Panama Canal Partial Transit Tour

While the Full Transit Canal Tour is the ultimate experience, most people choose to take a Partial Canal Transit Tour. The Partial Canal Transit are available more frequently than the Full Canal Transit which is only available once a month. Partial Canal Transit are available weekly, usually on Fridays and Saturdays, although in high season (December – April) they might be available more times per week.

Start your Partial Canal Transit at the Flamenco Marina at the Amador Causeway. It is possible to start the tour going north up the Canal towards the Atlantic Ocean, but on most occasions you will go south. From the Marina you will board a bus to go up to the town of Gamboa and board the boat to start the Canal Crossing.

You will enter the Panama Canal north of the Culebra Cut (the name is given since it resembles a snake) which was carved through the Continental Divide and is the most narrow part of the Panama Canal. Travel 13.7 kilometers until you reach the Pedro Miguel Locks. During your transit you will be able to see the Panama Canal Expansion and all the maintenance the Culebra Cut needs to prevent landslides. Before reaching the Pedro Miguel Locks at the southern end of the Cut, you will be able to view the new Centennial Bridge which crosses over the Canal.

View of the Panama Canal

The Pedro Miguel Locks are the first of the two sets of locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. You will be lowered 9 meters in one step at this lock and continue on to the Miraflores Lake, an artificial lake that separates the Pedro Miguel and the Miraflores Locks. In the Miraflores Locks you will be lowered 18 meters in two steps, as you reach the Pacific Ocean, where you will pass under the Bridge of the Americas to reach the Flameco Marina.

The Partial Canal Transit include bilingual guide, soft drinks and water, continental breakfast, lunch, snacks and transportation from the Marina to Gamboa. You should bring comfortable clothes, hat, sunblock, sunglasses, raincoat, money for souvenirs and of course a camera to take plenty of photos!