Embera Indian village tour help!

Hi! :)

Shore excursions for our partial transit Panama canal cruise have been released.

There is the Authentic Embera Indian Village tour which is $99.95pp for 6.5 hours and the Gatun Lake and Locks Cruise & Embera Indians tour which is $149.95pp for 5 hours.

As the latter tour is only 5 hours, does anyone know how much time is spent at Embera Indian vilage? The tour description does not mention getting a ride in a dugout canoe, what sort of transportation would be used? Bus?

Thanks for your help! :D

Don't know if I can definitely answer your question or not. Too much of the time the tour descriptions are written by people in an office cubicle from information provided by someone else. I was looking at the tours in question that are offered by Princess as a result of an inquiry from another poster. Princess offers two excursions that involve the Embera Indians... PC1-385, this excursion as described operates in a manor that I am familiar with, that is board a bus, travel to Chagres National Park (Gamboa), board dug out (cayuco), visit village and then return by bus to Colon.

The other excursion that involves the Emberas, PC1-110 is less than clear on the details of exactly what is visited. After you board your bus and depart the Gatun Yacht(less) Club for the short trip to "Melia"... this is where their info is truly less than helpful. Melia is a hotel/resort on the former U.S. Army base of Ft. Gulick which is on shores of Gatun Lake and is where you will board the catamaran for the cruise on Gatun Lake. Somewhere in this mix the Emberas factor in... this is another area I just simply don't know what the tour consists. The way the tour description reads, it almost sounds like it might be some sort of encounter with the Emberas and or a visit to their village, I really just don't know. All the Embera villages that I am aware of are on the Chagres River near Gamboa or are on Madden Lake (Lago Alajuela), I am not aware of one in or around the Melia Resort. Not implying that is not one, just I am not aware of it. It is very possible that the tour could include a visit to one of the "normally" visited Embera villages that I mentioned earlier in addition to the Gatun Lake cruise. The tour descriptions are sufficiently vague that almost anything could conform to the descriptions.

The PC1-110 tour is $50 more expensive than the PC1-385 tour as the 110 tour includes a visit to Gatun Locks and the Lake cruise. Have no idea as to why there is an hour and a half hour difference in the length of the two tours.

Unless you can get a definitive answer as to how the tours operate and you wish to see the better Embera village representation, I would opt for the PC1-385.

Just as I thought! :) I will do more research, but I think we will opt for the Authentic Embera Indian Village tour!

Thanks BillB48! :cool: