The Panama Canal
You really can’t go to Panama without stopping at one of the most incredible man-made feats of the country. The Panama Canal was designed as a shipping shortcut. It stretches 80 kilometers and has three main lock systems with the Miraflores being the most visited due to its approximation to Panama City. Though construction started in 1904 it took many years due to the cost, harsh conditions of work and illnesses contracted by workers. The locks work to raise the water levels to the same height of the Gatun Lake to allow the ships to complete the 10-hour journey through the canal.
The Miraflores Visitor Center
The Miraflores Visitor Center boasts unobstructed views of the Miraflores lock system. This is by far the best part of the visit here and you should time your visit based on the ship schedules. In general, there are ships passing between 9AM-11AM and later in the afternoon around 3 PM. You can check with the visitor center beforehand to get the most up to date information on this. We searched for boat times and found what we believed was a reliable schedule online. We arrived literally as the last boat of the morning passed through the canal process. After that boat the next one wasn’t until 4 hours later, we learned. Though I would have liked to see more than one boat pass through, it wasn’t worth hanging out for that amount of time.
The visitor center is open 8AM-5PM. The cost of entry is around $20 and includes an informative film and museum center. It is actually a very informative and well-done visitor center. There is also a restaurant on site.
getting to The Miraflores Visitor Center
It is about a 45-minute drive, taxi or Uber ride to the Panama Canal visitor center. You can take public transport via taking a bus from Albrook Station. You can ride on bus heading to Paraiso or Gamboa and you can get off the bus at the front of the Miraflores Visitor Center. You can catch the bus back at the same place. We took an Uber there and back and the only thing was that we had to walk out of the visitor center to get into the Uber as they couldn’t enter where the taxis were.
tour of the panama canal
There are several tour companies that do tours of the Panama Canal at both the Miraflores but also at the other areas where you can view the locks. You can take a boat through the locks at Miraflores for around $125 per person. You can also take a boat tour of Lake Gatun which is part of the Panama Canal and visit Monkey Island and Soberania National Park. You can also combine a city tour with tour of the Panama Canal. These options may be good if you would like to take away the stress of doing it yourself and to get more history with a guide.
