Panama Canal Tour: Explore Agua Clara Locks

Explore the Panama Canal’s engineering wonders on a 3 Locks Tour, from Atlantic to Pacific, with stunning views and rich history.

Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Agua Clara Locks - Part of the Panama Canal Expansion, the Agua Clara Locks were inaugurated in 2016 on the Atlantic side near Colón. These state-of-the-art locks are designed to accommodate the enormous Neo-Panamax vessels, which are too large for the original locks. The complex features rolling gates and water-saving basins that recycle 60% of…
What's Included
  • Experienced guide (English or Spanish)
  • City Hotel pickup and drop off
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • 1 Bottled Water
  • Snacks (1 chip)
What's Not Included
  • Panama Canal entrances fee ($10 per person, 1 ticket works for both locks)
  • Lunch (We provide snacks)
Additional Information

The tour kicks off with a convenient pickup from your hotel, hostel, or Airbnb in Panama City. The journey takes about an hour to reach the Atlantic side, where you’ll visit the remarkable Agua Clara Locks, part of the Panama Canal’s expansion and the sole location to witness Neo-Panamax ships in transit. With a guaranteed view of ships either at Agua…

Location
Agua Clara Locks
Avenida Bolivar, Lago Gatun
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(3 Ratings)
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Pigbro
Apr 10, 2026
Best way to see the Panama Canal if your goal is to actually see locks in operation. - We had visited Miraflores and because of poor timing, missed seeing any ships. This tour seemed like a good way to see what we had missed out on at a reasonable price. Note that in addition to the cost of the tour, you will need to buy a $10 ticket that will get you admission to both sets of locks. It's advised to buy them online ahead of time because there can be a line at the ticket booth which can cut into your limited viewing time at the locks. We were picked up right on time. The 15 seat bus was very nice, and our guide Rafael, made the hour or so ride to Colon go by very quickly by providing an informative and entertaining presentation about the history of Panama and the Canal. Then we arrived at the "New" Agua Clara locks. The viewing platform is amazing and sits high above the massive locks. Apparently there is a short film but we chose to just stay on the platform and marvel at the massive container ship passing through the locks. After about an hour we departed for the old Gatun locks, passing across the "Puente Atlántico" bridge. On the way we enjoyed a nice snack that was provided for us and even stopped on the side of the road, where Rafael guided us to a sloth in a nearby tree. We then spent about another 45 minutes at Gatun locks which present quite a contrast to the new locks. I think at Gatun we saw 4 or 5 ships go through. This is a two lane lock system so ships go in both directions at once although the size of ships is much smaller than Agua Clara. On the way back to Panama City, Rafael gave us more great information about things to do and places to eat in the city. For the money, you won't find a better value than this tour, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better guide than Rafael.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Annette_b
Mar 27, 2026
Very knowledgeable tour... - Very knowledgeable tour guide. Enthusiastic and personable. Highly recommend visitors to Panama Canal use this guide and driver.
Review provided by Viator
Isabelle
Jan 27, 2026
Great tour with great guide - Our guide, Saul, was absolutely the best of all the guides we've had so far. The tour was very interesting and educational. Saul is very knowledgeable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $49
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).