Hello,
We are going to Panama in a few weeks and want to visit the Panama Canal. Has anyone done the full canal transit? Is it worth spending the whole day traversing the canal and back? Part of me wants to complete the transit, but I am wondering if it is worthwhile or if it is just more of the same. I've also heard you can get the Canal experience just by having lunch overlooking the Miraflores locks. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Carl
Looking for opinions on full or partial Canal transit
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You have to plan your schedule carefully. Full transits are offered only once or twice a month. Partial transits are offered a few days out of the month, but nowhere near every day.
It's been several years, but, we did do a full transit when we were in Panama. We waited a very long time to begin our journey through the canal, several hours. When there are little ships, like ours, they 'bundle' them, so we had to wait for others.
Because of that, it was night by the time we reached Colon. Part of the reason we did the entire transit was to see the country on the bus ride back. We saw nothing.
The canal was awesome, but, I would have been perfectly happy with a partial transit. And, like Jeff said, timing is everything.
I do think the experience of actually going through the locks is well worth the time and expense. Not the same as watching from above.
Hi there, I'd tell you that the miraflores center is just as good (if not better) than the transits. While I never did the transit, I chatted with our tour operator (adventure-life.com) about the pros/cons of both, and they told me that the transits are really just a bunch of people on a boat for hours (crammed) and listening to some gudie over the intercom tell them things about the canal. When I went to the miraflores center, I found all sorts of old photos/exhibits, etc and it was awesome to peruse. I think I would have been upset had I done the transit and NOT gotten to see the Miraflores displays. Hope that helps!