vilwil Posted January 10, 2007 #1 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Hi- We are having a mini family get together and one of the ports that we will be visiting is the port of Colon Panama. We have 5 children in the group (5,6,7,8,9,). We do not believe in leaving then on board while we visit the port- and the excursions the cruise line offer are costly at this port. I am looking for ideas of what we can do with them, that is fun and not so expensive. Are there any shops, stuff to do at the pier? Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deemk Posted January 10, 2007 #2 Share Posted January 10, 2007 we took a trip to panama last year. it was without our kids, and not a cruise - but we did stay near colon for part of our trip. all the research i did on panama prior to going stated that colon is not a very safe area, even though it was very evident that they're trying to reform it. what we found was that panama is still very "young" in its tourism. so we found that there were just certain places you can't go unless you go with a guide. we made out just fine because my husband speaks fluent spanish and we had rented a car. so there were times where we just drove around and explored. i felt like we were able to see a lot of the culture and country that we couldn't have otherwise experienced without those 2 things. we also found that the beaches we visited weren't what we expected. the trees are very close to the water, leaving limited "sandy" shoreline. and the shorelines were full of rocks and sticks - and the water just wasn't as warm as we thought. and the areas that seemed to be desirable were pretty crowded and had a lot of trash lying around. i don't think my children (ages 10,9,4 and infant) would've enjoyed it. again, i haven't been to panama by way of cruise, but i would recommend that you opt for the excursions that you can book through the ship. i think this would ensure the safety of the trip. and i think that they will probably includes visits to areas that you wouldn't be able to get to on your own. if you have questions about the specific excursions, perhaps list what is available, and i'd be happy to tell you if we hit that spot or not. hope i was helpful. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vilwil Posted January 10, 2007 Author #3 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Thank you for responding! Personally I would like to see the Gatun locks- that's about it LOL. Do you think we can catch a cab at the pier? I have also read that the area is not that safe. We are fluent in Spanish as well so that might help us a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vilwil Posted January 10, 2007 Author #4 Share Posted January 10, 2007 (This might be a duplicate posting) Thank you for responding! Personally I would like to see the Gatun locks. That's about it. I have also read about the area not being as safe, do you think we will be able to catch a cab to the Locks? We are fluent in Spanish as well, so that may help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellie100 Posted January 10, 2007 #5 Share Posted January 10, 2007 (This might be a duplicate posting) Thank you for responding! Personally I would like to see the Gatun locks. That's about it. I have also read about the area not being as safe, do you think we will be able to catch a cab to the Locks? We are fluent in Spanish as well, so that may help. I highly recommend booking the excursion through the ship in this situation. It is very possible for a ferry to get "stuck" in the lake while more important cargo gets to go through the locks. OMG could you imagine still being on the ferry when your ship is setting sail? It happens! I don't usually take ship excursions, but I did there! Though a very expensive excursion, I recommend it. When will you ever have the opportunity again to go through a part of the Panama Canal? It may be a bit boring for the kids at times, though, as there is alot of travel time involved. But I would take the opportunity to make it educational. Maybe research it with the kids ahead of time. You know, talk with them about how important this was in history, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deemk Posted January 10, 2007 #6 Share Posted January 10, 2007 we visited the Gatun locks while we were there and it was a quick trip since we were staying so close. we just drove, but taxis should be really easy to find. course when we utilized taxis we were in panama city. but taxis are cheap - don't know if they'll hold all of you in one taxi :-). we loved the locks and it's real laid back. you can stand and watch them for as long as you like and no one bothers you to leave. we watched a ship come and leave from start to finish. it's amazing!!! i would recommend (since i know nothing about the cruise port area) that you check out the Lonely Planet message boards (www.lonelyplanet.com). when you get to the main page, click Lonely Tree Forum on the left hand side and find the section that applies to Panama. as i was doing research i found it VERY hard to find info on Panama just by surfing the web. almost ALL of my reliable info came from lonely planet postings, and it came in VERY handy once we were down there. by the way, how long will you be in port? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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