Colon Panama what should we do?

[threejs]

Cruising on the Coral Princess in November. Looking for fun and easy things to do in Colon Panama, have never been there. 18yr olds in our group of 6, 1 person has walking limitations. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.:)

[MMW37]

I am seconding the request, although we will be on the Carnival Legend in December. My husband and I are fairly adventurous, off-the-beaten path types, but we also would rather not be stranded in Panama and would like any advice for cruiseline sponsored as well as independent excursions. I'm going to Mario's webiste next. Thanks in advance!

[sptrout]

If available for your cruise I would highly recommend the Ocean to Ocean Train Tour. If you do a "search" for this tour you will find many positive posts. No problems for either the young or seniors in your group.

 

http://www.panarail.com/en/index.html

 

Another possibility is to take a tour that visits the nearby Gatun Locks, with a visit to an Indian village.

 

I would not personally recommend roaming around Colon on your own. It is really not a tourist town; it is an industrial port city.

[wwinfl91]

I would definitely second the above opinion about Colon not being someplace you want to wander around on your own or plan on just picking up a taxi at the dock. This is a town that for years mainly was a place for sailors off ships waiting to do a Panama canal crossing were able to go ashore and blow off steam. From what I saw of the city during our visit it looked like a real third world environment that you didn't want to be involved with.

 

We did the railroad trip that Celebrity offered when we were there. It was a trip on a train, old refurbished cars, really nice and then a bus tour of parts of Panama City and then a trip to a lock, unfortunately no ships went through when we were there and then a railroad trip back. You get a few views of the canal from the train but not as many as I would have liked. A small lunch with soda or Panamanian beer on the way back was served. We felt it was a good trip although a little more expensive than I would have liked.

 

There is also a trip you can take on a smaller ship that goes thru the canal that some cruise lines offer. You then take a bus back from the other side. Celebrity didn't offer this on our cruise.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[larie]

Haven't been on the boards for quite a while and decided to check-in. We did a fabulous tour while we were there to the Embera (sp?) Indian village. We canoed to their village and learned about their culture. Saw how they lived, talked with them, danced with them and purchased their crafts. One of the best excursions we have ever done. We got a referral about this excursion from a friend and decided to do it. It was fabulous and highly recommend it. We were with several extended family members and everyone loved it. Word of caution, the women don't wear shirts, but it wasn't offensive to us as it was their custom.

[Thoth]

At this port you will need a tour of some kind since it is NOT safe in Colon. I actually witnessed a supermarket being guarded by a automatic rifle. I did the Panama Canal tour via small boat and truly enjoyed it.