beach and locks

[pdebolt]

My wife and i are going in July on the Liberty for Carnival and love the beach, but would also like a quick tour of the locks. Is there a good beach to go to when stopping in Colon. We are not going through the locks. Is there an excursion anyone has taken or can we take a taxi to the locks and then to a beach?

[nybumpkin]

We took a Gatun Locks and beach tour with My Friend Mario when we cruised on Liberty back in February. We had a great time! The beach was "Playa Langosta," about 1/2 hour drive from the ship. We met Mario around 7:30 and spent the morning at the beach. Mario's crew had a cooler of beverages and some breakfast cakes, then later brought out the margaritas and some empanadas. There is a bar/restaurant and changing area, but it's a more rustic beach than you'd find at a resort.

 

Around 11, we headed over to the Gatun locks and stayed long enough to look around and watch a continer ship lock through. On the way back, our driver showed us where the new set of locks will be built. He dropped us off right by the shops outside the pier area; we had plenty of time to do some shopping (DH got a Panama hat he loves, and I bought a carved Nativity set).

 

The description of this tour is online at http://www.myfriendmario.com/?page=dporto. (We did the tour in reverse, since we had a large group from Liberty - 1/2 when to the canal first, while the rest of us went to the beach first.) I also have pictures of our entire cruise, including the canal and beach, at http://travel.webshots.com/album/558933896aVbpxD. Hope this helps!