panama - colon port

[esimon]

never been  here - who knows what about this port

[Pickalily, Wilts]

If you look at 'whatsinport.com' there is information which may be useful.

 

Have never stopped there, but have heard it said that the city of Colon is very aptly named.😐

[CruiserBruce]

If you look on the Panama board, it's discussed there frequently. 

 

Are you stopping there as part of a partial Canal transit?  If so, you are frequently advised on the Panama board to not leave the shopping area at the pier. Not the best of areas.

 

The reason to dock there if on a partial transit is to get the people who tendered ashore in Gatun Lake back on board. Only people on excursions can go ashore in Gatun Lake.

[kristapb]

We once hired an official taxi at the port to take us to a viewing area where you could watch ships go thru the lock from land.  It was pretty interesting.  The taxi driver insisted on driving us through Colon as well.  It was probably the dirtiest and saddest and worst place I have ever seen.  My husband and I often walk around in port areas that are considered somewhat sketchy, but I would never willingly go into Colon outside the port area.

[ger_77]

We were medically disembarked in Colon so DH could be taken to a hospital in Panama City.  Before we left the dock, the big, burly ambulance attendees locked all the ambulance doors because they said it wasn't safe to travel in the Colon area.   

Edited March 8, 2022 by ger_77

[RedneckBob]

Were there years ago. Told by CD not to go outside port stores. Three passengers did and were robbed

[VacationCharlene]

Yup...this place SUCKED for sure.  Stay onboard!!  Even their small shopping center was pathetic.

LOVED the Panama Canal but not Colon!! 

[cruzn single]

 Been there twice.  Never left port area.  Stop is quite short, since just waiting for tours to return.

[BillB48]

I assume this thread was moved here from another forum, to the OP... the short answer there is nothing in Colon for the casual tourist to do or go see in the area outside the pier or anywhere else in Colon proper.  Building on what CruiserBruce indicated what you do while the ship is in Colon is dependent on whether you are on a partial transit cruise or if you are on a full day port stop calling at Colon.  The stop at Colon on a partial transit cruise is brief, normally around 3 hours or so, allowing you enough time to visit the shopping area adjacent to the pier.  Nothing particularly noteworthy about the shops, just if you want a little token of the Canal/Panama.  The area is safe, just use normal precautions to fight the urge if it should occur and stay within the shopping area.

 

If you are in Colon a result of a full day port call, then the only thing you will have to do with Colon after you join your tour is to drive through Colon on the way to your tour destination and back through to return to the ship.  There is nothing inherently dangerous traveling through as part of a tour group or even in a taxi.  While you can find a few areas of Colon that may not exhibit the squalor that seems to be everywhere, do take the advice of those here and your tour guide not to venture out on your own.

 

Someone once said that Colon hit rock bottom years ago and is still digging!  Don't let all the dire descriptions of Colon dissuade you from taking in a lot if interesting things to do and see at the Canal or in Panama.

 

If you want to do a little homework, take a look at the James Bond film of not too long ago, Quantum of Solace.  The scenes filmed in "Port-Au-Prince, Haiti" were actually filmed in Colon!

 

 

Edited March 11, 2022 by BillB48

[CruiserBruce]

@BillB48, it was moved from the HAL board.

[Heidi13]

On 3/8/2022 at 12:23 PM, esimon said:

never been  here - who knows what about this port

 

This was my very first port of call when I went to sea. We were advised not to go ashore in groups of less than 6 and to avoid shadows. When our group was leaving the port area, we observed a couple of chaps on a balcony, 1 playing with a revolver and the other a knife.

 

We did a 180 and returned to the ship. A number of the officers and crew were more adventurous than us. A number were involved in incidents, receiving injuries and being relieved of money.

 

This was a number of years ago, but I don't believe it has improved much.

 

As others mentioned, stay within the port shopping area, unless you are on a ship/private tour.