I don't have a lot of specifics to add to the earlier reviews, except to say how awesome it was to have a tour director (Garceth, the owner of the business) who is himself an Embera and grew up in a village much like the one that we visited (in Darien, not in the area that we visited on the tour) and thus knows the local language and culture as an insider, not a Western outsider. I was a bit concerned ahead of time that the visit might feel exploitative, but Garceth's presence ensured that it was nothing like that. Instead, we felt like we had stumbled into a National Geographic documentary. The people were warm and friendly and eager to have us learn about their culture, and they tried their best to communicate with us in Spanish. (Don't expect more than a few words of English.) Their handicrafts were truly amazing--I wished that I had brought more money with me so that I could take more objects home to display while also helping them financially. It was so cool to be able to buy a rosewood iguana that was hand-carved by their chief, who personally wrapped it up for me! All seven of us in our group of middle-aged Americans agreed that this was the best thing that we did during our nearly two weeks in Panama. And the price was good, too--notably cheaper than any of the other tour operators if you take a rental car and follow Garceth out to the boat launch site rather than having him transport you there. Don't miss this opportunity!!!

We were on a private tour,just the two of us and a guide. The village we visited was very small in number, just one family. They wore native costumes and were very nice and informative, serving us a traditional meal. Unfortunately, they had no handmade goods to sell us. The attention we got was fabulous, our guide wonderful, however, at the end of the visit one must wonder how much of this is just another tourist ploy.