Top Panama Day Trips

This tour provided us with a clear understanding of how the Panama Canal was built and how the locks work. Our visit to the Miraflores Visitor Center allowed us to see a large ship traversing the locks, guided by locomotives on each side. The lake is very large and our boat traveled alongside the large ships transiting the canal. The lake is full of islands, and our guide knew them well. He stopped to purchase fresh fruit and actually called the monkeys to come down to the boat. We hand-fed Howlers, Capuchins and Tamarinds, which was a truly unique experience. We even saw two crocodiles. We highly recommend this tour and thank our excellent guide, Dan Taylor.

We boarded a medium size boat, which seated 3 people comfortably per row. Life jackets were provided and mandatory. We stopped in one area to see a shallow reef, an area to watch for dolphins and a mangrove to see sloths. For these stops, we stayed in the boat. We saw a few dolphins and a handful of sloths. We went to Zapatilla island and were dropped off for a while to swim. There is a path through that island where you can see wildlife; we elected to stay and swim. There are some areas with strong current but plenty of places to swim in very calm water. Perfect temperature of the water. This island is a picturesque piece of paradise. Undeveloped. We only saw a few other people besides our group. The captain and his mate set out a gorgeous spread of fresh fruit for us prior to leaving. They provided bottles of water. We placed our lunch order prior to being dropped off at the island. Then came back afterwards for lunch. Delicious pina coladas. I had shrimp and my boyfriend had a mixed seafood; both served with rice and patacones (the best fried plantains). Then we boated to another spot and snorkeled off the boat over a reef. It was bright and vibrant with every color. We saw some tropical fish as well. I had difficulty with the snorkel mask provided (leaking). My boyfriend brought his own and that’s what I would recommend if you have space for it. That being said, the majority of others used the provided snorkels and seemed fine, so it may have just been operator error on my part. The captain and mate were very friendly and shared information about the places and animals/fish that were seen. On the way back to the dock, they offered a beer to anyone who wanted one. Overall, excellent value for the money and we thoroughly enjoyed the day. Highly recommend!

I participated fully in this experience a few days ago and all I can say it was truly worth it. The guide and his team did a fantastic job, very knowledgeable and the indigenous experience was impactful. My guide was Demetria a true asset to the overall experience. Highly recommend.