Full-day Gatun Lake And Indian Village Tour From Panama City

While everything went smoothly, I did not expect to be pulling up next to 3-4 other boats in the same spots all fighting to get one monkey to pay attention. It felt more like a zoo or a circus than wildlife.

Jorge was an excellent tour guide. We actually did two tours. Panama City and Monkey Island. He was very knowledgeable and clear with instructions. The vehicle fit all 9 of us comfortably and was nicely air conditioned. Both experiences were great. I just would’ve liked the indigenous experience to be a little more interactive.

We did two tours with barefoot and both were great. All catered to my parents and children so everyone felt taken care of. Everyone learned a ton and enjoyed themselves!

Jorge/George was excellent. Spend time on Gatun to see monkeys and maybe a sloth, we did. Also see an indigenous village. Very good tour.

We had such a great tour! Our tour guide was beyond amazing, accommodating, and very knowledgeable. I'd recommend this tour to anyone wanting to get a true Panama experience.

Loved working with Barefoot Panama. Kevin was super responsive and informative. He helped plan a great trip with all the attention to detail. Jorge was the driver and he was professional, punctual, and knowledgeable. Everything was well run and smooth. We had the best time and would highly recommend for all ages!

Our guide was prompt and very informative. He shared a lot of history in really good English. The tour was very interesting and fun. Highly recommended!

I had Juan who was an excellent guide! I had him also for City tour. He help me with all my questions and help me find an artist, great restaurants & a great grocery store I wanted to go to as well

The tour was very interesting & Juan was an excellent guide. I had for two days. He was so helpful beyond his job.

We spent 10 days in Panama and encompassed using barefoot tours for several of those. Monkey Island was phenomenally fun. Then the trip to Pearl Islands was the absolute best relaxation of all. Top it out with the city tour, including the Old Town and you have a lot to absorb tour guys were the absolute best. Thank you very much for making our first trip to Panama the beginning of many to come

My family (6 adults and 2 kids) booked all of our excursions for the week with Barefoot Panama. Kevin was amazing to email back and forth, I let him know what my family wanted to do and see and he made it happen. They also handled all of our transport from airport, to beach resort and to then to the hotel in the city combined with a Panama canal tour so we made the most of our travel days. Thank you to Kevin, Jorge, and Antony for taking such good care of my family and I! I would highly recommend their company

Overall great excursion and would recommend! We enjoyed being on the canal and seeing the large ships. Great time on the water, viewing of lots of wildlife and monkeys! The guide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic! Note that the entire time you're in a boat, you don't get to walk on the island to see the monkeys. Our kids did fine, but could be hard for under age 6 because it's a lot of sitting. I would say the Indian Village is a little forced (?) and fabricated, but the rainforest walk on the island is interesting. While it was educational, but I was curious to see the display of handicrafts of the exact same things (woven baskets with the exact pattern) at the souvenier shops in town. If the indigenous group is your primary interest, I wouldn't do this tour.

Excellent tour run by an excellent company! If touring in Panama, contact the experts - Barefoot Panama! Great way to see wildlife up close and have a cultural experience with the native village presentation and dance. My students loved both of these tours!

It was a wonderful experience! Our tour guide Gonzo is the best guide you could ask for. He is knowledgeable, friendly, funny and obviously has great rapport with the indigenous people who live in the village we visited, which helped make our visit even more enjoyable and memorable. Thank you Gonzo!

This was the best tour we have taken so far in Panama. Our guide Gonzales was incredible. His knowledge and enthusiasm were perfect. On Lake Gatun he showed us monkeys, birds, sloth, bats and even a crocodile. The experience was unique. I sing the village was interesting as well since Gonzales was so know about the culture and art. He took us on a short hike and pointed out different trees and their use in daily life. The entire tour was very enjoyable. I highly recommend this tour. (The guide goes by Gonzo…for future reference)

We LOVED our tour and Jose was amazing— went above and beyond and was so positive- his enthusiasm was contagious! Highly recommend, especially when we saw boats PACKED with people. Jose even saved the day with some well timed M&Ms when my 3 year old started getting fussy. Our favorite experience of the whole trip!

We used Barefoot Tours for two full days of sightseeing of both Panama City and the canal as well as Lake Gatun and the surrounding area. I cannot recommend this company and its guides highly enough! It really made our trip to be in such knowledgeable and capable hands. Special shout out to our guide Gonzo who seems to know everything about everything!

Our guide was really good. But I feel like I was taking advantage of on the price compared to the people that I've talked to that took the same trip. I paid 3 times as much. I do not know if viotur is trustworthy. I will do my homework next time. Far as everything else it was beautiful.I would recommend going to see it

Jorge was honestly the best tour guide I've ever had. He made sure that we were safe fed and got to see all of the sites we were able to feed the monkeys. Have a wonderful lunch. See some sloths and an amazing adventure at the Panama Canal . I would highly recommend

Our Monkey Island tour in Panama was absolutely unforgettable! From start to finish, everything was seamless, exciting, and so much fun!! Our guide, Gonzo, was beyond incredible — so knowledgeable about the wildlife, history, and surrounding area. The way he shared stories with such passion and energy made it feel like we were exploring with a good friend rather than a guide. The vibes were perfect the entire trip. Gonzo created such a fun, relaxed atmosphere while making sure we didn’t miss a single highlight. We got up close with 3 different species of monkeys, learned fascinating details about the canal and rainforest, and still had time to simply soak in the beauty of the indigenous village. If you’re coming to Panama, don’t miss this experience. Book the Monkey Island tour — and if you get Gonzo as your guide, you’re in for something truly special!

Jose was a fantastic guide. He was informative and shared some interesting knowledge about Panama and the canal. Loved the monkey experience 🥰. Jose knew exactly what to do to attract the monkeys providing us with a memorable experiences and pictures. Thanks Jose!

I loved our guide and tour but both tours were 3 hour short. The site advertised 8 hour tours but the reality was it was five hours.

We had an amazing tour combining Monkey Island and the Embera Wounaan village—perfect for seeing both in one day. At first, it seemed like the monkeys might stay hidden, but they eventually came out and were incredible to watch (especially one named Loco!) We saw howler, capuchin, and tamarin monkeys, plus iguanas, baby alligators, and bats. The Embera Wounaan tribe was welcoming, gave a short cultural presentation, and guided us on a brief (but very muddy) hike—expected during the rainy season. Be sure to bring bug spray and cash for handmade crafts, as selling them supports the tribe now that they can’t hunt or gather freely on public land. Highly recommended!

Perfect start to our Panama trip! We landed at the airport at 5:30am and we were on tour by 7:30a. There was great communication regarding pick up time and location. The tour was AWESOME! We saw/fed 3 types of monkeys, iguanas, and even a crocodile! Being on a boat in the same water as the cargo ships on the canal was priceless. Tons of great info about Panama. LOVED IT!!

Absolute fantastic tour! We were picked up at our hotel by Nichole, who was super friendly and informative. Very intimate and personal tour that didn't feel "touristy". Nichole knew the natives and the area, and we just had the best time. Will definitely recommend!!! Thanks, Nichole!

I contacted Kevin beforehand to check availability and then booked Jorge was early for the pick up, extremely friendly and knowledgeable We started at the lake, stopping to see some baby sloths on the way and it is just as well we did as they were not there on the way back The boat trip was leisurely, we crossed a bit of the canal and visited several little islands. I booked the trip as I love monkeys and we were so lucky, we saw several howlers, capuchins and two tamarins! We were also lucky to see a sloth, lizards and iguanas Then onto the local village where we learnt about their history, were treated to three dances and took a short walk before returning across the Bridge of the Americas onto lunch I had a good time

We booked the monkey tour and it did not disappoint. Julio our guide was outstanding. He was prompt, professional, and friendly. The tour was great and saw plenty of monkeys 🐒

Pleasant experience with a nice tour guy, Julio. Boat ride around several islands looking at monkeys, sloths, lizards, and crocodiles! Ride through part of Panama Canal and see tankers up close. Lunch at Gambia hotel was scenic and relaxing. Vast views of jungles. Visit with Indians fun.

From the time I booked this tour to the end of it, everything went very smoothly. Great communication from the owner Kevin where he answered questions I had and gave times for pick up at our hotel. This actual tour was really nice. The boat ride on the lake was beautiful and we saw three different types of monkeys, an iguana, a hawk, and other water birds. The Indian village was interesting and the people were very kind. Afterwards we had lunch (not included in price) at a great place recommended by our guide Jorge. We travel a lot all over the world and this company is very organized, which helps their customers o have a great time. We also did the Panama Canal and city tour which ran just as smoothly. Thank you Kevin and Jorge!

I found this excursion very relaxing and informative. . an excellent way to start experiencing Panama. Our guide was friendly, genuine and knowledgeable. It was a pleasure to meet him. For me personally I would have loved to spend more time on a nature walk..

Our guide Juan was patient and informative. He told us all about the canal and even helped us get some monkeys on the boat with some bananas we snuck on. We did not do the native village. We stopped at an amazing side of the road fruit stand that had the best pineapple ever. We also did the Caribbean snorkeling tour with Juan and it was amazing. Highly recommend both of these tours.

Perfect tour to experience some highlights of Panamá. Enter the canal via Gatineau lake in a skiff, you are able to see the ships right up close, the scenery is unimaginable, you visit numerous little islands to see and interact with the monkeys, then you head to the Indian village via the Chagres river, and are educated on their customs and have opportunity to buy some of their handmade products. Our tour guide and captain were amazing. Highly recommend 😃

We enjoyed having a one on one session with the native leaders of the tribe. We also got tribal based henna tattoos. Lots of info on native plants and their uses

Seamless hotel pick-up and informative drive to the lake. Our guide spotted a sloth en route and we were able to pull over to take a closer look. That was awesome. Lots of good wildlife viewing while on the boat, though I do wish the boat captains would not call to or feed the monkeys as this is disruptive to them (and against regulations). Our guide told us more than once that we would not be feeding the monkeys only for the boat captain to practically force grapes in our hands for the monkeys to take. Please let the wildlife stay wild! Our guide also could have been a bit more attentive--we were on a rainforest walk with him leading and he left us pretty far behind most of the group, stumbling over vines and trudging up and down hills. Wear good walking shoes and perhaps bring hiking poles if you're not very steady on your feet. Indigenous village visit was interesting with good shopping opportunities, an informative presentation about their history, and a short dance. It was a small village so not a ton to see but still nice. I hope the community is compensated for their time. Although the trip was quoted as taking all day (8 hours), it actually only took 4. Not sure what we could have done for 4 more hours but a bit misleading to call it a full day tour.

Excellent trip on the Panama Canal where we got to see how the locks work. The entire trip is 6 hrs long but it could be shaved off by 2 hrs. However, I don’t think that would be possible because of the disembarkation point. Would recommend it to all

We had a fabulous trip to see the Monkey Islands and visit the Indigenous village. Gonzo was a wonderful guide - he speaks perfect English and has so much information and knowledge to share. We saw all three monkey types that live on the islands. It was really cool to travel along the canal alongside large shipping containers. The indigenous village visit was also meaningful, and it was clear Gonzo was very well respected in the community. Great communication all around during the booking process, timely pick-up, and very professional company. I highly recommend this tour and Barefoot Panama!

Gonzo was a great guide. Perfect English and so knowledgeable. We went to the Monkey Islands and an Indian Village. Despite crummy weather he did his best to point out and attract monkeys and other animals. At the village, he showed such respect for the Indigenous people and their culture and they for him. Told great stories. We would’ve gone on another tour with him had one been available.

Good experience! Made the booking last minute and they were able to fit me in. Alberto was our driver and was very knowledgeable. Gonzo was the tour guide on the boat and was absolutely great. Super knowledgeable.

This tour is highly recommended (especially in case of a short stay). Pick up from hotel was on time. Only our very knowledgeable and friendly Barefoot Panama tour guide knew how to invite the monkeys for picture taking. We navigated pass a big container ship on our way to visit to the indigenous. The visit was worth it. We packed this experience in half a day.

It was incredible experience with really nice guide. the level of service is close to the luxury experience. I Love it. I strongly recommend Barefoot for any tour that you plan

Kevin was a great and responsive communicator and Jorge was a knowledgeable and personable guide. We booked a one day tour and had such a good experience that we booked a second one (Snorkeling Experience). I highly recommend this company.

Wonderful tour with Jorge! We saw three different kinds of monkeys, some of whom even climbed aboard our boat, and marveled at the passing container ships.

This tour was SO MUCH FUN! Our guide was excellent and spotted a sloth on the way that we were able to get out and see and take photos of. Once on the boat, we were able to see and feed many monkeys. We also saw some huge iguanas. We had a great time learning about the Indian Village and culture. Our guide was knowledgeable and so nice. I would highly recommend this for adults and kids.

Actually did the monkey Island/Indian tribe. We did a group tour but were there at low season and they still honored the reservation just for the two of us. Communication was flawless. Jorge was an excellent leader. Everything was perfect. The Monkey Island part exceeded expectations.

We booked 2 tours - The Panama City tour & Monkey Island. We enjoyed both tours. Our guides, Juan (Panama City) and Jorge (Monkey Island) were knowledgeable and answered any questions we had. We were staying outside the city and we were picked up at our condo (for an additional fee). But, that allowed us to learn more about the country - information that we would not have had if we were picked up in the city. I think my favorite thing was feeding the monkeys. We would recommend either tour.

Terrific day. Diverse experience. Appreciated efficient pickup and drop off. Enjoyed the guide. A very nice adventure in Panama.

Fantastic, informative tour. We had a great time! Highly recommend! Tour guide was knowledgeable and entertaining. Great for kids and adults alike!

We did 4 one day tours from Panama city. The tours were enjoyable and organized. We learned about flora and fauna and animals. Kevin gave us excellent advice and it was clear that this is a passion for him and his team.

The tour was good in terms of the gudie picking you up at your hotel on time, and then dropping you off, and being knowledgeable about the sights you were visiting. We did get to see monkeys, crocodiles, sloths, and water walking lizards. However, you approach the islands where the monkeys live in a boat, feed the monkeys and they will come on the boat and eat right out of your hands. It is generally not a good idea to feed wild animals as they loose their foraging skills and can be overly aggressvie around people. In addition to seeing the wildlife we did land in a native village, took a brief walk through the rain forest where the flora was explained to us, saw some native dance performances, and had a chance to buy native crafts.