luv2travel3

I think they are both great tours. If you only have a day in Panama, the case with Panama Canal cruises that actually stop in Panama, you have to decide what interests you the most ... culture, history, nature, or the Canal itself.

 

If your interest is cultural ... the Authentic Embera Village Tour is best. Nature ... one of the boat tours around Gatun Lake, rain forest hikes, "monkey island" and the like. History ... Old Panama, Casco Viejo [Colonial Panama], one of the forts. The Canal itself ... probably the Canal Ferry tour is best unless you are already doing a complete transit on the ship. If you're a railroad buff ... the train.

 

Some tours try to incorporate a little of this and a little of that, but those tours is my my opinion aren't that well designed, just skim the surface and come off as being "touristy." You need an entire day, i.e. longer tour, to see most of the really interesting things if you're port is Colon. If you're stopping on the Pacific side [Amador/Fuerte Amador] and are the independent sort you can see a whole lot on the Hop On Hop Off bus. If you want the Authentic Embera Indian Village experience it is an entire day excursion for either side.

 

Regards, Richard

Thanks

Great chance to experience the Canal up close and personal and see significant areas, like Culebra/Gaillard Cut and Miraflores Locks, that you wouldn't otherwise see on a partial transit.

 

Boarding the Ferry ...

 

 

Reach out and touch the Canal ...

 

 

Regards, Richard

After reading your article on the Embera Indians I am trying to decide which excursion to do? Any advice.

This is what we are considering booking - thoughts. We are on a partial transit and doubt we will be able to visit the Panama Canal again. It is about a 6 hr excursion and we get dropped off in colon at the next port.

Experience the full wonder of the Panama Canal with a crossing of the canal by tour boat on this daylong adventure. Travel by ship's tender to the Gatun Yacht Club, where you will board an air-conditioned transportation for the narrated drive through the isthmus to the small village of Gamboa. Located on the banks of the Chagres River and the Panama Canal, Gamboa lies in the heart of Panama's 55,000-acre Soberania National Park. Large tracts of lowland tropical rainforests that nourish thriving plants and harbor enchanting animal populations surround the village.

From Gamboa, embark on your ferry tour boat for a partial transit of the canal. Cruise through the Gaillard Cut along your journey. The Gaillard Cut is an artificial valley that cuts through the continental divide in Panama. The cut forms part of the Panama Canal, linking Gatun Lake, and thereby the Atlantic Ocean, to the Gulf of Panama and the Pacific Ocean. Construction of the cut was one of the great engineering feats of its time; the immense effort required to complete it was justified by the great significance of the canal to shipping, and in particular the strategic interests of the United States of America.

After crossing the Gaillard Cut, enter the Pedro Miguel Locks, which lower your vessel 28 feet on its way to the Pacific. Your boat will settle on Miraflores Lake. Sail across Miraflores Lake to the Miraflores Locks. A light lunch is available during your scenic cruise of the lake and locks. The Miraflores Locks are part of the engineering marvel that makes up the Panama Canal. The locks will lower your tour boat the final 56 feet, matching the level of the Pacific Ocean.

The lock gates at Miraflores are the tallest of the three due to the extreme tidal variation that takes place in the Pacific Ocean; the tidal variation on the Atlantic coast is by far less. Miraflores Locks are slightly over one mile long, from beginning to end. Depending on the size of each vessel, one can see anywhere from 1 to 3 vessels make the transit simultaneously. From the minute the vessels enters the locks, it takes approximately 10 minutes for the process to be completed. The water enters and leaving the locks by means of gravity only, as there are no pumps or other man made devices that assist in this process.

Your cruise ends at La Playita in Panama City, where you board your air-conditioned ground transportation for the return trip to the ship.