Camino Real Trekking, Hikes and Excursions
Experience the Camino Real: trekking, guided tours and small-group hikes along the historic jungle trail, while supporting a sustainable tourism project.
Camino Real Trekking, Hikes and Excursions
Experience the Camino Real!
- Hike the Camino Real
- Excursions in small groups
- Support a sustainable tourism project
- Tours for hikers and families
Our Tours on the Camino Real Panama
4-Day Trek on the Camino Real
Camino Real hike in Panama – a hike from the Pacific to the Atlantic: along the cobblestones of an old colonial trade route, the trail leads through the primary rainforest of the Chagres & Portobelo National Parks, where endless mule caravans once transported silver each year.
Highlights: A unique trekking tour on the Camino Real · Hiking through rivers and primary rainforest · Experience fascinating history · Sustainable, with community tourism
Type of trip: Trekking and Camino Real · Duration: 4 days · Participants: 2-8 · Price: from € 675
Camino Real Excursion
Camino Real excursion Panama: a narrow path through the rainforest, forgotten for centuries. Pirates of the Caribbean and incredible riches once passed along this route.
Highlights: 2-hour hike on the Camino Real · Dugout-canoe ride in the Chagres National Park · Visit to a village of Panamanian campesinos
Type of trip: Day excursion · Duration: 8 hours · Participants: 2-16 · Price: € 105 – 230
Camino Real Shore Excursion from the Port of Colón
Camino Real shore excursion Panama: a narrow path through the rainforest, forgotten for centuries. The pirates of the Caribbean and incredible riches once passed along this route. A few years ago the trail was rediscovered through a research project.
Highlights: 2-hour hike on the Camino Real · Dugout-canoe ride in the Chagres National Park · Visit to a village of Panamanian campesinos
Type of trip: Shore excursions · Duration: 7.5 hours · Participants: 6-19 · Price: from € 125
Experience the highlights of Panama on a fascinating shore excursion!
Stroll through the alleys of Panama’s colonial old town, take a boat trip on Lake Gatún, visit an indigenous Embera village, or hike in the footsteps of the pirates of the Caribbean along the Camino Real. The schedule of the excursions is precisely matched to your cruise ship’s port times. Small groups. Guaranteed German-speaking and experienced guides!
The shore excursions from the port of Colón are designed especially for guests of the ships Aida, Mein Schiff and MS Divina. For other ships docking in the port of Colón, please provide the ship’s name and the port time in the inquiry form. For excursions from the port of Amador in Panama City, please see the page on excursions from Panama City / Port of Amador.
Guide and tips for our shore excursions
Not sure yet which excursion is right for you? Here are a few short notes on the highlights and experiences of each excursion.
Panama City
The main feature of the excursion to Panama City is a walk through the colonial old town. In addition, the bus takes you to the Amador Causeway, a Pacific waterfront promenade at the entrance to the Panama Canal with a great view of the skyline.
Particularly suited to: Those interested in culture, city strollers and souvenir shoppers. Involves a longer walk; wheelchair- and stroller-friendly.
Monkey Island
On the excursion to Monkey Island we take an approximately 2-hour boat trip on Lake Gatún. We travel along the Panama Canal right next to the ocean giants. Although the route runs through the Panama Canal, the area is very natural: the banks and hills are covered with tropical rainforest, and on some islands we observe various monkeys, sloths, birds and reptiles of Panama.
Particularly suited to: Nature and animal lovers, and anyone who wants to experience the Panama Canal in a different way. Children are thrilled by the monkeys.
Embera
On the visit to the Embera people, we travel by dugout canoe to a village of this indigenous people of Panama. There you get to know the life and culture of the Embera. On the boat trip you also see a lot of rainforest.
Particularly suited to: Adventurers, those interested in culture, children, and anyone who has always wanted to visit an indigenous village in the rainforest.
Camino Real
By dugout canoe we travel into the Chagres National Park. There we take an approximately two-hour hike along the Camino Real and afterwards visit a village of small-scale farmers in the rainforest, where we enjoy a delicious local lunch. On the boat trip we may, with a little luck, spot some bird species.
Particularly suited to: Hikers, those interested in nature and history, children from about 6 years of age, and anyone who wants to escape the crowds.
Port info and general information
Port info Colón
Most ships in Colón dock at the Colón 2000 cruise port. This port has two berths; the older Terminal 1 is also called Colón 2000 and opened in 2000 (what a surprise!). Terminal 2 was built only in recent years and is often called Homeport. Your ship always docks at one of the two berths; exactly which one you will only see once your ship has docked. To avoid confusion, you will always find us at the same meeting point between the two terminals.
Adjacent to the old part of the port is the colorful, Caribbean-style Colón 2000 Mall, a shopping center with souvenir shops, restaurants, a casino, a hotel and a supermarket (Super 99). The supermarket is handy for anyone who needs everyday items, which can be found here easily and at normal prices (batteries, toothbrush, toothpaste, and everything a supermarket has). The supermarket also has ATMs that dispense US dollars, Panama’s national currency.
At the port you can enjoy a beer after an excursion, shop at the supermarket or see what a Panamanian supermarket offers, withdraw US dollars, or take a photo at the Colón sign!
The new Terminal 2 is adjoined by an area with duty-free shops.
Information about the city of Colón
The most important note first: the city of Colón is unfortunately run-down and a social hotspot with high poverty and crime. An independent visit or walk is therefore not recommended. This does not mean that every visitor becomes a victim of a violent crime, but there are many places and times where this could happen. Safe and unsafe areas often lie close together and are hard for visitors to distinguish.
Now for the general description of the city: Colón is the largest and economically most important city in Panama on the Caribbean coast and the capital of the province of the same name. It owes its importance to its location at the entrance to the Panama Canal. About 120,000 people live in the city’s catchment area, around 40,000 of them in the center. Important economic sectors are the free trade zone, the ports, tourism and the Panama Canal. Many workers commute daily from Panama City to their jobs, especially in the free trade zone.
A bit of history: The California Gold Rush of 1848 led hundreds of thousands of gold seekers to travel via Panama to San Francisco, initially via the Chagres River and the Camino de Cruces. This prompted New York investors to build the first transcontinental railway line from the Atlantic to the Pacific from 1850 onwards. In the course of this construction, the city of Colón was founded on 27 February 1852. The completion of the Panama Railroad in 1855 replaced the arduous journey and thereby displaced the towns of Portobelo and Chagres (near Fort San Lorenzo) as transport hubs.
The city was originally called Aspinwall, named after one of the founders of the railroad company. However, the Colombian authorities did not like this American name and renamed the city Colón in honor of Christopher Columbus (this is the Spanish spelling of Columbus, who had sailed along this coast on his fourth and final voyage). With the construction of the Panama Canal from 1881, and again during the US construction phase from 1904 to 1914, the city experienced another boom. Many of the city’s (now dilapidated) historic buildings date from this period, including the Hotel Washington near the waterfront.
For decades Colón was called Panama’s “Golden Cup” (La Tacita de Oro) because of its wealth, but in the second half of the 20th century its decline set in. The city center in particular deteriorated into a slum and has not recovered to this day. That is why we recommend not spending the day on the ship or in the city, but instead taking a guided excursion with us!
All about Panama
Everything you need to know about Panama:
- General country info
- Currency
- Health
- Visas
- etc.
Reviews
Peter — 10.03.2025 — ★★★★★
We did a wonderfully exciting hike on the Camino Real with Christian; the history of the gold and silver of the mule caravans that passed along this route is fascinating. The food in the village was excellent too. Highly recommended!
Why an excursion with Panamatura is something special
German-speaking guides
The entire tour is accompanied by experienced German-speaking guides; we have been guiding groups from cruise ships since 2007.
Easy booking
Payment on site in US dollars, or by bank transfer on request.
Small groups
Small groups allow a personal experience of the country and its culture.
Perfect planning, long experience
Perfect organization of excursions and punctuality are our trademarks.