Panama Canal Boat Tour: Wildlife and History

12 Ratings

Panama City

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Immerse yourself in the captivating wildlife and rich history of the Panama Canal on a thrilling Gatun Lake experience. Encounter crocodiles, toucans, sloths, and more while witnessing the daily operations of this iconic waterway.

Duration: 3 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Panama City - We pick up all guests from their lodgings in Panama City.
Pick up time between at 7:00 am.
Gatun Lake - As we embark on a boat ride along the Gatur Lake. It is located in the Panama Canal so we will drive inside the famous Canal, encountering large ships. Your English speaking tour guide will talk about the history and…

What's Included

Bottled water provided
English-speaking tour guide
Boat tour along the Panama Canal
Shared car and boat transportation included

Additional Information

Get a direct experience of being inside the Panama Canal and engage yourself in its captivating history, daily operations, and thriving wildlife amidst the rich green rainforest. Marvel at the enormous vessels that glide by us with ease and absorb the sounds of the surrounding nature. Encounter a range of wild animals such as crocodiles, toucans,…

Location

Panama City

Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings

4.2

(12 Ratings)

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1 star

Sarah_k

Apr 3, 2024

Gatun lake and monkey island tour - Daniel was a wonderful guide. He picked us up on time and was full of information about everything on the drive to Gamboa. Here we boarded a small high speed boat and motored from the Chagres river into the Panama Canal and on to lake Gatun. We went directly to monkey island where we saw Howlers, Capucins and Tamarind monkeys. The Capucins in particular were great fun running all around us on the boat, one of them even stole my brother in law's sunglasses! We motored to various other islands and saw crocodiles more Howler monkeys and a special view of a sloth. We then returned to Gamboa and back to our hotel. Be prepared for an early start (6am) for this tour to get there early while the animals are most active. Highly recommend this tour!!

Review provided by Viator

Gustav_n

Mar 5, 2023

Don't miss this! - We had such a great trip with Ana Lorena! Loved every minute of it. She picked us up early, which we highly recommend because 1.) we were the only two people on the boat besides Ana Lorena and our Capitan, and 2.) we were the first ones to arrive at Monkey Island so the monkeys were eager for breakfast. We managed to see all 4 of the varieties of resident monkeys, up close and personal. On our return to the City, Ana Lorena stopped so we could watch a ship go through the last lock before Lake Gatún. It was very impressive to see the Canal in action.This tour was one of the highlights of our two week trip to lovely Panamá.

Review provided by Viator

Joanne_s

Jan 31, 2022

Exciting Morning Escape from the City - Our Tour Guide Alex picked us up around 7:30am from Central Hotel Panama in Casco Viejo (he was picking up another couple before us, which accounted for the slight delay), and we headed to Gamboa port for our boat. The 3-hour total trip was so much fun!! We saw three different types of monkeys that were hanging on branches right in front of us about 20 feet away, plus we saw different bird species. It was super cool being in the middle of the Panama Canal, knowing the history and significant of this modern wonder of the world. If you want a short morning tour that focuses mostly on wildlife, this one is highly recommend!

Review provided by Viator

Roshanna_w

Jan 16, 2022

Wonderful Tour - The tour was amazing. Our guide Daniel was wonderful, he made any stops that we requested on the way to the tour and also on the way back home. Definitely a great experience. You get to experience the monkeys coming on the boat and grabbing peanuts out of your hands; also you see all the big ships passing to enter the locks. I would recommend this trip especially with Daniel being the tour guide.

Review provided by Viator

Cynthia_h

Dec 30, 2021

Perfect for anyone of all ages - Great adventure with my a senior and kid. Such fun seeing the monkeys and riding down the Canal. Highly recommend

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Maureen

Dec 21, 2021

Great way to experience the Panama Canal! - This excursion combined both exploring nature and wildlife as well as learning about the history of the canal and witnessing how it works. Daniel was a wonderful guide and we spoke both Spanish and English. We saw many different monkeys, a crocodile, plenty of birds, and a large iguana. We only had a couple of days to spend in Panamá and this was a worthwhile tour. We followed with a self guided tour of Casco Antiguo.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Brinaa25

Dec 3, 2022

Very Fun ! - The tour was very fun . The monkeys were beautiful. Our guide Franklin was very kind and informative!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Brunnao409

Jan 3, 2022

Okay - Extremely overpriced for what it is! Don’t go expecting to see many monkeys either depending on the day, we only saw one. The guide was nice, but the tour is literally a boat ride on the Panama Canal looking for monkeys in the small islands. There’s little to no information given the whole time.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Samarth_d

Jan 6, 2022

I was under the... - I was under the impression that we will get to see many animals and then go through the canal/locks. But we only saw 3 monkeys and one big ship go through. If you have young kids then the trip might be something to think about. Otherwise most of the time was in the car or boat

Review provided by Viator

Erin_s

Mar 11, 2022

They canceled me - It made me give one star. I would give zero. They canceled my trip and let me know at like 8p the night before because they needed a minimum of two people and there was just me. They offered me other trips and I hated to take the risk. I booked through someone else and that was a sure thing. It also took me a couple days to get them to refund my money. I called PayPal and opened a dispute.

Review provided by Viator

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minimum 2 guests

up to 15 guests

2 Adult