LUXURY PANAMA CITY TOUR

Panama City is one of the most cosmopolitan capitals in Central America. There are plenty of fun and interesting things to do in Panama City, so we encourage you to spend a few days here. It’s much more than a travel hub for the region. Obviously one of the main attractions in the city is the Panama Canal. The construction of the Panama Canal took more than a decade and cost nearly $400 million. By the time it was completed in 1914, the Panama Canal had created a shorter and more economical shipping route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, dissecting Central America to simplify the transportation of goods. Today, ships pass through the 48-mile-long waterway about 11,000 times each year without the need to navigate around Cape Horn or the Magellan Straight. It was a bold project made possible by ground-breaking engineering, and there’s still nothing else like it on earth. Find out more about this fascinating feat of construction as well as the fascinating history of Panama City on this unique luxury tour of Panama City.

 

Bridge of The Americas

City Tour 

 

Every visitor to Panama City should visit Casco Viejo, also known as Casco Antiguo or San Felipe. This is Panama City’s historic old quarter. It’s listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is arguably the most popular tourist attraction in Panama City. This now trendy neighborhood has a mix of old Spanish colonial and neoclassical architecture. It’s an interesting place, with many layers. Some buildings are completely restored to their former glory, while others are left to crumble and fall apart. This is where you will find trendy restaurants and bars, boutique hotels, artsy shops, and hipster cafes. Casco Viejo is a relatively safe part of Panama City, where tourists are able to wander aimlessly. That said, like most big cities in Central America, you should still remain vigilant from possible pickpockets and scammers. 

 

Casco Viejo, Panama

 

Miraflores Locks Visit

Another must-see Panama City attraction is visiting the world-famous Panama Canal. It’s said to be one of the largest, and most difficult, engineering projects ever completed. It’s considered one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World, a claim that is hard to dispute after you learn about its remarkable engineering accomplishments. The Panama Canal is an artificial waterway that connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. The canal has a lock system that raises and lower ships to Gatun Lake, a large freshwater artificial lake that sits 85 feet above sea level. The best place to watch ships pass through the Panama Canal is at the Miraflores Locks Visitor Center in Panama City.

 

Miraflores Locks Visitors Center

 

 

The Amador Causeway is where you will find many of Panama City’s top activities and attractions. The road stretches over 6 km and links the small islands of Naos, Perico, and Flamenco. This is where the southern entrance of the Panama Canal connects with the Pacific Ocean, making it an ideal spot to watch the huge container ships enter and exit Panama’s famous canal.

The Amador Causeway

 

Panama Canal Transit

 

This tour not only visits the best lookout points over the Panama Canal but actually takes you to the water to experience a transit through these word-famous locks. From the moment your ship glides into the narrow lock to cross from one ocean to another, it becomes clear that the most dramatic way to experience the Panama Canal is on the water. The sensation of traveling smoothly up and down through each lock as more than 100,000 cubic meters of water moves slowly in and out is almost meditative. It’s also a real-world physics lesson that you don’t have to be a scientist to appreciate it.

 

The Panama Canal

 

The Pacific Ocean is at a different level to the Atlantic, and the Atlantic has tides of less than three feet while the Pacific varies around 20 feet. This is why a sea-level Canal would not be possible. All of the chambers have a lift of around 29 feet, except for the last Miraflores Lock which must compensate for the Pacific tides. Water is moved from a higher lock chamber to a lower one using only the force of gravity. Approximately 26 million gallons of Lake Gatun water ends up in the ocean each time a ship passes through one end of the Panama Canal, making a total of 52 million gallons for a complete transit. The science comes into its own with this impressive feat of engineering!

 

Giant Ship passing through The Locks

 

Book your luxury Panama City tour here with Va Expeditions and experience the best of what the city has to offer.