Colon-panama excursion

[cmood]

Hi,

 

Our cruise ship will stop in Colon for 9 hours. We are family of 5 with 3 kids at age of 5 to 16. After reading some reviews, we are wondering if it's safe to have a private tour there. (it seems cheaper to book by ourselves). Any suggestions or experience sharing are really appreciated.

 

C.Mood

[BillB48]

Hi C,

 

The easy answer is.... it's safe, now for the but. Many of the tours offered from Colon involve going to the Pacific side and depending on just what tour your are considering, a 7 to 8 hour tour is not out of the question. The Pacific side is a considerable distance from the ship and my main concern is returning to the ship in a timely fashion so that my stomach isn't in a churn wondering if we are going to make it. In fairness I have not read on these boards or anywhere else about folks missing the ship.... a couple of near misses but they made it. I have done private tours at many stops, however when they involve considerable distance from the port I tend to favor the ships tours for the peace of mind. Many people have used My Friend Mario and have been pleased, I have not used him.

 

I guess it really depends on what tour you are looking at, as there no doubt would be some tours that could fall under "my" defenition of being appropriate to use an independent tour operator if that is what you would prefer.

[grandbanksguy]

Hi,

 

Our cruise ship will stop in Colon for 9 hours. We are family of 5 with 3 kids at age of 5 to 16. After reading some reviews, we are wondering if it's safe to have a private tour there. (it seems cheaper to book by ourselves). Any suggestions or experience sharing are really appreciated.

 

C.Mood

 

I suggest that you review the attached http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftravel.state.gov%2Ftravel%2Fcis_pa_tw%2Fcis%2Fcis_994.html&ei=RZj1TOO4GIeglAe_ov3ZBQ&usg=AFQjCNGyiSqRXhbdCk-wb9UmaKJ1yGwMcQ . Having just been in Colon on the Coral Princess, there is no way that I would take a private tour or venture off the pier. We did Princess' Panama Canal BY Boat tour and were very pleased that we did.

[BillB48]

In Colon you would not want to venture from the pier area without benefit of of a tour group, I dare say this could very well describe numerous ports of call. Panama does have problems but so does every place in the world, it is not inherently unsafe at every level. Some of the places described in the attachement are so far removed from the tourist areas that they really only should be of concern by off the beaten path adventurers.

 

I hope you don't take this response in negative way grandbanksguy, as I honestly am not trying to provoke any ill will here. I think most of those reports are beneficial only for deep background and general reference. They are only providing some boilerplate info and worst case senarios which you are unlikely to find on a random tour whether it be a ship's tour or a private tour.

 

Just to illustrate here is one for the Bahamas, it too could give you the idea they were not a very safe place to visit; http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_989.html

 

Enjoy your cruise, be aware of your suroundings and take normal precautions.

[pearlb]

I just got back from colon and we only had 9 hrs.....

 

I went on the panama city tour and I was glad I booked it through the boat because we were an hour late and the ship had to wait for us.

 

There were actually several other buses that came after us and the boat had to wait because they were booked via the cruise.

 

Going to panama city is worth it, but it is hard for them to determine the traffic and that can become a problem. I usually do not book via the cruiseline, but for this stop I was glad I did. It was sure worth the extra money and they peace of mind.

 

Note, according to my tour guide the crime is very very high in Colon so other than the street right accross from the pier I prob would not walk around.

 

Anyway, you will love it... Panama is beautiful.

[mangoginger]

My parents(age 80) are booked on a tour in Colon with My friend Mario. The operator provided a clear map with specific instructions and the meeting place is just down the escalator leaving the dock so I would think it is very safe and not difficult to find. For their particular tour there is loads of time to meet the boat and the destinations they are going are not that far from Colon. The tours offered sound great, are reasonably priced, and are in smaller vehicles than the ships which I think is a major drawing feature.

[Richard in Panama]

I just got back from colon and we only had 9 hrs.....

 

went on the panama city tour and I was glad I booked it through the boat because we were an hour late and the ship had to wait for us.

 

There were actually several other buses that came after us and the boat had to wait because they were booked via the cruise.

 

Going to panama city is worth it, but it is hard for them to determine the traffic and that can become a problem. I usually do not book via the cruiseline, but for this stop I was glad I did. It was sure worth the extra money and they peace of mind.

 

Note, according to my tour guide the crime is very very high in Colon so other than the street right accross from the pier I prob would not walk around.

 

Anyway, you will love it... Panama is beautiful.

 

Glad you had a great time! Come back! There are many places in the world where my advice would be skip the tour, just wander, find a cafe and soak up the ambiance. Panama isn't one of them. There is a lot to see, none of it really near to where the ships dock, there are enormous traffic challenges (all it takes is one accident to snarl things for at least an hour), so for me Panama is one of the places where it makes sense to do a ship tour. I think it is the best and most efficient use of your time, as well as being the safest and surest, and in many cases it is the most cost-effective as well. Sometimes on CC I sense a general feeling from many that ship tours should be avoided. Sometimes you can save a few bucks on your own, and I'm sure being stickered and herded like a kindergarten field trip isn't everyone's cup of tea. If you want to go off the beaten bath anywhere in the world you take a certain amount of risk. In terms of escaping crowds and groups of tourists (like us!), in a lot of places the stuff you want to see is going to be crammed with tour groups whether you go with the ship or in a private car. Traffic is an issue in Panama both in Colon and Panama City and in between. Thanks Pearl for pointing out one big advantage of sticking with the ship . . . or booking an independent tour operator you know (from doing a lot of research) to be dependable.

 

Regards, Richard

[KimisAwesome]

Hi,

 

Our cruise ship will stop in Colon for 9 hours. We are family of 5 with 3 kids at age of 5 to 16. After reading some reviews, we are wondering if it's safe to have a private tour there. (it seems cheaper to book by ourselves). Any suggestions or experience sharing are really appreciated.

 

C.Mood

 

CMood, we are on the same cruise (I remember you from the roll call board)!

 

Although we don't have young children in my group, we are struggling with the same question! I haven't heard great feedback from some of Carnival's tours, and http://www.myfriendmario.com seems to be getting the best reviews of the private companies. I think if you use one of the more well-known tour companies, you should be fine. Some of the people on our board are doing a My Friend Mario tour, if that's something you're interested in- check it out, if you haven't already!

 

Kim

[whitecloudorillia]

I have just checked out the myfriendmario sight & the Canal = Chagres River = Indian Village + Waterfall tour looks awesome. . . .there are so many testimonials on the site, from 2006-2010 that I'm very tempted to book. . . .has any from a cruise ship taken this tour with Mario????

[Richard in Panama]

whitecloudorillia, Just do a "Search" on this board for My Friend Mario and you will come up with lots of posts and find out he has quite a CC following! Regards, Richard