Panama City tours and excursions
Panama City tours
Rail tours
This beautiful hour-long ride along the canal and through the rainforest from Panama City to Colon on the other side of the country is the ideal way to see the country. The trip with Panama Railway Company will take all day, as you must get the return train which doesn’t run until the late afternoon. Depart at approximately 0700 and the return train leaves at 1700; bring a jumper to combat the fierce on board air-con.
Tel: +507 317 6070.Website: http://www.panarail.com
Adventure tours
Panama really is a place of extreme wilderness – people forget that on seeing Panama City. If you have some time in Panama you could do an adventure tour that will take you into the jungle. There are all kinds of activities: hiking, kayaking, zipwiring, white-water rafting and the standards of tours are high. Ancon Expeditions and Boquete Outdoor Adventures are two recommended companies.
Tel: +507 269 9415; +507 720-2284.Website: http://www.boqueteoutdooradventures.com
Panama City excursions
Embera Villages
Not all of Panama has been developed and modernised: the people of the Embera and Wounan tribes live fairly close to the city and many of their villages have set up tourism projects for visitors to come to learn about their way of life. One option is to book a tour with Anne Gordon de Barrigon, an American woman married to a man of the Embera village Peru, in Chagres National Park, about 45 minutes by canoe from the city. Learn about their dances, crafts and jungle skills, and be amazed at this very different lifestyle so close to the city.
Tel: +507 6758 7600.Website: http://www.emberavillagetours.com
Gatun Lake Rainforest Canal Excursion
A full day trip for the more adventurous. This is an alternative way to see the canal – travelling via a small boat followed by kayaking into the rainforest. You can chug along next to cruise liners as they head through the canal, go for lunch at a floating restaurant on a lake, kayak through small waterways in the jungle surrounded by monkeys, have a dip in the lake and hike to a waterfall. It’s an awesome day out, and a great way to see how close Panama City is to some serious wilderness.
Tel: +507 262 1540.Website: http://www.lunascastlehostel.com
