views of the barrier islands.)
• You’ll find exclusive tropical island properties with breathtaking beaches in a no-hurricane zone  … for well less than you’d pay elsewhere nearby. (A stone’s throw from the “playground of the wealthy” – and just as pretty – you can own your own island escape for as little as $15/square foot.)
• There’s a strong appetite for apartments and condos in vibrant, first-world Panama City. (Even Donald Trump is on this train with his Trump Ocean Club high rise.)
• The nation’s highlands offer spring-like weather year-round and gorgeous lots and homes  … where you can live like royalty on a secretary’s budget.
• The quality of healthcare is exceptional (many physicians are U.S.-trained)  … and costs a small fraction of what it would at home. Panama City is home to the only Johns-Hopkins associated facility in the region.
• Plus Panama’s retiree benefits are some of the best in the world. They include easy residency rules and discounts on everything from in-country travel to duty-free import of your household goods.

Those are just some of the reasons why we’re headed to Panama for a very special first class, insider’s introduction to this country. I’d like to invite you to join us  …

This Trip Offers the Ideal Mix of Business and Pleasure

You can expect the perfect mix of business and pleasure. We’ll introduce you to the best opportunities on offer for real estate investment and retirement living  … and to our reliable, well-informed contacts on the ground. That way you’re sure to understand the smartest, most-efficient way to take advantage of anything that may interest you.

I guarantee you’ll be impressed with the many compelling possibilities for profitable investing and good-value living – from exclusive beachfront in the Pearl Islands  …  … to mountain retreats  … to sandy oceanfront along the mainland coasts, including early-in opportunities on the turquoise Caribbean  …

We’ll show you places that make smart sense purely as investment plays  … to spots where the investment is sound, certainly  … but where, in addition, the lifestyle, views, and good-value living might well lure you to stay a few months or weeks a year  … maybe even full-time  …

Of course, you’ll also have plenty of time on this trip to relax  … bury your feet in the white sand on a palm-lined beach  … hike in the verdant hills where violet-capped hummingbirds flit  … tour the rainforest canopy  … or simply head to the spa.

On this trip, we’ll help you discover this country for yourself  … in a way you never could on your own.

Panama is Beautiful  … Bountiful  … and Booming

You’ll be wowed by what a beautiful – and bountiful – country Panama is. As Lonely Planet puts it, “  … you'll find it hard to shake the inescapable feeling that you're in on a secret the rest of the traveling world has yet to discover.”

From its lush interior, where coffee grows on hills that rise to cloud forests, rivers rush, and flowers bloom with abandon  … to its talcum-white, palm-lined beaches where you can luxuriate and relax at the water’s edge  … you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

They don’t refer to this country as “the Next Costa Rica” for nothing. It’s an eco-traveler’s paradise. On our last tour there, we saw a sloth, parrots, toucans, monkeys, and more …

It’s also a study in contrasts. Panama boasts extraordinary biodiversity (including more than 930 species of birds – more than just about any other place on the planet). And it’s culturally diverse and interesting, too. (The Kuna Indians, for instance, maintain their very traditional way of life, farming coconuts and fishing from dugout canoes.)

Yet Panama City is a vibrant, modern commercial and banking hub. It’s a city of sky-scrapers. A genuinely First-World metropolis that really works. In fact, it works so well that businesses are flocking there – among them Dell, Hewlett Packard, General Electric, Proctor & Gamble, Caterpillar and the United Nations – all of whom have decided to make Panama their regional headquarters.

I’ll tell you more about all of that in a minute.

But first, let me introduce our on-the-ground guides for this expedition as well as some of the specific things we’ll see and do …

Our Guide on the Ground is
Experienced and Well-Connected

We’re working hand-in-hand with real estate consultant Gail Geerling of Success in Central America. Gail, who has lived in the region for a decade now, was formerly International Living’s Nicaragua Office Director and managed the upscale Rancho Santana development on Nicaragua’s Pacific Coast. Gail specializes in teaching foreigners how to navigate the social, cultural, and business challenges they face when they come to Central America.

She knows this market in Panama inside and out, and so with her as your guide, you’re guaranteed to see the best properties on offer, get all your questions answered, learn the ins and outs of the buying process, and meet the most reliable people on the ground.

During this program we’ll introduce you to opportunities like  …

• Panama City apartment and condo deals. With so much new enterprise and so many retirees headed to Panama, the city is booming. But there's still an over-supply of apartments right now. That can work to your advantage. With the right contacts and the right negotiation (and we'll help you with both) you can land a fabulous place at a discount off the list price. This is when it really pays to be connected, and we'll make sure you are!
• We'll see the best of historic Casco Viejo as well – Panama City's UNESCO World Heritage neighborhood. This is where the French Embassy sits and is home to some stunning properties. Among them, for instance, is a property right near the French Embassy. It has a grand wood-banistered staircase, 3 or 4 bedrooms (depending on how you divide the rooms), 3.5 baths, and maid’s quarters. It lists at $425,000, but the owner has agreed to offer it to our tour participants for $395,000. (An historic place like this in Washington or Boston would cost you three times that.)
• The Pearl Islands – postcard-perfect with fine white, palm-lined beaches – are Panama’s emerging hot spot. The island of Contadora is where the local elite retreat (The Hampton’s of Panama). We’ll see it for ourselves. But also – just next door, only five minutes away – we’ll introduce you to an island that’s just as glorious  … but where you can own a swath of land for one-third the price (as little as $15 a square foot)!
• Highland retreats where the air is spring-like year-round, exotic birds nest in the trees, the pace is quiet, and the crowds have yet to settle in. While the community of Boquete is a well-established retreat for retirees  … the very best values there have faded. Yet just as attractive are places like El Valle, just beginning to be discovered  …
• Oceanfront on the mainland where you could have an apartment with a view an hour’s drive on good roads from Panama City. In this area, you’re not only near the water, but near great golfing, too. Here, close to the beach, you can own a lovely home with three-bedrooms, a pool, a landscaped garden, and all the furnishings for just $269,000.
• Pre-construction Caribbean deals you won't believe! We'll head to the Caribbean and see pre-construction deals for one-third less than most mainland offerings, including Caribbean hillside lots with views of the barrier islands and access to fresh water – just $80,000.
• A small B&B 45 minutes from Panama City – a block from the ocean. There's a main building plus 5 cabanas. The owner is asking $200,000 – but I'd say it's negotiable.

Expect First-Class Pampering …
from Beachfront Hideaways to a Rainforest Resort

In Panama City we’ll be based at the sophisticated Intercontinental Miramar Hotel, an elegant property in the heart of the financial center. Here you're waterfront right at the marina, in the thick of things.

There we’ll host a seminar to give you the lay of the land and a comfortable sense for the investment climate in Panama.

We’ll spend a day exploring the city, including the old quarter, Casco Viejo, which the New York Times recently predicted will be “a kind of South Beach-style hotbed of cafes, hotels and nightclubs.” (It’s not too late to ride this wave  … we’ll show you how.)

We’ll go by the striking Frank Gehry-designed Museum of Biodiversity, which is, in fact, not yet open to the public. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is affiliated here. The museum is visible from ships passing through the canal … and it’s quickly becoming Panama’s equivalent to the Sydney Opera House – an enduring symbol of the city. The museum is situated on the Amador Causeway, which is quickly becoming a weekend hotspot, with restaurants, bars, and a wonderful walk way where folks come to stroll, ride bikes, skateboard, and simply sit to watch the ships head through the canal.

Of course, you couldn’t come to Panama and not see the canal. So we’ll be sure to swing by the Miraflores Locks and museum one afternoon, where we’re sure to catch ships passing through  …

Up-Close-and-Personal with Sea Turtles, Parrots, and Monkeys

We’ll spend two nights at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort along the banks of the Chagres River. Here there’s an aerial tram that can take you, with a guide, through the forest canopy. This is one of the best bird-watching spots in the world – a must-do. You’ll see extraordinary bursts of color, like Blue Cotingas, Green Shrike-Vireos, and Yellow billed Tucans. And you just may spot some monkeys up there, too. Of course, you always have the option of retreating to the spa.

We’ll head to the Pearl Islands during this expedition as well  … a bastion of white sand and lush foliage in a turquoise sea. A collection of islands that look like quintessential Caribbean postcards.

We’ll have a chance to explore a lovely, good-value mountain community, too. In El Valle the weather is spring-like year-round and the fertile soil sprouts mounds of blossoms.

A resort area near Coronado is on our itinerary as well. This region is close to Panama City and a popular – and pretty – beach retreat where your dollars really stretch.

Of course, we’ve set up this program so you’ll see real estate all along the way. But we’ll only show you the opportunities that make the most sense. And if you decide one day you’d prefer to sit back and relax, that’s fine, too. As I said before, you can expect a good balance between business and pleasure  … and a truly pampered trip.

Please do be warned, though: We WILL do some walking on this expedition. So bring a comfortable pair of shoes!

I can guarantee you an exciting journey. Because there’s an energy – a sense of possibility – about Panama that’s contagious. Here’s why  …

The end of the American Century …
and the Beginning of Panama’s

Investment is pouring into Panama – from the States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. And that diversity is good. Because it means that even though the country uses the U.S. dollar as its currency (which is convenient for investors) it is not dependent on the U.S. for its prosperity.

Construction is driving the boom in Panama City, where cranes dominate the skyline today – reminiscent of Berlin when the wall came down. There are more than 400 projects either already underway or in the works. Expansion of the Panama Canal – a project that will double its capacity – is further bolstering the economic growth.

Plus this country is home to the second-largest free trade zone in the world – the biggest in the Americas. Every month, new businesses are flocking to Panama.

Panama is modernizing at a crazy clip. A new coastal road has slashed congestion in the city. A massive Panama Bay Cleanup program is underway. And now the president – a business-minded “get-things-done” guy – has announced a subway system is to go in.

As Jessica Ramesch, International Living’s Panama editor reported recently, “When I have lunch in the historic district, I notice everyone has a BlackBerry. The city skyline, one of Panama’s best-known features, is more Hong Kong-esque than ever. And the cultural offerings are staggering … from flamenco to opera to theater.”

Excellent Banking Privacy and Offshore Services

More than 130 banks operate here. And with an account in Panama, you open the door to investments in top-performing foreign stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and currencies not available in the U.S.

Here you can create trusts, corporations, foundations, holding companies – completely legally, largely tax-free, and affordably, too.

Panama Offers the World’s Best Retiree
Discount and Incentive Program

If you come to Panama as a retiree, you can take advantage of this country’s Pensioner Visa program, which makes it easy to live well on a budget.

That’s because it allows you to take 50% off entertainment anywhere in the country, 30% off bus, boat, and train fares, 25% off airline tickets, 15% off hospital bills, 20% off doctor’s visits, 25% off your electricity bill, 50% off closing costs for home loans … and more …

You can bring you household goods in duty-free. And you won’t pay tax on the car you import or buy locally, either.

Affordable, First World Living for a Fraction
of What it Costs Back Home

And Panama is affordable, too. It’s not the cheapest place in Latin America. But then again, what you're paying for is the good infrastructure. The connectedness. The First World offerings. That said, it's hardly as expensive as life is up north.

Here you can see a first run movie for less than $3  … or eat a good lunch out for $5. You can live comfortably (including a maid to help out a day or two a week) for less than $1,500 a month. Increase your monthly budget to $2,500 or $3,000, and you can live extremely well.

Excellent-quality medical care here typically costs about half what you’d pay up north. (The Punta Pacifica Hospital in Panama City is associated with Johns Hopkins and lots of doctors here were trained in the States.)

Need a new hip? In the U.S. it costs $20,000. In Panama? $12,000. Cataract Surgery? $5,000-$6,000 up north  … $2,500 in Panama.

You can buy private health insurance for much less than it costs in the States. And the prices for prescription drugs are lower, too, since manufacturers price them for the market. Not only that, but many drugs that require a prescription in the States you can buy over-the-counter in Panama.

The Most Efficient, Enjoyable, Cost-Effective Way to Discover Panama as You Never Could on Your Own

Whether you’re interested in diversifying and sheltering your nest egg outside the U.S. markets  … looking for a welcoming, good-value place you can spend a few weeks or months a year  … or maybe even trolling for a full-time escape outside the States or Canada  …

This program is the most efficient, enjoyable way to make it happen.

Plus I can guarantee you a relaxing, satisfying escape as well. A real vacation of the sort you’ll be talking about for years. You can expect insider access, VIP treatment, luxurious comforts, and good company, too. That’s what we’re known for. And our past attendees join us again and again for exactly those reasons.

You'll meet extremely high-caliber, qualified experts in their fields – developers, bankers, property managers, attorneys specializing in residency and in offshore structures, and so on. We'll introduce you to local expatriates, too, so you have a chance to talk with people who have already done what you're considering.

Given the current economic crisis and political situation at home, I suspect our limited number of seats will fill up even more quickly than I’d expected.

This isn’t any sort of cattle-car trip. We won’t be herding people around. We have room for just 18 all told.

So if you’d like me to reserve a place for you (and perhaps a companion as well)  … simply shoot me a quick email at info@opptravel.comand I’ll get right back to you.

Or pick up the phone and call us here toll-free at 1-800-926-6575 ext. 105 or direct at 1-561-243-6276 ext. 105.

We look forward to discovering this vibrant, opportunity-rich nation with you. I do hope you’ll join us.

Warmly,

Barbara Perriello
Director, Opportunity Travel

P.S. We have various discounts available for our past tour-goers and for VIP members of Agora’s publications. Naturally, this being a value-seekers’ expedition, we’ll arrange the very best deal available for you.

P.P.S. Read on below for a day-by-day itinerary and reservation details …