Colon private tours?

Hi! I am new to Cruise Critic, but heard that it is a terrific resource. Do you know of a great private tour from the Colon stop? We were there once and there is nothing to do in the port.

thanks!:)

Not quite sure if you are looking for a particular tour or a tour operator... In so far as a tour operator My Friend Mario (Almiza Tours) and Robtads have been mentioned on this board with positive comments. For a tour, don't have anything I could recommend without knowing what you may wish to see. Generally there are two types of tours... those centered about the Canal and those with a people, cultural and historical theme. I'm sure you may even be able to blend the two.

One other thought, in order for you to do a private tour in Colon, you must be on a cruise that has Colon as full day port call. Partial transit cruises which call at Colon but only for about 3 hours won't work.

We do have a full day in Colon and I would like to connect with a tour group where extra people are needed or wanted.:)

We do have a full day in Colon and I would like to connect with a tour group where extra people are needed or wanted.:)

Since you are new to Cruise Critic you may not know about "Roll Calls"... these are folks on a particular sailing and get together here on Cruise Critic prior to the cruise and swap all sorts of info including what you would like to do, join a tour group. Start with the link below and try and find your Roll Call. If your cruise is a long way out there may not be much activity, but don't give up. Good luck:).

http://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/

Thanks for your quick reply! We are booked for the Oct 7 2016 Panama eastbound cruise from SF...sorry! I thought that I was replying to someone who was going on that cruise.

We have been to Colon twice and both times used Oscar Brown. We were there in February 2016, as a matter of fact. Oscar is reliable and both our drivers were very good.

If you are still monitoring this thread, I would highly recommend Robtads. Roberto and his crew gave us a fantastic tour to the old and new locks. I organized a group of almost 40 people from our Equinox 11/9/15 roll call for this tour. Everyone was very pleased with the tour. Roberto is working on a web site but I believe the only way you can currently contact him is via his email: robtads2@hotmail.com. He offers many other tours in and around the canal and other areas of interest. If you email him he will send you all the possibilities. He was very easy to work with and responded to all my emails (I bugged him many times :D) in a very timely fashion. Good luck!

Marilyn

Great to hear that there is a good tour available. I am new to cruise critic and don't think I am ready to organize a tour, yet. Maybe next cruise. I hope someone does take on this task and lets me know what I can do to help.

This is going to be a great trip for us!

:)

Great to hear that there is a good tour available. I am new to cruise critic and don't think I am ready to organize a tour' date=' yet. Maybe next cruise. I hope someone does take on this task and lets me know what I can do to help.

This is going to be a great trip for us!

:)[/quote']

 

Have you checked out your 'roll call' as BillB48 suggested in a prior post on this thread? That is where you can find out if anyone on your cruise is organizing any private tours and you can opt to participate (or not). Also, you don't have to organize a group of people from your cruise in order to plan a private tour with Roberto (Robtads). He will be happy to plan a private tour just for your party whatever the size. Generally, with most private tour operators, the larger your group, the cost per person goes down. And/or there may be a minimum/maximum number of people for a tour to operate. Have a great cruise!

Marilyn

If you are still monitoring this thread, I would highly recommend Robtads. Roberto and his crew gave us a fantastic tour to the old and new locks. I organized a group of almost 40 people from our Equinox 11/9/15 roll call for this tour. Everyone was very pleased with the tour. Roberto is working on a web site but I believe the only way you can currently contact him is via his email: robtads2@hotmail.com. He offers many other tours in and around the canal and other areas of interest. If you email him he will send you all the possibilities. He was very easy to work with and responded to all my emails (I bugged him many times :D) in a very timely fashion. Good luck!

 

Marilyn

What was the charge per person and how long was the tour? Can you provide me some details?

I sent an email to robtads2 and have heard nothing. Can someone tell me if he is still in business? Thanks!

Patty

I sent an email to robtads2 and have heard nothing. Can someone tell me if he is still in business? Thanks!

 

Patty

He does have two emails that people have used...

mailto: robtads2@hotmail.com

mailto: robtads@hotmail.com

Hopefully one of those will work.

I sent an email to robtads2 and have heard nothing. Can someone tell me if he is still in business? Thanks!

 

Patty

Hello Patty,

I have sent Roberto an email using the robtads2 email BillB48 mentioned. I indicated you had sent him an email and no response - I will let you know if I hear back from him. When I was working with him last year, he was very responsive. There was one time that it took him several days, maybe even a week to respond.

Marilyn

Hello Patty,

 

I have sent Roberto an email using the robtads2 email BillB48 mentioned. I indicated you had sent him an email and no response - I will let you know if I hear back from him. When I was working with him last year, he was very responsive. There was one time that it took him several days, maybe even a week to respond.

 

Marilyn

Patty, heard back from Roberto:

"Yes, I am still in business, but I have been encountering different problems with my computer and I am not receiving many of the emails that are sent to me, thus I am unable to respond to them. Can you assist me and inform her to resend her email?

Thanks and Best regards,

Roberto"

I contacted him using this email: robtads2@hotmail.com

Good luck!

Marilyn

What was the charge per person and how long was the tour? Can you provide me some details?

I apologize for the delay in my response....somehow I missed your post even though I am subscribed to this forum and receive daily updates. :confused:

I may be too late, but following is Roberto's description of the tour we took. Keep in mind this is from quotes given approximately a year ago:

Option #1: Gatun locks and the New Locks Construction Site. First we will take the 25 minute journey to get a first-hand view of the Canal at Gatun Locks. In this tour you will get to see the ships passing thru the largest set of locks of the Canal (Gatun). At Gatun Locks there is a small visitor’s pavilion ($5.00 entrance fee) and you will be able to see and understand how a ship is raised up 85 feet (26 meters) in three steps from sea level (Atlantic Ocean) to the level of what was once the largest manmade lake in the world, Gatun Lake. If you are lucky, you will also see the first ships that started their transit on the Pacific side being lowered back down to sea level.

After this we will travel 15 minutes to visit the area where the new set of locks is under construction to the newly inaugurated Visitor’s Pavilion overlooking the construction site of the new set of locks ($15.00 entrance fee). This Atlantic Locks Observation Center is suspended 60 meters above sea level and 50 meters above the Canal and it has natural trails that visitors can use to wander into the rainforest. From here the visitors have a splendid view of Gatun Lake, the Canal and the future as the construction of the new set of locks is ongoing. This is a three hour tour and the cost will vary depending on the amount of people that join us: $160 (1-4 pax); $40/pax (5– 7 pax); $35/pax (8-13 pax) and $30/pax (+14 pax).

Our price was $30 pp since we had nearly 40 participants (it only takes 14 to get this price). The entrance fees are collected before arriving at each location and Roberto/assistant will pay for the group and you will be escorted in as a group. Thus each participant needs to have $20 cash in addition to the price of the tour. BTW, our tour took closer to 5 hours. This may have been partly due to our large group, but Roberto was never in any hurry and allowed everyone as much time as they wanted to observe and ask questions.

Hope this helps. If you do contact Roberto, he does have several different tour options which may/may not include the canal. He will also price a custom tour for you if he doesn't offer exactly what you are looking for.

Good luck!

Marilyn

BillB48 and cruzinfools, thank you for your prompt replies! I am sending another email again. I will again use his "robtads2@hotmail.com" address as I did the first time.

Patty

Cruizinfools, I got the detailed email from Roberto and have posted it for our Roll Call. We really are interested in the same tour that you did, except now the locks are finished so the description is old! No ptoblem!

Patty and Ron

deleted

Cruizinfools, I got the detailed email from Roberto and have posted it for our Roll Call. We really are interested in the same tour that you did, except now the locks are finished so the description is old! No ptoblem!

 

Patty and Ron

Great! Hope you are able to get a group together and enjoy your tour and time in Panama!

Marilyn

what do you see if you get a tour of the new locks. is there a ferry that goes into them. We will be in Colon all day Nov. 11 and that is all we want to see.

Thank you for any and all recommendations.

Evelyn and Marty

themayblumsatyahoo.com

I am not aware of aware of any tour operators offering just a tour to the new locks, of course that would be something that you could arrange. Perhaps the simplest solution would be just to hire a cab at dock in Colon.

As to what you would see, it's about a 20 minute ride to the Agua Clara Locks on a road of no particular note. At the locks there is a very nice visitor's center that offers a video presentation along with a facility to purchase refreshments. The visitor's center provides a great vantage point for an overview of the lock complex, plus a view of the channel toward Limon Bay and a view of the Gatun Lake Anchorage. There is a good possibility that there will not be a ship present in the locks when you are there... no way to tell in advance. Why not try to include something else to see with your stop in Colon as you can see all the locks has to offer in an hour or so.

There is no ferry to the new locks, there is a ferry that augments vehicular traffic across the Canal channel not too far from the Agua Clara and Gatun Locks.

Thank you for your fast reply. At this time, we think we will take a cab to the locks..Do you think the cab would also take us back and forth across the bridge. We are older in age and do not want to do too much touring at all but are anxious to see the new locks. We would, of course, settle a price with the taxi for the time period. How long do you think this would all take. i.e. going to the locks , waiting for us during the presentation and viewing, driving to the bridge, going across and back, and then back to the ship.

Thank you again.

Evelyn

Thank you for your fast reply. At this time, we think we will take a cab to the locks..Do you think the cab would also take us back and forth across the bridge. We are older in age and do not want to do too much touring at all but are anxious to see the new locks. We would, of course, settle a price with the taxi for the time period. How long do you think this would all take. i.e. going to the locks , waiting for us during the presentation and viewing, driving to the bridge, going across and back, and then back to the ship.

Thank you again.

Evelyn

You are welcome. I am unclear as to what bridge you are referencing... presently the only "bridge" on the Atlantic side is the "bridge gates" at Gatun Locks. The two high rise spans across the Canal are the Centennial Bridge and the Bridge of Americas and they are on the Pacific side an hour or so from Colon. Let me muddy the waters a bit more, is your stop in Colon this November or November 2017? The reason for the question is a third bridge across the Canal is presently under construction on the Atlantic side and probably be ready by November 2017.

I can better answer your questions knowing which bridge we are speaking about.

You are welcome. I am unclear as to what bridge you are referencing... presently the only "bridge" on the Atlantic side is the "bridge gates" at Gatun Locks. The two high rise spans across the Canal are the Centennial Bridge and the Bridge of Americas and they are on the Pacific side an hour or so from Colon. Let me muddy the waters a bit more, is your stop in Colon this November or November 2017? The reason for the question is a third bridge across the Canal is presently under construction on the Atlantic side and probably be ready by November 2017.

 

I can better answer your questions knowing which bridge we are speaking about.

You seem very well versed in the area. We want to go to the new visitors display center from which we were told we could see the new locks. Then we were told there is a vehicle bridge where we could hire a taxi to take us back and forth across it. Is any of this information correct? Partially correct? The date is this November i.e. 2016. Our present plan is to hire a taxi for the day to take us to the new visitors center, wait for us as long as it takes, go to the vehicle bridge (back and forth) and return to the ship. Is this impractical If not, about how long do you think it should take?

Thank you.

You seem very well versed in the area. We want to go to the new visitors display center from which we were told we could see the new locks. Then we were told there is a vehicle bridge where we could hire a taxi to take us back and forth across it. Is any of this information correct? Partially correct? The date is this November i.e. 2016. Our present plan is to hire a taxi for the day to take us to the new visitors center, wait for us as long as it takes, go to the vehicle bridge (back and forth) and return to the ship. Is this impractical If not, about how long do you think it should take?

Thank you.

Well, I do have a history with the place... even lived in Gatun when the "new" locks was just a hole in the ground filled with water! Let's set the stage, you would hire the taxi in Colon where the ship docks, normally at the Colon 2000 pier. You would then go to the new locks, (Agua Clara) where you would go to the new visitor's center. After leaving the Visitor's center at Agua Clara Locks you would head to the vehicle bridge at the old Gatun Locks which would require you to cross the new Agua Clara Locks complex. This accomplished by crossing the new gates at Agua Clara, two of the gates at Agua Clara have set up to accommodate vehicles to cross the locks. From there you would proceed a short distance to the crossing at Gatun Locks.

What you suggest is completely practical, now as to how long... I would think if you allowed an hour at the visitor's center at Agua Clara would be more than sufficient, of course if there were a ship in the locks perhaps you could spend more time. To cross the bridge gates at the Gatun Locks it would not take a particularly large amount of time. Of course that is predicated on you will not have to wait for ship traffic, which of course has priority. I would think if you allowed 3 hours, that would be ample time to do the above, just be a little flexible, it's hard to predict the needs of world commerce:).

The only other thing I would advise is insist on a cabbie that has decent English skills unless you are comfortable with Spanish. For all the English that is spoken in Panama, many of the cabbies are some what lacking in this area.