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Next trip with availability: Panama Survival Adventure

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Celebrating 10 years in the wild, 2016 to 2026. Read the story ->

85 Days Away

4 Spots Left

The Panama Survival Expedition

By Tom Williams, winner of Channel 4’s Alone

Learn new skills, survive with your tribe, and celebrate a story you’ll carry for life.

From:

£3,600

Duration:

11 days

Date:

1 Dec 2026

Max People:

12

Min Age:

18+

★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · 1,000+ adventurers

Reserve Your Spot Now

Only £490 deposit

the Adventure

11 days. 8 of them living wild on a private 560-acre island: 5 days of hands-on training, then 3 days of true survival.

Our adventures follow a simple arc: Learn → Survive → Celebrate.

Learn · Days 1-6

Day one is a poolside briefing and a proper dinner with the people you’ll spend the next ten days with. The next morning, a boat to your own castaway island, where jungle meets white sand. Five days training in survival bushcraft with world-class instructors: fire by friction, fishing, shelter-building, navigation and cooking with your tribe. Nights are for hammocks strung between palms, and marshmallows over the fire.

Survive · Days 7-9

Then comes the challenge: three raw days with only a handful of tools and your new tribe. Build shelter, purify water, catch food, and face the wild together. It’s tough. But when you grill your own fish as the Pacific sun dips below the horizon, you’ll know you’ve never felt more alive.

Celebrate · Days 10-11

Return to civilisation with resilience, stories and friends for life. A survival feast, a last night of hotel comfort and one of the best showers of your life, and a farewell celebration.

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Two sea turtles, part of the incredible animals of Panama, rest on a sandy beach—one in sharp focus in the foreground.Smoldering campfire with driftwood and dried leaves on a sandy desert island beach.Survival skills on a desert island, showing a person digging in the sand near a hammock and palm trees, highlighting.Bioluminescent shore on a tropical desert island, glowing waves, night beach scene, survival tips, marine life.

Key Facts

Location

Private 560-acre island in Panama’s Pearl Islands. Only 60 miles from Panama City, no domestic transfers.

Length

11 days / 10 nights. Hands-on but manageable.

Group Size

8-12 people. Small enough to connect, big enough for team energy.

Difficulty

Tough but achievable. If you can swim and walk, you’re ready. No experience needed.

What You’ll Actually Do

Swim through glowing plankton after dark.

Watch turtles nesting on untouched beaches.

Cook dinner over a fire you made yourself.

Sleep in hammocks under the stars.

Explore a rainforest alive with exotic birdlife.

…and you’ll do all of it with world-class instructors, several of them Alone veterans. Meet the team →

The Day-by-Day

  • Day 1: Panama City. We meet at the hotel for your expedition briefing and a relaxed dinner with your new tribe. An early night before the wild.
  • Day 2: Speedboat to the Pearl Islands. A 90-minute run from the harbour to your private 560-acre island. Orientate, set hammocks, build your shelter, cook over the fire as the Pacific sun drops.
  • Day 3: Friction fire and first catch. The oldest skill there is, learned the hard way in the morning; fishing the shoreline for supper in the afternoon.
  • Day 4: Foraging the ocean’s larder. Open a coconut, twist up a handline, catch, prepare and cook your own fish, and try a hand spear. We crack fresh green coconuts straight from the palms.
  • Day 5: Slowing to island time. Off the grid, the outside world goes quiet. Tonight the tribe cooks together and marshmallows go on the fire.
  • Day 6: Readying for the 72-hour phase. Gathering resources and a straight talk about the mindset survival really takes. Tomorrow you’re on your own.
  • Day 7-9: The survival phase begins. Three raw days. Instructors to the far side of the island, a handful of tools, and a tribe that has to make it work. Shelter, water, fire, food, in that order. The Pacific provides if you’ve learned to read it, and after dark the bioluminescent plankton lights the water.
  • Day 10: Rescue. Nothing looks better than the boats. Breakfast and a long shower at the hotel, then a celebration that night.
  • Day 11: Departure. Back at the Panama City harbour around noon, 60 miles and a world away from where you started.

This is the shape of the expedition, not a fixed timetable. The exact training days flex with the weather and conditions, that’s part of the adventure.

Is This For You? Is It Safe?

NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED

The first five days are survival-light, building your skills and confidence before the real test. It is a genuine challenge, and that is exactly the point: most people call it a reset like nothing else.

YOUR SAFETY COMES FIRST

Sites are handpicked to avoid real hazards, every instructor is wilderness-first-aid certified, we run on a system of informed consent, and you stay in contact with the team throughout.

CHANGED YOUR MIND?

A 7-day cool-off with a full refund, flexible rescheduling up to 90 days before departure, and our safety promise.

What’s Included

  • 1 uninhabited private island
  • 5 days of survival training by a world-class bushcraft guide
  • General kit (hammocks, camping gear, machetes, etc.)
  • 3-day survival challenge
  • 1 night in Panama City (twin, shared)
  • 1 night in a boutique island hotel (twin, shared)
  • All food and drinks (limited alcohol)
  • All transfers

What’s Not Included

  • International flights
  • Airport transfers
  • Visas, if required
  • Personal travel insurance
  • Personal kit. You can check out the general kit list here, however, we will be sending you a more detailed version after booking.
  • Personal expenses

Solo

SOLO SURVIVAL TRACK –
Limited to 2 Spots

Train with the group for five days, then face the survival challenge alone. No tribe, just you, your beach and everything you’ve learned.

Same structure. Different challenge. Only 2 spots per departure.

Ask about solo availability WhatsApp us

More Trip Details

Read our Reviews

“We had an incredible 8 days on our Panamanian island experience. Tom and Azrael were fantastic hosts and instructors, equipping us with the skills and mindset to succeed.”
Letter M in a red circleMelanie Grenfell
“Just got back from the Desert Island Survival Panama trip and it was absolutely incredible… KSA — Knowledge, Skills & Ability to actually complete the mission and thrive.”
Child pointing at a doll in a high chairRhonda S.
“My time with Desert Island Survival in Panama this March was, quite literally, life-changing… living by the tides and the sun made the days feel long in the best way possible.”
Man with blonde hair pulled back, wearing a tan blazer over a white shirt.Dalaney Davis

All upcoming departures

7-Day Cool Off

Flexibility

Safety

FAQs

It starts and ends in Panama City, Panama. We meet at the hotel no later than 5pm; book your return flight for the final day after 3pm.

Our expeditions in Panama are typically led by the insanely talented Tom McElroy. We feel very fortunate to have these immensely talented and special humans teaching. They aren’t just amongst the world’s most talented bushcraft instructors; they are also some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet. You can check out their bios on our about page here.

When it comes to bushcraft survival, less is more. It is all about learning to improvise using your surroundings from making rope from the bark of a hibiscus tree to a trap out of a water bottle. However, we do encourage you to bring a basic kit list of appropriate clothes, a knife, headtorch, and water bottle. We bring the rest of the kit from your hammock to your machete.

Our island expeditions are typically 11 days long. The first and last day are spent at a boutique hotel, and the 8 days sandwiched between on the desert island. The first 5 nights on the island are your bushcraft course. This is survival light, where you learn all the skills to equip you for the final 3-day survival phase. For these 5 nights, you are sleeping in a hammock, eating very well, playing all sorts of games, and passing around a bottle of rum around the fire. The final 3 days after this are your survival phase, the true test of your mettle before you are rescued and head to what now feels like a 10-star hotel.

When it comes to deserted islands, we don’t mess around with safety. We carefully handpick islands that won’t try to eat you or drag you away with strong ocean currents. Plus, we make sure to give you a full safety briefing so you know what to do if you accidentally step on a crab or get a sunburn. Our instructors are wilderness first aid certified, so you’re in good hands. And while we can’t promise to keep you completely out of harm’s way, we’ll make sure you’re aware of any risks with our system of informed consent. Check out this page for more info on the exciting dangers you might face on our expeditions.

You’ll learn the following bushcraft skills:

  • Fire making: Bow drill, hand drill, bamboo fire saw as well as fire steel.
  • Making Coconut bowls and utensils.
  • Traps and hunting.
  • Jungle sanitation and hygiene.
  • How to make cordage from natural fibres.
  • Coconuts: opening, making coconut cream and various uses.
  • Primitive spearfishing
  • Palm weaving.
  • Knot tying.
  • Shelter: building techniques.
  • Water: physiology, collection and purification.
  • Identification of flora and fauna for food, fire and other utilities.
  • Fishing techniques: Making and using traps, spears.
  • Fish identification, preparing and cooking fish.
  • Traditional cooking methods: Bamboo pot, leaf wraps, clay bakes and smoking racks.
  • Rescue: Techniques for gaining attention.

On the first night, we’ll venture out from the hotel for a tasty meal. The following morning, we’ll indulge in a cooked breakfast at the hotel before making our way to the island where we’ll set up camp and cook our meals over an open fire on the beach. 

For the next five days, we’ll pamper you with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, ranging from flavorful Thai fish curries to pasta dishes infused with red wine and chorizo. We’ll also teach you how to wrap and prepare fish using natural leaves and cordage to cook directly on the coals.

After five days of indulging in scrumptious food while learning, it’s time for you to put your newly acquired skills to the test and survive on your own findings and catches. Upon rescue, we’ll kick off your return with a brunch that’s sure to satisfy any cravings. Later that evening, we’ll take you to a charming Italian restaurant on Contadora Island, known for its unbeatable pizzas that are out of this world. Trust us; you won’t be disappointed.

Vegetarian or other dietary requirements? Don’t worry we will adapt the menu for you.

All hotel accommodation is on shared basis. Single room supplement is available and can be requested on the booking form. However, this is subject to availability.

The first night we meet at the Hotel Riande Urban in Panama City. The hotel is located in the heart of Panama City and offers modern amenities, a stylish ambiance and a tropical garden pool, making it a perfect starting point for our adventure.

During the training phase you will sleep in an expedition Hennessy Hammock with built in mosquito nets. You will learn how to build your own sleeping space in the wild for your survival phase.

The last night we stay at the Mar y Oro, a luxurious hotel located on the beautiful island of Contadora in Panama. It offers stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and lush greenery surroundings.

Not ready to commit to 11 days? Start with the free 72hr Challenge, the smallest version of the idea.

Try the 72hr Challenge (free)
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