The tour will start at the Flamenco Marina in Panama City. The partial transit starts with a motor coach ride for 45 minutes to the town of Gamboa where the Panama Canal Dredging Division is located. Once in Gamboa, you will aboard the cruise ship to start the water portion of the tour. You will go through two locks; Miraflores and Pedro Miguel on the canal on board of the cruise ship Pacific Queen that can hold 200 passengers.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 13.
Panama Canal Partial Transit - Lunch Included on the Pacific Queen cruise ship. Duration 5 hours Checkin time 7:00am tentative The tour will start at the Flamenco Marina in Panama City. You will board the cruise ship to start the water portion of the tour. You will enter the canal at the north end of the Gaillard Cut, where the Chagres River flows into the canal. The Gaillard Cut (also known as Culebra Cut because its curves resemble a snake) is one of the main points of interest for visitors because it was carved through the Continental Divide and this section of the Canal is full of history and geological value. Your boat will travel the Cut 13.7 kilometers on the way to Pedro Miguel Locks. As you transit the Cut you will be able to appreciate the continuous maintenance that this area requires, because it is very susceptible to landslides. In this area you will also be able to observe the work of the Panama Canal expansion project. Before reaching the Pedro Miguel Locks at the southern end of the Cut, you will be able to view the e Bridge of the Americas which crosses over the Canal. Next, your ship will enter Pedro Miguel Locks, which is one of the two sets of locks on the Pacific side, and here the vessel is lowered 9 meters in one step. You will then enter Miraflores Lake, which is a small artificial body of fresh water that separates Pedro Miguel from Miraflores Locks, the latter being the final set of locks before reaching Gamboa. At Miraflores Locks the vessel is lowered 16 meters in two distinct steps. Once in the Pacific Ocean the vessel will sail to Gamboa where passengers disembark. On the way to Gamboa, you will pass under the Centennial bridge, and later, you will be bus back to Flamenco Island. Transportation is optional to hotels in Panama.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
Panama Canal Partial Transit Tour from Panama City lasts about 5 hours. The itinerary has 1 stop.
Prices start at $220 per person for this Panama City experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, starting at 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
Children aged 0–11 pay from $140, adults from $220.
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
The meeting point is Last iisland on the causeway, Office is at the entrance of Felipe Motta. Hotel pickup is not part of this experience.
The experience is available in EN, ES.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 45 participants.
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap Children must be accompanied by an adult
Wheelchair accessible Transportation options are wheelchair accessible All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
The company didn’t inform us on a timely manner about a change for a very early morning tour. When we should up at the location there was no reason given and we had to just wait for them to board us. There was no effort to provide any vegetarian lunch option. Also as shown in the Tour Picture above there was no music or any group that performed.
The reason for my AVERAGE review: We booked this tour with Viator, were given the Booking Reference # and the confirmation, which indicated a pickup time of 10:00 AM at a certain meeting point. When we arrived at the stated meeting point at 9:15 AM, there was no one to be found. We tried to contact the local tour company who would not pick up the call. Much later we came to learn that the tour had departed at 9:00 AM!! We decided to go on our own.
It is difficult to book this tour or any tour when we never received any written or email notification. We are sincerely sorry that this kind of error happened and hope that you still enjoy the cruise on your own.
Ian was incredibly kind and so knowledgeable about the history of the canal. He took time to answer questions from individuals in addition to his commentary. A very nice partial tour through the canal.
This half day trip is worth it- I can't imagine doing the whole canal. We bused from the causeway (which was a bit confusing- our Uber driver didn't know where the marina was, so we had to walk around to find it. Fortunately, another tour company guide saw us and directed us). The bus ride to Gamboa was about 40 minutes. The boat was pretty crowded. We had to stand for the first half, until someone gave up a seat. The food on board was not bad- plenty of free sodas and water, with alcohol for purchase. if you are not inside seated, you won't be able to hear the guide, even though they have a microphone. All in all, it is a definite must see, but try to get on one of the first buses, so you can at least have a seat in the shade.
The Panama canal authority which dictates all movement on the canal has made life difficult for all boat tours oerators. We bhad to reduce the number of sailing tours per weeks so we had to increase the number of passenger hence a bit more people on the boat but we are glad that you still enjoy this once in a life time experience.
We have confirmation of our trip to start at the Amador Causeway by 7:00 am. Were were there by 6:50 am and the boat had already left. This was the one thing my husband, who was on business all week, wanted to do. When we requested a refund of our $570.00 fare for 3, we were told no. In addition, we spent over $55 round trip to get to Amador Causeway. DO NOT BOOK THIS THIS TOUR THROUGH THIS COMPANY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the first time we received such a review. This client never collected their messages (2 were left through the viator platform) It is imperative to respond to your messages we leave on the booking platform, we let clients know the boading time is between 6am and 10am before the canal cruise. The canal is the busiest waterway in the world and the authority of the canal sends a confirmation sailing time the day before the boat cruise sails out and we contact clients the day before with a final boarding time. They never responded or commented on any messages. All cruises are prepaid if there is a no show....no refund
Wonderful Tour. A lifetime experience with my mother and best friend. The tour guide spoke in several languages that made it so interesting to all. Awesome!
This was a very informative tour. Gus, the tour narrator had many stories and was very knowledgeable about the history of the canal de Panama. Lunch was just ok, not great but I didn’t leave hungry. The sound system on the boat was excellent, very clear, it could be heard on all levels. The itself was modern and clean.
The food is a buffet style so it can accommodate all taste buds we can not serve gourmet food. Gus is always on top of his game and kmows the canal operations for 20 years. We are delighted that you enjoy the day with us.
This trip was just enough. The partial transit put us on the water with the rising water levels of the locks, a relatively short period of time moving from one to the other. The boat was of a good size with good views of the happenings. Our guide JC was knowledgeable and friendly as were the rest of the crew. We were served breakfast and lunch while aboard ship. My one complaint is that finding the point of departure was challenging. I had given myself 30 minutes to be lost and just made it to the boat prior to launch. This 5 hour activity is time well spent.
We are happy to hear that the cruise ship and personnel were well qualified. We will look into the point of departure location for future bookings. We will send better directions. Thank you. Pierre Miller Director of Marketing and Sales
Traveled to Panama for family reunion; and decided to take the partial transit of Panama Canal to accompany relatives who were visiting for the first time. A great time was had by all. Amazing to see how the project to widened the canal has made a difference as larger vessels are now able to transit; facilitating world wide commerce.
Good to hear you and your family were very pleased with your partial transit cruise that you booked with us and our team of experts explained well the project expansion of the Canal. We hope that you come back again to Panama.
I took the North-Bound Panama Canal Transit Tour, on 30 March 2019 (for my Birthday). My Guide was Gus, A Funny, and Knowlegeable Man. I enjoyed the Tour, the Gift Shop, and the Information regarding the different "things" about the Canal, and the surrounding areas (including a Famous Prison on the Canal). I must say, I missed the Canal Tour in 2018, but making it this time, on my Birthday, made the "missed time" moot. The "ship" was neither too large, or too small... but "Just Right". Plenty of Sitting, or Standing Room. And all of the passengers were (to my recollection) nice enough to allow me, and others, to get to, and occupy space, to take our own photos/videos. If nothing else, I commend Gus, and the Crew of the Ship "Pacific Queen" Panama, for a Safe and Pleasant Journey. 😊
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panama Canal Partial Transit Tour from Panama City | 5 hours | 3.6 (14) | $220 | |
 Panama Canal Partial Transit - Official Operator | 6 hours | 4.6 (588) | $165 | View |
 Panama Canal Partial Transit - All-Inclusive Experience | 7 hours | 4.1 (482) | $150 | View |
 Half Day Panama City & Panama Canal Tour | 5 hours | 5.0 (62) | $65 | View |
 Panama Layover tour with Panama Canal and City Tour | 7–8 hours | 4.9 (15) | $169 | View |
 Panama Canal Partial Transit - Official Operator | 6 hours | 4.7 (253) | $165 | View |
 Panama Canal Full Transit Tour - Official Operator | 12 hours | 4.6 (301) | $220 | View |