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Panama Canal & Casco Viejo: Historic Tour
4.9
75 Ratings
Panama City
Experience the wonder of the Panama Canal locks and immerse yourself in the charm of Casco Viejo on this captivating walking tour. Witness ships passing through the locks and explore the historic plazas and iconic buildings of Panama City’s colonial district.
Experience the wonder of the Panama Canal locks and immerse yourself in the charm of Casco Viejo on this captivating walking tour. Witness ships passing through the locks and explore the historic plazas and iconic buildings of Panama City’s colonial district.
Duration:
5 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Miraflores Visitor Center - Experience the marvel of engineering that revolutionized the maritime industry, brought to life by the United States and Panama. Visit the Miraflores Visitor Center to witness the Panama Canal in action.
- Panama City - From the visitor center to Casco Viejo, enjoy the sights of modern Panama City.
- Plaza Mayor…
- Miraflores Visitor Center - Experience the marvel of engineering that revolutionized the maritime industry, brought to life by the United States and Panama. Visit the Miraflores Visitor Center to witness the Panama Canal in action.
- Panama City - From the visitor center to Casco Viejo, enjoy the sights of modern Panama City.
- Plaza Mayor - This will be the meeting point, located in the heart of Casco Viejo.
- Metropolitan Cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana) - Enter the country’s most significant cathedral and be captivated by its beauty and history.
- Plaza de Francia - At this plaza, see the Ministry of Culture (formerly the Court of Justice), the French Embassy, the obelisk honoring the French effort, and the dungeons.
- Paseo de Las Bovedas - Witness why Panama is known as the “Manhattan of Central America” with a breathtaking view of the skyline. From here, also see the vibrant Museum of Biodiversity and the Bridge of the Americas welcoming ships transiting the Panama Canal.
- Plaza Tomas Herrera - This plaza is dedicated to one of our leaders, Tomas Herrera.
- Plaza Bolivar - Originally named San Francisco, this shaded plaza features central sculptures dedicated to Simon Bolivar.
- Amador Causeway (Calzada de Amador) - Enjoy one of Panama City’s most entertaining green spaces. The rock extracted during the construction of the Panama Canal between 1904 and 1914 was used to create the causeway. The road stretches 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) into the Pacific Ocean, connecting the mainland with the islands of Naos, Perico, and Flamenco. Capture a stunning photo of the Panama skyline from here.
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Bottled water
- Admission fees
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Private transportation
- Bottled water
- Admission fees
- In-vehicle air conditioning
Additional Information
We will start the experience by visiting two of the most popular tourist attractions in the country: the world-famous Panama Canal and the Casco Viejo(Colonial City). Our first or last stop could be the Miraflores visitor center(depending on the transit schedule of the ships), where we will see the Canal in full action and watch up close vessels passing…
We will start the experience by visiting two of the most popular tourist attractions in the country: the world-famous Panama Canal and the Casco Viejo(Colonial City). Our first or last stop could be the Miraflores visitor center(depending on the transit schedule of the ships), where we will see the Canal in full action and watch up close vessels passing through the locks. We will also enjoy a 3D movie at the IMAX Theater. After that, we’ll travel along Balboa Avenue, taking in the sights of modern Panama City, also known as the “Manhattan of Central America,” until we reach our final destination, the Colonial Casco Viejo. In Casco Viejo, we’ll take a walking tour, visit all its plazas and colonial buildings, and end our experience with a stunning view of the Panama City skyline from the Amador Causeway.
Location
Miraflores Visitor Center
East Side of the Miraflores Locks
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(75 Ratings)
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Vicki
Mar 15, 2026
Excellent - We had a very enjoyable and informative tour. Our tour guide Jorge did everything he could to make our tour exactly what we were hoping for. He was very knowledgeable about the history of Panama and everything we were seeing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wilma001
Mar 10, 2026
Excellent tour of Old Town Panama and Miraflores Lock. - Our guide Jorge arrived promptly to collect us from the hotel. He drove us through the Old Town and we then walked much of the area. All the time Jorge was educating us with the history of the Old Town, the buildings, Government, etc. He had amazing and interesting knowledge of both history and current affairs. He then drove us to the Miraflores canal Locks Visitor centre and again, regaling us with the history of the Panama Canal. His timing for entry to watch the film and experience of
2 huge ships entering the locks was perfect. Jorge was the perfect guide and gentleman. If we have a return visit to Panama we would certainly ask for Jorge to be our guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Raneen
Feb 19, 2026
Lovely - In a word, awesome! Our tour guide, Jonathan, was engaging, knowledgeable and experienced. He picked us up promptly at 11am . We opted to skip the walking portion through Casco Viejo as we had already spent the previous 3 days strolling that area on our own . Instead, we were off in Jonathan's car toward the Canal first winding our way around the city streets listening to a history and geography lesson which was both educational and entertaining . It was obvious that Jonathon knew his stuff As we left the urban area, we found ourselves on a combination of older roads and newer highways , each with a history of their own until we were along side a portion of the Canal itself. Along the way, Jonathan would slow down or stop, providing us with a play by play description of the sites. Eventually, we arrived at the Visitor's center and after a short respite, we enjoyed an absolutely impressive 3D Imax movie , narrated by Morgan Freeman, all about the Panama Canal including it's history and operation as well as the future endeavors underway . Then, we made our way to an area immediately adjacent to the locks, as we observed a giant container ship being carefully guided through the canal. Jonathan then seamlessly navigated us in and out of the crowd to the exit. We drove back to the hotel completely satisfied with a totally one of a kind experience .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Suryamin_h
Jan 9, 2026
all of them very nice nothing to afraid.very reccomended - the tour guide charlie so good to explain every single thing at the tour and he has a lot experience to tell.good person and nice talk with him.i m so reccomended him to take you guys a tour.im hope can back again at panama
Review provided by Viator
Jackydy1836jd
Nov 23, 2025
Fantastic tour with Heavenly - Heavenly is a fantastic tour guide - we got to see and experience so much history! She made us feel welcomed and was so attentive to our needs. Definitely recommend taking this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Global42974266574
Nov 11, 2025
First Class Trip - The trip was awesome and our guide (Roderick) was waiting for us ahead of time (prior military so early is always good). Roderick knew all the answers to the questions that we asked during the ride over to the canal and Casco Viejo. He is also well known throughout the city and was able to go to other areas that I am not sure other tour guides would be able to go to based on his personality and people knowing him. Great trip and would recommend to anything coming him. First class from the beginning to the end.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mngenx
Nov 10, 2025
Rich History with Maylin - Maylin is amazing!!! 1000% recommend. She was punctual, personable and treated all interactions with kindness.
Her passion for history, culture and connection was evident; a true gem!! 💎
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cynthia_c
Nov 3, 2025
Fascinating tour with extra-special culture details - Charlie was so enthusiastic and helped me see his beautiful country and culture clearly. The family involvement and being outside in their parks, restaurants was nice to see. Visiting churches of great history with an amazing nativity scene and papal visits was special.
Review provided by Viator
Mariohernanp2021
Oct 5, 2025
Very nice, knows a lot about the story, excellent guide touched us, super recommended - The truth is that everything was excellent from minute 0, the guide behaved very well with us, the communication was excellent, anyway, everything was excellent 20/10
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jessicapv8132dn
Oct 3, 2025
Great experience- highly recommend. - Aura was our guide for the tour. She did a great job explaining a lot of local history and pointing out places of interest. Even though it was raining and we couldn't explore Casco Viejo as much as planned she was still able to do a great job driving us around and also having us try Geisha coffee. I enjoyed it, would definitely book with them again. :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
