Panamakanaal: Gatun Lake Wildlife Boat Tour

We had a great experience on the Monkey Boat Tour in Panama. Our guide, Ceaser, picked us up on time, was very accommodating, and even gave us a nice tour on the way to the dock. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the experience enjoyable from start to finish. The tour itself was exciting and definitely worth doing. I would recommend it.

I had an absolutely incredible monkey boat tour in the forest of Panama! Our guide, César, was phenomenal—so attentive and full of knowledge. The customer service was top-notch: I was picked up right from my house, in a spotless, comfortable car. César guided us expertly through the forest, and we saw so many monkeys up close. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience—highly recommend it!

This was such a lovely experience! Special thanks to Rommel who took care of my sister and I . He is knowledgeable, fun , and so kind! We loved the experience :)

Logan was an exceptional guide. Truly respectful and knowledgeable about the wildlife. We interacted with the monkeys and had a great time.

We were blessed with great weather. During the drive we asked many questions and they were answered knowledgeably. Our guide spoke perfect English. He was most informative about the wildlife of the islands and took great care for us to see them and be able to photograph them. I highly recommend this tour company. They answered immediately when we had a question. They were prompt in picking us up. They care above all else.

Rommel gave us an amazing experience! Super friendly, knowledgeable, and made the whole monkey tour fun and unforgettable. You can tell he really cares about the guests and knows the area very well. Highly recommended if you’re visiting Panama!

Great to be licked up from out hotel and had some chances to see stuff on the way and on the boat saw so much active wildlife!

The boat tour was fantastic and the best part of our trip. Elliot was out guide. His car was nice and cool, clean, and roomy, and he was prompt for our pick up, at our hotel lobby. Though there was some traffic, heading to the boat launch, Elliot filled the time with local information and pointed out interesting sites along the way. The boat's captain was pleasant and knew the region and wildlife well, pointing out not only the areas of where animals could be found but perfectly hidden sloths. The boat ride was comfortable, clean, and safe. There were no wild waves or serious rocking. No worries of motion sickness. No water spray. We had protection from the sun with a nice cover overhead. We saw three different types monkeys that actually climbed aboard our boat. My daughter was able to feed one monkey s little chunk of banana, from her hand. We also saw tiny fruit bats, large insect nests, a sloth, water birds, flora, and a couple huge boats headed to the canal. Elliot shared information about the canal, the train track bridges, and the animals. He also took a great picture of our family, on the boat. He also packed us a cooler with individual water bottles. All fees are paid for with your upfront purchase, so there is no worry of additional boat rental fees...like other tour groups. Tips are not expected or even suggested, however I felt that both our boat captain and tour guide provided fantastic service and choose to personally do so. My suggestion is to consider this for your own trip. Advice: don't bother with wearing a hat, as the boats may travel fast at times and knock your hat off. People with longer hair may do well to wear your hair back or carry along a scrunchie. Also, consider using the restroom immediately before leaving your hotel. There is a restroom at the boat launch, but it may be locked or not as comfortable as you are used to. I would like to wrap it up with highly suggest that you take this private tour over a group tour. You don't have to ask people to move or shift positions for photo opportunities. The small additional amount is 100% worth it.

Arnulfo was an excellent guide. He was very informative and also very pleasant. Our boat captain was excellent also. It was a very fun experience all around.

Very good experience. Rommel made us see monkeys of various kinds, crocodiles and feral cats. The boat ride along the canal and very nice lake.