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Fuerte Amador - Private Tours to Panama City and more?


Maksim
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Can someone please advise as to how you handled this port. We are on a full transit in January 2019 and would like to visit the most important sights. Is there a tour company that do small groups / private tours, or is it recommended to go through the ship? We usually use private local vendors and book in advance, but I haven't seen any recommendations for this port. The only information I found is about HOHO bus. I am very reluctant about it because we had experience where it gets packed and you spend so much time waiting, then once you exit, you can't catch another one for a long time, that is even if they stop. Any information / suggestions are welcome. Thank you in advance for taking the time.

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I think most of the time regarding Panama, it is just easier using the ship's excursions. Only a few names pop up on this board and there really isn't a large amount of feed back except for the occasional compliment or complaint. A couple that pop into my head are My Friend Mario and Anne Gordon's Embera Village Tour, again this is not meant to be an endorsement, it's just the names that have appeared here over time. Don't know if Trip Advisor would be any help in your search or not. Of course it would be possible to cobble a tour together when you get off the ship at Ft. Amador, but those kind of tours can be anywhere from WOW to yawn.

 

All I know about the HOHO bus is what I have seen here... lot of cruisers interested in it, but no feedback that I have seen.

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Thank you so much for your thoughts. I did e-mail My friend Mario and didn't get any response. Nothing on the board and our roll call is so dead. Nobody is responding to anything. There are a few people that I exchanged e-mails with and it didn't go anywhere. Will see if cruise ship offers anything that looks good. I am usually very reluctant to book through the ship due to large groups on big buses that sometimes can't even bring you to certain places. Yet, for this port it could be the only option.

 

Helen.

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Maksim,

We are also on this cruise (along with my cousin & her husband) and have been trying to find a private tour as well. We are interested in spending time at Casco Viejo and are afraid that the the Princess excursion time there will be too short. So far, I haven't had much luck in finding a private tour, but plan on continuing my search!

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Maksim,

We are also on this cruise (along with my cousin & her husband) and have been trying to find a private tour as well. We are interested in spending time at Casco Viejo and are afraid that the the Princess excursion time there will be too short. So far, I haven't had much luck in finding a private tour, but plan on continuing my search!

Hi, thank you for sharing your thoughts. That’s what I was concerned about as well. I ended up booking ship tour “Colonial Panama and Miraflores Licks”. I can cancel it if something better that comes up. This is a tender port and it’s easier to just go along with the cruise line. Let me know if you find something interesting.

 

Regarding different port, are you interested in joining us on a private tour in Costa Rica? I posted it on the roll call. This tour company is highly recommended and they need a minimum of 4.

 

Helen.

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I was following a cruiser posting on a recent trip through the Canal on Celebrity and he threw out a name that I have read a number of good reviews that I had forgotten about, Roberto Whitiker. The only issue I have seen is sometimes he is a little hard to reach... here are two emails... robtads2@hotmail.com and robtads@hotmail.com What impressed me about the tour the poster was reporting on is in the Casco Antiguo they stopped by the Church of San Jose (Church of the Golden Altar, at least for a quick photo op), I don't think many tours to this. So, maybe if you can arrange something with him, it may be more of what you are looking for.

 

 

Here is a link to cruiseboy305's recent posting over on the Celebrity board stop in Colon with visits to the locks and Casco Antiguo. His photos of the shore excursion begin with post 63 and the picture of the Golden Altar is on post 68.

 

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56015884&postcount=63

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Maksim/Helen,

I'm in contact with several possibilities in Costa Rica, but haven't yet chosen one. Would you please post the info for the one you're looking at on the Roll Call for our cruise? (I think maybe we're not supposed to plan shore ex. on this board.) I will check several times a day til I see your posting & then let you know if we might be interested.

Thanks!

Pat

P.S. Also, thank you to BillB 48 for the Panama City info!

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Thank you so much, BillB48. This is the first time someone actually recommended a private tour operator in Panama. I will try to reach out to him and see what he has to offer. Also, thank you for sending a link to the post. Great pictures.

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Maksim/Helen,

I'm in contact with several possibilities in Costa Rica, but haven't yet chosen one. Would you please post the info for the one you're looking at on the Roll Call for our cruise? (I think maybe we're not supposed to plan shore ex. on this board.) I will check several times a day til I see your posting & then let you know if we might be interested.

Thanks!

Pat

P.S. Also, thank you to BillB 48 for the Panama City info!

 

Hello konatyme,

I found a great tour in Cost Rica which requires at least 4, so looking for another couple. Still haven't heard from anyone on our roll call. It's with Gio Tours, highly recommended on his board. Here is the description in case you didn't catch it on our roll call:

The itinerary would approximately be as follows:

8:00 am pick up at the pier

8:30 am fresh fruit tasting

9:00 am monkeys sighting area visit

10:00 am Jungle Safari Boat Tour

12:00 md lunch

1:30 pm Aerial Tram Tour

3:00 pm Souvenir shopping

3:30 pm grocery store shopping

4:00 pm city tour in Puntarenas

4:30 pm drop off

Let me know if you are interested. Helen.

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Maksim,

Thanks for the information. I am waiting to hear back again from Odyssey Tours. We are looking at a visit to Carara National Park, as we'd like to do some walking around in the rain forest to see birds, reptiles, & (maybe)some animals. When we last did the Panama Canal (about 8 years ago), we visited Manuel Antonio Park with Odyssey & saw tons of monkeys, sloths, etc. We had thought we might do that again, but the park is closed on Mondays, which is when we will be there. Also, from other posts I've read, it seems that the park has become much more crowded since we were there (it wasn't crowded at all then). Carara is supposed to be much less crowded.

 

We will be traveling with my cousin and her husband, and it's possible they won't want to do the walking that we want. If they don't, I will keep checking the Roll Call to see if you still need another couple, as they might be interested in your tour. I will be talking with them soon.

 

Thanks again!

Konatyme

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Hi Konatyme,

I was corresponding with Odyssey as well and they were more expensive. Most tours don’t go to aerial tramway because it’s expensive, but Gio tours agreed to add for a reasonable cost. I can inquire of the price break if there are 6 of us. So far nobody on the roll call confirmed they want to join, yet some expressed interest. We still have plenty of time, just keep me posted. You can post on a roll call or email me hbatsalkin@gmail.com.

 

Helen.

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