Puerto Amador / Panama City - what to do

We have a port stop (arrive the prior evening and depart at 8 pm) in Puerto Amador so we can go into Panama City, which is new for us. Know there is a HOHO in Panama City and the ship has excursions. Can anyone suggest what we should do in port? Check out the city or go into the countryside. Prior port will be Cost Rica where we will go into the jungle and DH will go zip lining.

Your stop at Ft. Amador... will that be for the entire day, departing at 8PM or arrival in the evening just for a few hours, departing at 8PM? If you have the entire day, then a tour of Panama City that would include the Casco Viejo and the ruins of Old Panama could be of interest. That tour could possibly be combined with a visit to Miraflores Locks. An excursion to the Embera Indians Village would be another good option. Now if your stop is actually in the evening for a few hours, that sort of limits your choices, in which case I would just find a ship's excursion that would give you a look at the City.

Sorry I was unclear - we dock in at Monday evening and leave Tuesday evening. Which would you suggest: tour the city or the Embera Indian village? Not interested in seeing the locks as have been thru many times and have seen lock workings in many places. We have traveled extensively so always looking for new experiences.

While the City with its contrasts between the ruins of Old Panama sacked by Henry Morgan and the establishment of a more defensible Casco Viejo offer a great trip into history. Then add in the modern Panama City that grew in between, you have a very interesting snapshot of the last 500 years all in one place. However if it's new experiences then a visit to the Embera Indians would be a more unique adventure. It is as close to a National Geographic adventure most of us modern day travelers will get all while seeing some of the "original" Panama.