Panama Ports of Call: Experiencing Panama while on Shore
Panama Cruise Ports on the Pacific and the Atlantic
LAND HO! Cruise ship trips stopping in Panama are very popular, and why wouldn’t they be? To start with, Panama offers to the world the greatest shortcut across the American continent through the Panama Canal. Passing through the Panama Canal locks on board the cruise ships is an experience of a lifetime! Second is the number of places you get to visit in many different countries and the variety of shore excursions available in all these ports you pass along the route, not just Panama. With twelve different cruise lines visit Panama’s Ports of Call all-year round, thus there’s never shortage of options!
If you’ve booked your cruise already or are thinking about it, we suggest you learn the basics on Panama’s Pacific ports of Balboa and Fuerte Amador and Panama’s Caribbean ports of Colon and Cristobal before setting sail to plan your perfect Panama Cruise Ship vacations!
Cruising The Panama Canal: The Big Highlight
When you travel to Panama by cruise ship one of the big highlights of the trip is to traverse the Panama Canal. Watching the locks system put to work and the water levels give way to massive ships such as cruise ships through this man made waterway is a true spectacle and proof of how far engineering and human ingenuity can take us. Plus you get to stop along the Pacific and the Atlantic coastlines and enjoy incredible destinations on both ocean fronts in one trip.
Panama has 4 different ports that offer an amazing variety of history, culture, nature, sightseeing in Panama City and other top tourist destinations in the surroundings, the Miraflores and Gatun Locks of the Canal and, extremely popular and well known among voyagers heading to Panama, multiple opportunities for shopping in either the largest mall in all of Latin America, the Albrook Mall in Panama City on the Pacific, and the Duty Free Zones or Zona Libre in Colon on the Atlantic; an array of options making for a truly unique experience only available for ships passing through the canal.
Panama’s Ports of Call
Pacific Ports of Call: Fuerte Amador and Balboa Ports
If you’re porting on the Pacific side of Panama, the ports of Fuerte Amador and Balboa Harbor are the ideal departure points to Panama City and many close-by attractions. Both ports are located at the entrance of the Panama Canal on the Pacific (Balboa up near the first set of locks on the Pacific side and Amador at the entrance to the canal) and a short 10-15 minute taxi ride away from Panama City. Considering Panama City is the “hub” for the best day tours and shore excursions out there, your choices will be almost unlimited!
In particular, ships that arrive at Fuerte Amador do so before or after their Panama Canal Transit. Fuerte Amador’s causeway connects four islands (Flamenco, Culebra, Perico, Naos) and serves as a breakwater to protect the entrance of the canal. This Amador Causeway offers restaurants, a marina (the Flamenco Marina), a convention center and duty free shopping at Fuerte Amador Plaza for a quick guilt-free shopping spree!! Panoramic views of the city can be seen from here and don’t forget the Smithsonian Research Institute on the Culebra Island with the visitors’ center.
Easy access to the Miraflores locks, the city center and all the activities available from the city center, all just a short distance away, gives these cruise ports an advantage over its Caribbean counterparts, which are located a longer drive away from the city.
Caribbean Ports of Call: Colon 2000 & Cristobal Ports
The Cristobal Pier is located in Colon, Panama, on the eastern side of the Panama Canal. Some ships docking in Cristobal Port may have to enter the locks and be raised up to Gatun Lake (another close-by attraction!) where then they tender passengers for their shore excursions (by the way, the only shore excursions available from here are offered through the cruise ships as there’s no access to the Gatun Yacht Club otherwise); some others may start their shore excursions right from Cristobal and do not enter the locks at all, so definitely check back with your cruise line before you book any shore excursions.
Passengers not taking a shore excursions usually stay on board and return back into Cristobal. Although there’s not much shopping to do in Cristobal, the Pier itself houses a huge shopping complex and a flea market, perfect for some souvenir shopping to bring folks back home! There’s also restaurants on site, native dancers and more entertainment than at the Colon 2000 pier.
When it comes to the Colon Pier, it is generally used for ships on a Caribbean cruise route docking in Colon for the entire day and not entering the canal to go across to the Pacific side. Colon 2000 terminal is located inside the world’s largest Duty Free Zone, although not particularly suitable for souvenir or arts and crafts shopping as it is more of an industrial area for more “business” oriented purchases and the like. The Colon Pier is relatively new and offers its own duty free mall, small boutiques for handcrafts and souvenirs in addition to restaurants, lounging areas and internet cafe; nevertheless, Colon still remains essentially an industrial area with few tourist attractions.
If stopping on the Caribbean side, in order to experience the real Panama you must head out and away from the ports. Visiting the Miraflores locks and Panama City (slightly over an hour away) is doable within most cruise schedules; you can also access the Caribbean beaches from these ports and other popular destinations like the Gatun Locks, Gatun Lake and Portobelo. Both Cristobal and Colon 2000 are within less than a mile of each other on opposite sides of the Canal and are accessible by a quick taxi ride.
In Panama for a Day: What To Do while on Shore
Many top attractions and great shore excursions are just within reach from the cruise ports and within your cruise ship schedule. Options vary from port to port, but finding what to do in Panama during your cruise ship stop will be no problem at all; choosing what to do might be a different story!
Finding your Panama shore excursions at lower prices than those offered through the cruise ships has never been as easy as today with the amount of information available on the internet. Make sure you book your day tours with a reliable company to avoid unnecessary headaches and ditching your plans on shore altogether. Also definitely check your cruise ship schedule before booking any activities (you can check directly with your cruise ship or at cruisecal.com), and if you have questions in regards to whether you can make it to a tour during your hours on shore you can always contact our team of Panama Activities Specialists to clear your doubts.
Panama activities options are plenty and information sources even more abundant. You can check out sites like tripadvisor.com for detailed lists of top Panama Attractions and Things to Do in Panama and experience this country to the fullest! For example:
Take a Panama City Tour and the Panama Canal (ranking #1), the best way to check out all the highlights of an amazing city within your time on shore!
Check out the Miraflores Locks (ranking #3) to witness the fascinating clock-working system of the Panama Canal and admire this *8th Wonder of the World”.
Walk through the old streets of Casco Viejo (#9) and Panama La Vieja (#12), UNESCO World Heritage sites and standing vestiges of Panama City’s Colonial past.
We hope everyone has the opportunity to discover the essence of this amazingly diverse city during their short visit to Panama.