Travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during this full-day tour of the Panama Canal. With your local guide, explore the canal by sea and on foot, viewing the ships passing through the locks and the variety of plant and animal life on the canal's shores. Explore Gatun Lake, home to howlers, capuchins, tamarins and mami more animals. Stop at the Agua Clara Locks Visitor Center to get an overview of the canal's history through informative displays and exhibits. Explore San Lorenzo National Park and Fort San Lorenzo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and enjoy a picnic lunch. All activities, entrance fees, lunch, and round-trip transportation from Panama City hotels are included.

Eat a picnic lunch in San Lorenzo National Park
Explore the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific
See the native animal and plant life surrounding the canal and Gatun Lake
Visit San Lorenzo National Park and Fort San Lorenzo

What's Included

Panama Canal boat ride (90 minutes)
Bottled water
Lunch
Professional guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off (select hotels only)
Transport by air-conditioned minibus
Entrance fees

Gratuities
Due to heavy traffic, no free pickup from hotels located near Amador Causeway, Clayton (City of Knowledge) Playa Bonita. Separate transportation for the an extra charge
Playa Blanca, or Rio Hato, Metromall, Arraijan or Tocumen Airport need to arrange own transportation
This is not a TRANSIT tour, we wont travel by boat inside the locks.

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

07:00 am

Pickup details

Pickup from centrally located Panama City hotels in the following areas: • El Cangrejo • Obarrio • Punta Pacifica • San Francisco • Punta Paitilla • Avenida Balboa • Bella Vista • Casco Viejo • Marbella • Financial District • El Dorado • Bethania

What To Expect

Panama City (Pass By)

Panama Canal

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Lake Gatun (Pass By)

Agua Clara Locks

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Fort San Lorenzo

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Panama City

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
The tour starts in a very remote area and there will be no access to public restrooms around 9am
Vegetarian and vegan option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
A minimum of 2 people per booking is required.
Minimum age is 3 years

If you will be staying at a hotel area that is not on the list, please contact your local operator prior to booking your tour
Near public transportation
This tour is in ENGLISH only, we cannot run the tour in 2 languages without the tour quality being compromised.
Not recommended for travelers with walking problems or other serious medical conditions.
Most travellers can participate
No Wheelchair accessible
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 18 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

Bathroom breaks are very rare on this 7+ hour trip.

It is a full day tour and completely worth it.

Reviews

5.0

935 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 935 reviews

Exceptional Tour

Corey_J, May 2023

We could not have been happier with this tour. Enrique was an amazing guide. From the boat ride through the canal, to Monkey Island, to beautiful Fort Lorenzo overlooking the Caribbean, it was all on point. Lunch was fantastic, too, and there was plenty of it. Worth the time and the money. No regrets and a lot of great memories.

Excellent guide

Beiye_L, May 2023

Paola is an awesome guide! Very informative and professional. The communication before the tour is also great!

Ocean to Ocean Panama Canal and Jungle Tour

MichaelL_A, May 2023

We were picked up on time. Our tour guide Paola was amazing, very knowledgeable, self explanatory, we learned a lot of history. The Panama Canal/Agua Clara Locks was amazing. The Jungle tour as well, the Panamanian lunch was so good and tasted. The last part of the tour was the Fort of San Lorenzo amazing too. A lot of history in one place. My family and I had the best time. Highly recommend it. The driver was very friendly, courteous and helpful. Absolutely loved the tour. 😍🤩

It was the PERFECT...

navindes, May 2023

It was the PERFECT experience. Paola was just great. Her knowledge, demeanor and attitude were excellent. The tour covered the right amount, started right on time and the bus was very comfortable. This tour is a must for anyone who visits Panama City

Tour guide was...

Marc_M, May 2023

Tour guide was knowledgeable and gave good presentation. We enjoyed getting a good look at country of Panama.

Awesome way to see the breadth of the canal

Laura_S, May 2023

John, our guide, was wonderful with an amazing breadth of knowledge. He made sure to time our visit to Agua Clara so that we saw the boats we had passed on Gutun Lake actually going through the locks. Really fun to say that we crossed the continent twice in a day. Lunch was also great. I'd recommend this tour to anyone.

Panama City to Colon Tour

Paulette_C, May 2023

Guide (Paola) was very professional and informative with the history of Panama and the Canal, as well as entertaining anecdotes. Nice touch at end of tour to make travel and dining suggestions. Picnic lunch was deliciously satisfying. Kudos also to the tour bus driver. Ample stops for restroom breaks.

When you say ocean to...

Ashok_M, May 2023

When you say ocean to ocean - do you mean Pacific to Atlantic? Not sure if that name is correct description. The guide was great.

Canal extravaganza

Robert_S, May 2023

Our guide, John, was super knowledgeable and always entertaining. The canal was pretty neat too. An excellent tour

The guide, John, was...

reubenweisz1946, May 2023

The guide, John, was excellent. Erudite, knowledgeable and very interesting to listen to. His English was very good and clear. One of the best guides I encountered in my trips with Viator. The name of the activity is somewhat inaccurate. There is no walking or hiking, or any similar activity in the rainforest. You are basically on the road, in a minibus, the only significant walking is in the fort. The lunch (included) is picnic style, on wooden tables and benches by the fort.

Paola was the BEST!

Kathryn_S, May 2023

Our tour guide, Paola, was outstanding. She was extremely knowledgeable, interesting, kept us informed on what was next, answered questions- I can honestly say she was the best tour guide I ever had.

Awesome experience!

Boris_F, Apr 2023

Really enjoyed the tour with Enrique. He provided us with a lot of interesting information during our trip and gave us some history lessons of the Panama Canal . We also had fun looking for monkeys and sloths. I totally recommend him for a full day of activities and lovely experiences!

Our guide (John Acosta)...

Franklin_L, Apr 2023

Our guide (John Acosta) was nothing short of amazing. He provided almost non-stop commentary describing what we were seeing and what we should be aware of that was around us. His knowledge of the history of the country was excellent. Our driver was also excellent. I would highly recommend this tour. A very enjoyable day.

the opportunity to see...

hector_r, Apr 2023

the opportunity to see the locks in action (ship and tug boats) it was the highpoint of the journey.

Great tour guide!

Tyrone_C, Apr 2023

John was a great tour guide and had tons of info about Panamá and all our stops. Great food for lunch as well.

Thank you Enrique!

Leah_N, Apr 2023

The tour was great, food was great and the guide was exceptional! We were lucky enough to see one of the largest cargo ships go thru the locks which was amazing. Definitely suggest this tour if you're not wanting to go thru the actual locks and add other aspects into the tour such as animals, sight seeing, a bit of history.

Great tour with knowledgeable guide

Kendra_E, Apr 2023

My sister and myself had a great time on this tour. It was a great way to see a little bit of Panama and learn more about Panama wildlife and history. Shout out to Enrique for being a great guide and an expert in Sloth seeking. My favorite was Aguaclara Locks and San Lorenzo. Lunch was good too. Thanks Enrique.

A full day, but well worth it

Michael_D, Apr 2023

We were staying at Dreams Playa Bonita, and so there was a small upcharge, but the tour operator sent a van to pick us up at the hotel, and meet the bus in Panama City, then drop us back off at our hotel. It was a long day, but well worth it. I enjoyed seeing the Aqua Clara locks, and the boat ride in the Canal lake, cruising to the various islands to see wild monkeys and birds and even caymans and crocodiles. Lunch at the Fort was a nice touch with beautiful Caribbean views before heading back to Panama City.

Good, but too long.

Danielle_C, Apr 2023

We enjoyed the trip mostly. Lake Gatun and the Agua Clara Locks are very cool. We could have done without the San Lorenzo Fort. It just added an extra hour of driving in my opinion. We were also the first to be picked up and last stop on the way home which is fine except many people were very late and so we waited a long time in the van, much longer than we should have. We also thought this would be an 8 hour day. We were picked up at 6:40am and got back to the hotel around 4:30pm. Most of that time was in the van. We were not happy with that either.

Great Experience

Arjun_M, Apr 2023

We had a fantastic experience. John was our guide and he shared a lot of details and stories about the canal and the places we visited. It was really well organized. Kids had a blast. I highly recommend this!

...