Full Panama Canal Transit Tour

The Panama Canal tour starts with an early morning pick-up at your hotel in Panama City by one of our drivers. Enjoy a short transfer to Flamenco Island at the Causeway of Amador on the Pacific side of the canal, where our tour outfitter welcomes you for the embarkation. You will first sail under the bridge of the Americas, which rises over 100 meters above sea level and reunites the land divided during the canal's construction, forming another link in the Pan-American Highway. Breakfast is served buffet style.
The Panama Canal is 80 kilometers long, from deep waters in the Pacific Ocean to deep waters in the Caribbean Sea. It was cut through the lowest and one of the narrowest saddles of the long mountainous Isthmus that joins North and South America. The original elevation was 95 meters above sea level, where it crosses the Continental Divide.
Northbound on the Panama Canal, the first stop is at Miraflores locks, which are the tallest in the locks system due to the extreme tidal variation of the Pacific Ocean. The boat will be raised 17 meters above sea level in two steps to enter Miraflores Lake, which is almost 2 kilometers long. A transition from salt water in the Pacific Ocean to fresh water in the locks chambers and lakes occurs here. Next, the ship is raised in one step, an additional 9 meters, at the Pedro Miguel locks. At this point, the boat will be sailing in Gatun lake at 26 meters above sea level and entering Gaillard Cut, the narrowest section of the Panama Canal. The 13.7-kilometer extended portion of the waterway was carved through rock and shale and flanked by the backbones of the Continental Divide. The original width of Gaillard Cut was 92 meters and was increased to 152 meters in the early 1970s. To accommodate the demands of today's transit needs, the Panama Canal Authority recently completed the monumental task of widening the Cut to 192 meters in straight sections and up to 222 meters in curves.
This allows for unrestricted two-way traffic of Panamax vessels, the largest ships that fit in the Panama Canal locks. Gaillard Cut opens up into Gatun Lake, where the Chagres River flows into the waterway near the town of Gamboa, the site of the Panama Canal's Dredging Division. The Chagres River is the only river in the world that flows into two oceans, and it is the primary source of fresh water, which guarantees the operation of the waterway.
Lunch is served while enjoying views of the giant cranes and dredging equipment near Gamboa, ships traveling southbound carrying cargo or passengers, and the islands dot Gatun Lake.

Halfway through the voyage in Gatun Lake, you will pass by Barro Colorado Island, where the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has been researching rainforest biodiversity since soon after this area was flooded and the lake was formed. Gatun Lake covers an area of 423 square kilometers, and the islands are the tops of hills and mountains that were not flooded. Gatun Lake was once the largest artificial lake in the world. Before reaching the Gatun locks on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal, you will see Gatun Dam. The waves at Gatun will lower the ship 26 meters to sea level in three steps, and the ship will continue along a channel to the Port of Cristobal. You will disembark in Cristobal and board a coach bus that will take you back to Flamenco Island on a 1:30-hour comfortable ride. At Flamenco Island, your driver will be waiting to take you back to your hotel.