Panama Canal Tour: New Locks Agua Clara, Gatun & Atlantic Bridge
Description
The tour begins with pickup from your hotel, hostel, or Airbnb in Panama City. We’ll drive for about one hour to the Atlantic, on the Atlantic side, to visit the impressive Agua Clara Locks — part of the Panama Canal’s expansion and the only place where you can see Neo-Panamax ships crossing. With 100% certainty of seeing ships in transit, either at Agua Clara or Gatun Locks, this tour guarantees an unforgettable Canal experience. We will continue to the Atlantic Bridge, the largest and tallest bridge in Panama, offering stunning views of the Canal and surrounding landscape. Along the way, we’ll stop to see the remains of the unfinished French Canal, an abandoned 19th-century project that paved the way for today’s canal. Our final stop is the historic Gatun Locks, in operation since 1914, where you can watch ships pass just a few meters away. After this enriching 6-hour experience, we’ll return to Panama City. This tour operates year-round, including during Panama's rainy season.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Agua Clara Locks are part of the Panama Canal Expansion, inaugurated in 2016 on the Atlantic side of the Canal near Colón. These modern locks were built to accommodate the massive Neo-Panamax vessels, which are too large for the original locks. The complex uses rolling gates and water-saving basins that recycle 60% of the water with each transit, making it an impressive feat of sustainable engineering. Visitors can enjoy a panoramic observation deck overlooking Gatun Lake and watch enormous ships pass through, while learning how the expansion has strengthened Panama’s role as a key hub of global trade.
The Atlantic Bridge is an impressive cable-stayed bridge that crosses the Panama Canal at its Atlantic entrance near Colón. Officially inaugurated in August 2019, it is the longest span concrete cable-stayed bridge in the world, with a main span of 530 meters (1,739 ft) and a total length of 4.6 kilometers (2.8 miles). Its soaring pylons rise 212 meters (696 ft) above sea level, allowing a clearance of 75 meters (246 ft) so that the largest ships can safely pass beneath. Built entirely in reinforced concrete to resist Panama’s tropical climate and salinity, the Atlantic Bridge is both an engineering marvel and a stunning architectural landmark. Besides its functional role connecting the provinces of Colón and Panamá Oeste, it offers travelers spectacular views of the Canal, the rainforest, and the Caribbean Sea, making it a highlight for anyone visiting the Atlantic side of the Canal.
Gatun Locks, on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal, are among the original locks opened in 1914. With three chambers, they lift ships 26 meters (85 ft) to Gatun Lake. The new Gatun Visitor Center features panoramic observation decks and interactive exhibits, offering visitors a modern space to watch vessels in transit while learning about the Canal’s past and expansion.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Our team will email you the day before to confirm pickup time. Be 10 mins before at the lobby. Our driver will inform when getting closer.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The 6 hours tour include the travel time from Panama City
- “No pickups are offered from the Cruise Terminal. Pickup is available only from hotels or Airbnbs.”
- This is a shared tour, so you’ll be joining other guests. We’ll be making a few pickups along the way to welcome everyone, so we appreciate your patience
- From Casco Antiguo we collect from Tantalo Hotel Meeting point
- No pickups offered from Sant Maria Hotel or any hotel near the airport
Reviews(5)
Interesting tour with good infrastructure and safety
We had visited Miraflores and because of poor timing, missed seeing any ships. This tour seemed like a good way to see what we had missed out on at a reasonable price. Note that in addition to the cost of the tour, you will need to buy a $10 ticket that will get you admission to both sets of locks. It's advised to buy them online ahead of time because there can be a line at the ticket booth which can cut into your limited viewing time at the locks. We were picked up right on time. The 15 seat bus was very nice, and our guide Rafael, made the hour or so ride to Colon go by very quickly by providing an informative and entertaining presentation about the history of Panama and the Canal. Then we arrived at the "New" Agua Clara locks. The viewing platform is amazing and sits high above the massive locks. Apparently there is a short film but we chose to just stay on the platform and marvel at the massive container ship passing through the locks. After about an hour we departed for the old Gatun locks, passing across the "Puente Atlántico" bridge. On the way we enjoyed a nice snack that was provided for us and even stopped on the side of the road, where Rafael guided us to a sloth in a nearby tree. We then spent about another 45 minutes at Gatun locks which present quite a contrast to the new locks. I think at Gatun we saw 4 or 5 ships go through. This is a two lane lock system so ships go in both directions at once although the size of ships is much smaller than Agua Clara. On the way back to Panama City, Rafael gave us more great information about things to do and places to eat in the city. For the money, you won't find a better value than this tour, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better guide than Rafael.
Very knowledgeable tour guide. Enthusiastic and personable. Highly recommend visitors to Panama Canal use this guide and driver.
Our guide, Saul, was absolutely the best of all the guides we've had so far. The tour was very interesting and educational. Saul is very knowledgeable.
