City tours on NOV 3rd?

My friend is trying to decide on what tour to take in Panama. She's on a partial transit on the Zuiderdam. Having been thru the Canal previously she's leaning toward tours that take her into the city .... Panama Viejo and Casco Antiguo.

Do you think traffic will be a mess on Nov 3rd (Panama Independence Day)? Since it will be a ship's tour, I'm thinking it doesn't really matter if it runs late, but I hate to have her miss half of the places to see.

I have no idea what to tell her since we left in 89. I know it used to be a day we avoided the city.

I would think that the tours would go off as planned. Probably the bottle necks would occur around the areas where they may have parades scheduled. I would not think that there would be any huge gatherings in the Casco Antiguo that the tour could not negotiate around. The trip back and forth across the Isthmus should not present any problems since the new expressway does not pass through any of the whistle stop towns that used to dot the old Transisthmian Highway that were prone to celebrations spilling into the road. Of course it is really hard to predict what sort of traffic/congestion she may encounter, so being on a ships excursion will alleviate any real concerns.

No problem since tours can negotiate around any parades. Nov 3rd is "Separation Day" commemorating Panama's separation from Colombia. Nov 28th is Independence Day celebrating independence from Spain. I suspect a lot of folks from Panama City will be on the highways coming into Panama City after spending a long weekend outside the city. If anything I'd expect Panama City to be less busy than usual. Regards, Richard

Thanks Bill and Richard. I'll pass this on to my friends. Knew I'd get the best info from you two experts.