On August 15, 1914 the SS Ancon made the first official ocean-to-ocean
transit through the Panama Canal. This event, which changed
the world forever, was possible thanks to the labor of more
than 75,000 men and women who worked for 10 years facing unprecedented
challenges. Now it is your time to travel the 8th Wonder of
the World.
PANAMA CANAL – PARTIAL
TRANSIT
Dates:
Every Thursday and Friday in January, February and March. Saturdays all year-round.
2008 Price per person: $135 plus 5% government tax. No minimum.
2009 Price per person: $150 plus 5% government tax. No minimum.
A $25 per person surcharge must be added to tours beginning or ending in Gamboa, Playa Bonita or Canopy Tower.
Time approximate: 7:00 am – 2:00
pm
The Panama Canal partial tour starts with an early morning pick up
at your hotel in Panama City for a 15 minute drive to the Port of Balboa
on the Pacific side of the canal. You will board a comfortable passenger
ferry and sail under the bridge of the Americas, which raises over
100 meters above sea level, reuniting the land divided during construction
of the canal, forming another link in the Pan-American Highway. Breakfast
is available buffet style.
Northbound on the Panama Canal, the first stop is at Miraflores locks,
which are the tallest in the locks system due to the extreme tidal
variation of the Pacific Ocean. The boat will be raised 17 meters above
sea level in two steps to enter Miraflores Lake which is almost 2 kilometers
long. A transition from salt water in the Pacific Ocean to fresh water
in the locks chambers and lake takes place here. Next the ship is raised
in one step, this time an additional 9 meters, at the Pedro Miguel
locks.
At this point the ship will be sailing in Gatun Lake at 26 meters above sea
level and entering Gaillard Cut, the narrowest section of the Panama Canal.
The 13.7-kilometer long portion of the waterway was carved through rock and
shale and it is flanked by the backbones of the Continental Divide. The original
width of Gaillard Cut was 92 meters and was increased to 152 meters in the
early 1970s. In order to accommodate to the demands of today's transit needs,
the Panama Canal Authority recently completed the monumental task of widening
the Cut to 192 meters in straight sections and up to 222 meters in curves.
This allows for unrestricted two-way traffic of Panamax vessels, the largest
ships that fit in the Panama Canal locks. The Gaillard Cut opens up into Gatun
Lake where the Chagres River flows into the waterway near the town of Gamboa,
site of the Panama Canal's Dredging Division. Here you will disembark and be
transferred to Balboa where a driver will be waiting to take you back to your
hotel.
**In some instances the tour may be offered in reverse, starting in
Gamboa. In such cases the tour will start later in the morning, it
will not include breakfast, but it will include lunch aboard**
WHAT TO BRING: Binoculars,
camera, cap or hat, sunscreen, light clothing, light raincoat, tennis
shoes or sandals. Cash in small denominations
is suggested if interested in purchasing souvenirs and alcoholic beverages.
