Monkey & Sloth Panama Canal Boat Safari with Casco Viejo Brunch
Description
Explore the legendary Panama Canal, get up close with wildlife on Gatun Lake, and enjoy a traditional Panamanian brunch in the heart of historic Casco Viejo. Your buffet-style Panamanian brunch includes: • Pollo Guisado (traditional stewed chicken) • Carimañolas (yuca stuffed with cheese or meat) • Empanadas • Hojaldres (Panamanian fry bread) • Local queso blanco (fresh white cheese) • Fresh local tropical fruits • Vegetarian options available • Fresh juices and Panamanian coffee In case of rain, you'll be comfortably seated indoors at Restaurante El Nacional, where the same delicious menu and cultural storytelling will continue in a stylish, colonial-era dining space. This unforgettable day combines nature, culture, history, and cuisine into a seamless, enriching experience—perfect for travelers looking to connect with the true essence of Panama
Tour Options
Itinerary
We start the day with pick ups in Panama City. Your day begins with a journey into one of the most fascinating intersections of nature and engineering in the world: Gatun Lake, a vast manmade lake that forms a critical part of the Panama Canal. You'll board a covered motorboat and set off on a wildlife safari through its winding channels and jungle-lined shores. As you cruise across the iconic Panama Canal, you’ll glide past enormous cargo ships and ocean liners, sharing the lake with vessels from around the world. Your expert local guide will take you off the main canal route and into the hidden backwaters and narrow inlets where the jungle comes alive. Keep your camera ready for capuchin monkeys, tamarin monkeys howler monkeys, sloths, iguanas, toucans, crocodiles, and even basilisk lizards that run across the water. The boat ride offers both awe-inspiring views and rare up-close encounters with Panama’s diverse wildlife.
Our destination is Gatun Lake, where we will cruise around islands created during the canal construction and see the abundant wildlife on its shores. We will visit the famous Monkey Islands where we can see capuchins, howlers, and tamarins up close in their natural habitat. Once we finish with our canal and lake boat ride.
In case of rain, you'll be comfortably seated indoors at Restaurante El Nacional, where the same delicious menu and cultural storytelling will continue in a stylish, colonial-era dining space.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will send you an email with exact pick up time. For the morning option it will be at around 5pm the day before the tour for the afternoon option, we will send the pick up information at 10am the same day of the tour.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required on Shared tours
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately. If it rains you might get wet.
- Minimum age is 3 years
- Tour is guided only in English
Reviews(749)
This was such a great experience. Our tour guide Alonzo was very knowledgeable. He gave a great tour. Also, the food was amazing!
We took the early morning tour, which started at 6am. Though it was an early start, especially on vacation, it was totally worth it! We got to see the monkeys, and enjoy a boat ride along the Panama Canal. We especially enjoyed the extra history about the Canal. Overall, a great experience.
Alonso was our guide and he was fantastic! He was very knowledgable about the history of Panama and the canal. He was also great at taking us around the lake to spot different monkeys and giving us information on each of them. We ended up seeing 3 different kinds of monkeys, an iguana, birds, and bats. The brunch was delicious, and pickup/dropoff from our hotel was easy and communicated clearly. Highly recommend this tour and Alonso if you have free time in Panama!
Alonso and Yoel were fantastic. Very friendly, helpful and trustworthy. Had great insights into the canal and the animals that live in and around it. The meal at the end was fantastic too and actually pretty romantic. We loved it.
We went private which was nice. Our guide Noris was excellent and knowledgable. Included lunch is true panamanian food and delicious. The canal is a testament to human civilization and the deep panamanian history is fantastic to learn about. Highly recommended.
I simply cannot give enough praise to Alonso and his company. This tour exceeded expectations in every way. Starting out, traffic was blocked near our pick up point and we couldn’t find the spot where the driver was able to park. Alonso got out of the van and walked about a block and a half to find us and lead us back to the van. The van was clean and comfortable with great air conditioning. Alonso speaks great English and gave us a very informative and interesting tour of the Panama Canal and the history. When we boarded the boat we met our driver and began the boat ride to Monkey Island along the Chagres River. We were able to see a crocodile, howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, tamarind monkeys, and many iguanas. Alonso was great at spotting the animals and directing our boat driver to a location where we all had a clear view of them. After our tour we made our way to the restaurant where we were served traditional Panamanian food. The tour description describes the meal as a “brunch” which seemed to us like it might mean a small meal where we might be able to sample a few things. We took the afternoon tour so I’m not sure what it’s like in the morning but our meal was amazing. We were given a menu and could choose from 4-5 different items and drinks (sodas, juice, or beer). The proportions were far bigger than we expected and the food was delicious, highly recommend the passion fruit juice! We left the restaurant fat and happy! 10/10 would recommend this tour and Alonso to any and everyone!
Alonso communicated all the details of the trip and itinerary to perfection. He provided us loads of information about Panama, the canal, the environment and the animals. The tour was excellent and Alonso were excellent! We had so much fun and had the opportunity to see 3 kinds of monkeys, birds, and lizards. At the end we had a scrumptious brunch with fresh fruit, it was delicious. Highly recommend!
The host was on time, very knowledgeable on the history of the Canal. Wish I say more monkeys but thats no fault of the provider
We did the Monkey & Sloth Canal Boat Safari with Casco Viejo brunch, and our guide Noris was absolutely magical. Her energy stayed positive throughout the entire experience. She was incredibly knowledgeable, vibrant, had the answer to every question, and made you feel like you’d known her your whole life. She truly made this one of my favorite experiences in Panama. The tour started with hotel pickup in a comfortable A/C van. From there, we drove to the lake and boarded a boat that took us to Monkey Island. We were able to spot three different types of monkeys and captured some amazing photos and videos along the way. Ironically, the only thing we didn’t see was a sloth , which is funny because it’s in the title of the tour and that’s the only animal not really mentioned in the tour description or brought up during the tour itself. Noris did such an amazing job that I honestly forgot about the sloths until we got back to our room. This is the only thing keeping me from giving 5 star review. After the boat tour, we headed to El Restaurante Nacional for brunch. Fun fact: it was originally the first bank in Panama, and the original vault door is still there. We were given the option of three different meals, and drinks included sangria, beer, and tea (sodas were extra). The food was great, and my sangria definitely did not disappoint. After brunch, we had the option to stay and explore the area or be driven back to the hotel. Overall, this was an unforgettable experience, and Noris was a huge part of what made it so special.
Overall, the trip was good. Our guide Noris was very good, friendly, and she provided us with a lot of information. The pickup took forever, and unfortunately, we did not see any large ships, but we did see many monkeys and other animals. The food at the end was super delicious - it was a nice outing overall.
