Monkey Island & Sloths Excursion in Gamboa

Monkey Island & Sloths Excursion in Gamboa

Wild monkeys that hop right into your boat? It happens here, on the Panama Canal. We set out in small boats across Gatún Lake, with dense rainforest along the shore and the ocean giants crossing the canal appearing between the trees. After the boat safari we head to the Gamboa hotel, where we visit a sloth sanctuary, an orchid exhibition, and a frog and butterfly house.

Type of trip: Day excursion

Duration: 7 hours

Participants: 2-16

Price: €95 - 195 per person

Highlights

• Wildlife watching by boat at Monkey Island (monkeys, birds, crocodiles …)
• Boat ride on Gatún Lake alongside ocean giants on the Panama Canal
• Visit to the sloth sanctuary, frogs and butterfly house
• Crossing a bridge over the Panama Canal

Itinerary

Time	Program
06:30	Meeting point at the hotel
06:35	Drive to Gamboa
07:30	Boat ride on Gatún Lake for wildlife watching at Monkey Island
09:30	Return to the jetty
09:45	Drive to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort
10:00	Sloth sanctuary and exhibitions
11:30	Free time at the Gamboa hotel
12:30	Return to Panama City
13:30	Arrival back at the hotel

The description below follows the excursion as it runs from a hotel in Panama City, with a 6:30 a.m. departure. For the 9:00 a.m. departure from the port of Amador, the schedule is adjusted.

Detailed Description

It’s an early start today: we pick you up at your hotel between 6:30 and 6:40 a.m. The monkeys are at their liveliest in the morning, and that’s not something we want to miss. From Panama City we drive to the jetty near the town of Gamboa, with rainforest protected by Soberanía National Park lining both sides of the road. Gamboa sits where the Chagres River meets the Panama Canal’s shipping channel toward Panama City.

At the jetty we board a boat and glide across Gatún Lake toward Monkey Island, running right alongside the Panama Canal’s shipping channel. With a bit of luck we spot huge container ships passing through the canal. Gamboa is home to the Canal Authority’s dredging unit, which keeps the shipping channel deep enough for the ocean giants to pass. We see its cranes, barges and tugboats in town, and along the way we can often watch the dredgers at work.

We carry on across Gatún Lake, surrounded by the shipping channel and the tropical rainforest that was preserved to keep the Panama Canal running. This pristine habitat teems with wildlife. We stop at several small islands where capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys and Geoffroy’s tamarins live in the wild. We watch them, and some of these curious little creatures even venture right into our boat. Then we wind through the maze of Gatún Lake’s small side arms, spotting all kinds of birds, iguanas and, with a bit of luck, perhaps sloths or crocodiles along the shore.

After this thrilling encounter with nature we head back to the jetty, then straight on to the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve, where the hotel terrace offers a fantastic view of the Chagres River and the rainforest, perfect for a coffee break or a snack. The sloth sanctuary and the orchid, frog and butterfly houses are here too. We start with the sloths: injured and abandoned baby sloths are nursed back to health here and, where possible, returned to the wild. The sanctuary usually cares for two-toed and three-toed sloths. The two-toed ones are nocturnal, so we only ever see them sleeping.

After the sloths we move on to the orchid exhibition, though in the heat of the tropical lowlands the orchids rarely bloom here. Right next door is the frog and butterfly house. Colorful poison dart frogs are bred here, such as the strawberry poison frog (Dendrobates pumilio) and the green-and-black poison frog (Dendrobates auratus), and visitors are often surprised at how tiny these poisonous frogs are. In the butterfly house alongside it we can spot the blue morpho (Morpho peleides), the king swallowtail (Papilio thoas), the banana butterfly and many more.

After the exhibitions we return to the Gamboa Rainforest hotel and settle on the terrace with its panoramic river view, again a fine spot for a coffee break or a snack. Then we head back to Panama City.

Services

Included services

• Travel in air-conditioned buses
• English-speaking tour guide
• Boat ride to Monkey Island
• Drinks
• Entrance to the sloth sanctuary and the orchid, frog and butterfly exhibitions

Not included

• Tips

Notes, Info & FAQ

Do I need a yellow fever vaccination, and which vaccinations do I generally need for Panama?

The standard vaccinations recommended in Germany are enough to keep you protected. The tales of malaria and yellow fever epidemics go back to the building of the Panama Canal from 1881 and are long behind us. Panama’s last locally acquired case of yellow fever was recorded in 1972.

More information on health, tropical diseases and vaccinations can be found here.

Weather and clothing

Wear light, comfortable summer clothing (shorts and a short-sleeved shirt). Panama’s rainy season runs from mid-April to mid-December. The heaviest showers come at the end of it, in October and November, so through mid-December we’d bring along an umbrella or rain jacket, though a heavy downpour can happen in the dry season too. From December to April it barely rains, the sun is strong all day, and around midday the temperature climbs to about 34 degrees Celsius, so sun protection and plenty of water are essential. Be sure to pack sunscreen, a hat or cap, and sunglasses.

Currency

The country’s official currency is the Panamanian balboa, but in practice the US dollar is what circulates. To be exact, only dollar bills are used, while the coins are a mix of US dollar coins and balboa coins, both minted for Panama in the USA.

Many restaurants and shops happily take credit cards. A tip on cash: skip the large bills for souvenir shops and the like; four 5-dollar bills plus the rest in 20s works best.

General country and travel information for Panama

Follow this link to read detailed country and travel information for Panama.

Dates & Prices

The price depends on the number of participants. Panama sees fewer tourists from May to November, while December to April is high season, when groups tend to be larger.

This excursion runs any day of the week, and we ask that you book early. Any remaining spots can still be reserved the evening before. In the booking form, please give your date and the name of your hotel. If you’re coming from the port of Amador, please add the name of your ship and its docking time.

Prices

Number of participants	Price p.p.
2 participants	EUR 195
3 participants	EUR 150
4 participants	EUR 130
5 participants	EUR 115
6-7 participants	EUR 105
8-16 participants	EUR 95

Discount for children: USD 40 up to age 6, USD 25 up to age 11.

You’re welcome to pay in cash in US dollars on the day of the tour in Panama, or to transfer the amount in advance in EUR (please note the excursion date and name in the reference). Panama uses the US dollar, which you can also withdraw from an ATM in Panama City.