Privacy and cookie notice

This notice explains what data bayanocaves.com collects and why. It is a courtesy translation: the Spanish version is the one that governs. It complements our Terms and conditions rather than replacing them.

Who is responsible for your data

BAYANO CAVES, S.A., trading as Bayano Ecolodge, on Lake Bayano, Comarca Madungandí, district of Chepo, province of Panama.

For anything concerning your personal data, write to bayanocavespty@gmail.com or call +507 6861-6560.

This notice is governed by Panama's Law 81 of 26 March 2019 on the Protection of Personal Data and its implementing regulation, Executive Decree 285 of 28 May 2021.

What we collect, and where it comes from

This website has no forms of its own. Personal data reaches us through four routes, and in each one you choose to provide it:

• Site measurement. When you browse bayanocaves.com we collect usage data through Google Analytics 4: pages viewed, time on page, device and browser type, approximate country or region, and the link you arrived from. This route does not collect your name or your exact address.
• Day-trip request. The "Book a day trip" button takes you to a form hosted on Google Forms, where you give us your name, phone, email, date and party size.
• Lodging reservation. The booking button takes you to Cloudbeds, our reservation system, where you provide whatever that system asks in order to confirm and pay for your stay.
• Direct contact. If you write to us on WhatsApp or by email, we keep that exchange and whatever data you include in it.

What we use each one for

• Measurement data tells us which pages get read and which do not, so we can improve the site. We only ever look at it in aggregate, never to identify a person.
• Day-trip and reservation data is used to confirm and organise your visit, coordinate the boat and the meals, and keep a record of who takes part in the tour.
• Contact data is used to reply to you.

We do not sell your data, we do not pass it to third parties for advertising, and we do not send you marketing email unless you ask for it.

Cookies: what they are and which ones we use

A cookie is a small file a website stores in your browser to remember something between visits.

This site uses two kinds:

• Necessary. They remember your light or dark theme preference and your answer to this cookie notice. Without them the site does not work properly, and they identify nobody. They stay in your browser and never leave it.
• Measurement, optional. Set by Google Analytics 4 under the identifier G-HKBF55FSF8. They are called _ga and _ga_HKBF55FSF8, they tell one visit from another without knowing who you are, and they expire after two years.

Measurement cookies are not installed until you accept them. If you ignore the notice, or choose to decline, the site works exactly the same and you are not measured.

You can change your mind at any time from the "Cookies" link in the footer, or delete stored cookies from your browser settings.

Who else sees your data

To operate we rely on third-party services that process data on our behalf, each with its own privacy policy:

• Google (Analytics and Forms), to measure the site and receive day-trip requests.
• Cloudbeds, our lodging reservation system.
• Netlify, the company that hosts this website.
• Booking.com and Hostelworld, when a reservation comes through one of those channels rather than our own site.

These providers and their servers are located outside Panama, so your data may be processed abroad. We chose them because they offer data-protection safeguards equivalent to those Panamanian law requires.

How long we keep it

Reservation and day-trip data is kept for as long as our relationship with you lasts, and afterwards for the period required by applicable accounting and tax obligations in Panama. Measurement data is kept for the retention period configured in Google Analytics. WhatsApp and email exchanges are kept for as long as they are useful in assisting you.

Your rights

Law 81 gives you the right to access your data, correct it if it is wrong, have it deleted, object to our processing it, and ask us to hand it over in a portable format.

To exercise any of these, write to bayanocavespty@gmail.com stating which right you wish to exercise and something that lets us locate you, such as the date of your visit or the email you booked with. We will respond within the periods set by law.

If you believe we did not handle your request properly, you may turn to the National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (ANTAI), the body that enforces Law 81 in Panama.

Children

This site is not aimed at children and we do not knowingly collect their data. When a child visits the ecolodge, their data is provided by the responsible adult, under the terms of our Terms and conditions.

Security

We apply reasonable measures to protect the information you entrust to us and limit access to the people who need it in order to assist you. No internet-connected system is completely invulnerable; should an incident affect your personal data, we will act as Law 81 requires.

Changes to this notice

If we change how we handle your data, we will update this notice and the date shown below. We suggest reviewing it whenever you book again.

Last updated: 21 September 2026.