Gatun Lake: Monkeys & Exotic Wildlife by the Canal
Description
Set out from Panama City in a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle bound for Gamboa Marina. Board your riverboat and glide across Gatun Lake, a vital section of the Panama Canal surrounded by lush tropical rainforest. As you cruise, watch for the lake’s most famous residents — white-faced capuchins, howler monkeys, and Geoffrey’s tamarins. With a bit of luck, you may also spot sloths resting in the treetops, colorful tropical birds, or crocodiles sunning on the shore. Your certified guide shares fascinating insights about the canal, its history, and the rich biodiversity of the Chagres River basin, making this more than just a wildlife encounter. End your adventure with a comfortable return ride to Panama City, arriving back at your hotel with unforgettable memories and photos of Panama’s wildlife.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The tour starts with hotel pick up in Panama City followed by a transfer to the Gamboa Marina.
Gamboa is a peaceful rainforest town located at the meeting point of the Chagres River and the Panama Canal. Known for its lush jungle, abundant wildlife, and historic canal infrastructure, it’s one of the best places in Panama to experience nature up close. Visitors can enjoy stunning views of Gatun Lake and the surrounding rainforest.
Once there, you will go on a 15-minute boat ride on the Gatun lake until you observe 3 kinds of Monkeys in a wild. Together with a guide, you will spend about 90 minutes observing the different species of monkeys. After the visit, you will go on a 15-minute boat ride back to the Gamboa Marina followed by a transfer back to your hotel.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Please note we go to multiples hotels and the pick up time will be Morning tour: between 6:15am and 7am or Midday tour: Between 10:40am and 11:55am 1. Please read all details of the tour description including the $20usd boat fee to be paid at pickup. 2.Customers in the casco viejo and santa ana area need to meet us at the Tantalo Hotel due to heavy traffic which delay the tour. 3. No Pickup available from Dreams, Westin, Costa del Este, El Dorado and Causeway you will have to meet us at the closest pickup location available. 4. No transfer available for the hotels near or in Tocumen international airport.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- May be operated by a multilingual guide
- The duration of the tour includes travel time.
Reviews(2,357)
We had a great time. Milton was an incredible tour guide. He was funny and informative. He knew how to keep our children (and us) engaged. The islands and animalswere fun to see and interact with. I highly recommend this trip for anyone who enjoys nature and animals.
Great trip to get out of Panama City and onto Lake Gatun to see various species of monkeys and other animals. There are quite a few other other boats about so it was busy enough rather than feeling fully out in nature, but we saw lots of animals, and Milton our guide was very professional and full of info!
The tour was fun! Our guide Milton was awesome! Worth the money, was able to see a few monkeys. Worth doing more than once
Our host was kind and very insightful with his information. I highly recommend it to anyone who's interested.
We book the early morning tour and was back at our hotel by 10:30. The tour was fun and informative. I loved that our tour guide was bilingual so that everyone could understand what she was saying. My daughter loved it. Definitely recommend.
One of the highlights of my trip was the monkey boat excursion. Cruising through the beautiful waterways while watching monkeys interact in their natural habitat was an unforgettable experience. Seeing them climb through the trees, jump onto the boat, and eagerly greet visitors made the adventure exciting, unique, and well worth the trip. The scenery was breathtaking, and the guides were knowledgeable, making the excursion both fun and educational!
This tour was so nice and relaxing! Milton and his team gave fantastic history about Panama and the amazing monkeys and wildlife around Gatun Lake. It was especially enjoyable to see the monkeys up close; I highly recommend it!
Milton was a fanatstic guide. Knowledgeable, funny, helpful and just great to hang out. Big props also to the monkey whisper lady
Tourist guide was very informative and excellent personality. Took extra care of us especially with a 4 month old baby.
My husband and I had an incredible time on this boat tour! Seeing the monkeys up close and cruising past the massive ships on the lake was a huge highlight. Our guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable, and made the whole experience fun and smooth. Highly recommend!!
