What to do in Panama besides the canal

[egavaghan]

I know it is a wonderful, miracle of modern engineering, but what if you really have no interest in seeing the canal via the REALLY long bus tour (going on the Carnical Miracle and that only stops at the port, does not go through) but I have heard that is pretty much all there is for Panama. Has anyone done anything else there?? Should we just wing it and plan for the other ports... THANKS FOR THE ADVICE!!!!!!:D

[BillB48]

The Canal certainly is the big ticket at this stop for sure. Carnival may offer the Embarra Indian village as a tour, I'm just not sure how long of a ride it would be. There may also be a couple of tours that take in the Gatun locks which is not too far from Colon. A lot of the tours that are offered do take you to the Pacific side and that is would involve a lengthy bus/train ride.

[AlvaroLuis]

A bus ride to Gatun locks should not take more than 15 minutes. If you decide to take a tour to Panama City I would advise to use the train (+/- 1 hour), it is more scenic than the bus ride and there's no traffic.

[Unca Pete]

The Embera Indian village is a bit different.. It does involve a bus ride followed by a 15 minute or so dugout canoe ride upriver to get to their village.

[filmgirl]

Well I'm back from my cruise! We did the Panama City tour (through Carnival) and LOVED IT! We were split up onto little buses which was nice, and the guide was great, and we went to a REALLY nice restaurant for lunch - We had chicken marsala, and it was as good as anything on the boat! (Some people on other tours said they were given bran muffins!). It was definitely an all day tour, but we saw so much more of the countryside and how people really lived. The canal was fine at the beginning of the day, but the hour we spent there was PLENTY. I would never have wanted to spend a whole tour at the canal.

 

I have a slideshow of photos I took on the tour, although I left out the restaurant and some ruins of old panama we also saw. Feel free to ask me any questions! You can access the slideshow here: http://www.zoe-photography.com/PanamaSlide/

[ILVMM]

Read your post & it's got me to thinking...i'm on the 12/23 HAL cruise and never been to the canal. Father-in-law was stationed thereabouts during WWII and am excited about visiting/touring. Couple of questions: Did your Panama City tour include the Casco Antiguo? or how about Portobelo Market Town? that's what is being offered through HAL. Loved your slideshow & thanks for any tips.

Well I'm back from my cruise! We did the Panama City tour (through Carnival) and LOVED IT! We were split up onto little buses which was nice, and the guide was great, and we went to a REALLY nice restaurant for lunch - We had chicken marsala, and it was as good as anything on the boat! (Some people on other tours said they were given bran muffins!). It was definitely an all day tour, but we saw so much more of the countryside and how people really lived. The canal was fine at the beginning of the day, but the hour we spent there was PLENTY. I would never have wanted to spend a whole tour at the canal.

 

I have a slideshow of photos I took on the tour, although I left out the restaurant and some ruins of old panama we also saw. Feel free to ask me any questions! You can access the slideshow here: http://www.zoe-photography.com/PanamaSlide/

[filmgirl]

Read your post & it's got me to thinking...i'm on the 12/23 HAL cruise and never been to the canal. Father-in-law was stationed thereabouts during WWII and am excited about visiting/touring. Couple of questions: Did your Panama City tour include the Casco Antiguo? or how about Portobelo Market Town? that's what is being offered through HAL. Loved your slideshow & thanks for any tips.

 

A lot of my photos were taken in the Casa Antiguo Area... If you click browse gallery view, photos 46-104 are all from that area. We did not go to Portobello. Hope that helps!

[filmgirl]

I also saw photos from someone who went to Portabello, it seemed more touristy, and less of the "real" and more gritty Panama, so it depends what you are looking for :)

[Another Cruise]

The drive to Portobelo is beautiful. The fort was interesting. There is an extra charge to go into the buildings other than the Fort. There were some locals who put on a dance show for us. ALso a few selling jewelry, crafts, etc. We went there with My Friend Mario after the Canal and the beach. Others in the group stayed at the beach, but I think the trip to Portobelo was only about $10 more each and well worth it.

[wiskt]

FILMGIRL

I just watched your slideshow. Excellent job. I truly love to see pictures that tell a story of the actual people that live there and how they live. The tourist traps are such a turn off.

 

I am going on the CARNIVAL LIBERTY Sept 28 and this looks quite interesting. I passed on your slideshow to all 15 others coming along in our group. I wish there was a way to burn it onto a CD for my album when I come back.

 

 

Thank you !

Tom

[kazover40]

I know it is a wonderful, miracle of modern engineering, but what if you really have no interest in seeing the canal via the REALLY long bus tour (going on the Carnical Miracle and that only stops at the port, does not go through) but I have heard that is pretty much all there is for Panama. Has anyone done anything else there?? Should we just wing it and plan for the other ports... THANKS FOR THE ADVICE!!!!!!:D

 

We did the train journey on RCC a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it! The cheese and wine flowed and was lovely was lovely!! It was like stepping back in time with the old fashioned courtesy from the staff!

 

Unfortunately some people didn't enjoy it, as our ship was late docking and it was getting dark when we boarded!

 

But quite a few of us made a party of it and really had fun!

[FreewayFortune]

I've heard great things about the Train ride:) We did the Rainforest Eco-walk and chagres river cruise. We enjoyed it because we got to see so many monkeys. The river cruise reminded me a little bit of the Jungle Cruise at WDW.

[ILVMM]

. . . The river cruise reminded me a little bit of the Jungle Cruise at WDW.

 

Were the tour guides just as wacky as the ones at WDW?

[OldBaldGuy]

It has been a while since I was stationed in the old Canal Zone, but a trip to the San Blas Islands is interesting. In Panama City you could visit the Hilton Hotel and its casino, which was designed by John Scarne. (I met Maurice Chavalier there one night). If you are interested in things military, there are a lot of former U.S. bases you could try to visit, Howard and Albrook AFB's, Forts Clayton and Sherman, Rodman Naval Station. Panama City used to have a lot of intersting shopping, much more than Colon. There is great fishing in the area, both salt and fresh. Lotsa things to consider, if you have the time...