Panama Canal: Gatun Lake Wildlife Boat Tour

Such a great experience. It was very exciting to meet and feed the monkeys and enjoy the beauty of nature surrounded by animals and greenery. Very nice and relaxing!

We had a great experience on the Monkey Boat Tour in Panama. Our guide, Ceaser, picked us up on time, was very accommodating, and even gave us a nice tour on the way to the dock. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the experience enjoyable from start to finish. The tour itself was exciting and definitely worth doing. I would recommend it.

I had an absolutely incredible monkey boat tour in the forest of Panama! Our guide, César, was phenomenal—so attentive and full of knowledge. The customer service was top-notch: I was picked up right from my house, in a spotless, comfortable car. César guided us expertly through the forest, and we saw so many monkeys up close. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience—highly recommend it!

This was such a lovely experience! Special thanks to Rommel who took care of my sister and I . He is knowledgeable, fun , and so kind! We loved the experience :)

Logan was an exceptional guide. Truly respectful and knowledgeable about the wildlife. We interacted with the monkeys and had a great time.

We were blessed with great weather. During the drive we asked many questions and they were answered knowledgeably. Our guide spoke perfect English. He was most informative about the wildlife of the islands and took great care for us to see them and be able to photograph them. I highly recommend this tour company. They answered immediately when we had a question. They were prompt in picking us up. They care above all else.

Rommel gave us an amazing experience! Super friendly, knowledgeable, and made the whole monkey tour fun and unforgettable. You can tell he really cares about the guests and knows the area very well. Highly recommended if you’re visiting Panama!

Great to be licked up from out hotel and had some chances to see stuff on the way and on the boat saw so much active wildlife!

The boat tour was fantastic and the best part of our trip. Elliot was out guide. His car was nice and cool, clean, and roomy, and he was prompt for our pick up, at our hotel lobby. Though there was some traffic, heading to the boat launch, Elliot filled the time with local information and pointed out interesting sites along the way. The boat's captain was pleasant and knew the region and wildlife well, pointing out not only the areas of where animals could be found but perfectly hidden sloths. The boat ride was comfortable, clean, and safe. There were no wild waves or serious rocking. No worries of motion sickness. No water spray. We had protection from the sun with a nice cover overhead. We saw three different types monkeys that actually climbed aboard our boat. My daughter was able to feed one monkey s little chunk of banana, from her hand. We also saw tiny fruit bats, large insect nests, a sloth, water birds, flora, and a couple huge boats headed to the canal. Elliot shared information about the canal, the train track bridges, and the animals. He also took a great picture of our family, on the boat. He also packed us a cooler with individual water bottles. All fees are paid for with your upfront purchase, so there is no worry of additional boat rental fees...like other tour groups. Tips are not expected or even suggested, however I felt that both our boat captain and tour guide provided fantastic service and choose to personally do so. My suggestion is to consider this for your own trip. Advice: don't bother with wearing a hat, as the boats may travel fast at times and knock your hat off. People with longer hair may do well to wear your hair back or carry along a scrunchie. Also, consider using the restroom immediately before leaving your hotel. There is a restroom at the boat launch, but it may be locked or not as comfortable as you are used to. I would like to wrap it up with highly suggest that you take this private tour over a group tour. You don't have to ask people to move or shift positions for photo opportunities. The small additional amount is 100% worth it.

Arnulfo was an excellent guide. He was very informative and also very pleasant. Our boat captain was excellent also. It was a very fun experience all around.

Boat Tour on the Gatun Lake with great Expereance of many wild Monkeys on Islands. Good Information by the Guide.

My husband and I went with the most fabulous guide his name was Miguel. It was an experience of a lifetime. I hope you get the same guide we had because he really made it what it was.!!!!

Great experience seeing the canal and wildlife . From the initial contact to pickup/drop off, all went seamless.

Antonio, our tour guide, was absolutely phenomenal. Very personable, knowledgeable, and helpful. Amazing with the monkeys, we call him the monkey whisperer! A complete recommend!

Cesar was a wealth of information. From the moment he picked us up in the square we were all learning from Cesar about Panama. On oir boat ride on the canal, Ceasr found three types of monkeys, a sloth, and sleeping bats, plis we got to see many birds up close. Book this trip and make sure Cesar is youur guide.

We have used Viator many times and always enjoy but today was extraordinary!!!! Our guide Diener Boya loves what he does and it shows. He was kind, informative, and just as excited as we were when we saw 6 different types of monkeys some of which climbed right on our boat, a sleeping Sloth, a Toucan, a family of bats and a baby Alligator sunning itself. It would have been great just seeing all that but Diener Boya topped it off, he was truly the best!!! Highly recommend booking this experience! Jay

This was a great experience I had with my two children. Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly, keeping us entertained while also showing us a lot of the biodiversity in Lake Gatun.

Today, Elliott was our driver and her was more than punctual. He arrived early to our hotel and met us in the lobby. He was really informative and made sure our monkey island experience took place at eye level!

The English guide did not seem to know much and was not very informative and we did not go very far into the lake so we only saw a tiny bit of the area.

Great tour guide, beautiful scenery and animals. Lasts a decent amount and the would recommend for family or solo adventure

Muchas gracias por el servicio. El guia nos trato super bien y nos encanto el viaje. **Thank you so much for the service. The guide treated us amazing and we loved the tour. Esperamos verlos otra vez. **We hoped to see you all again. -Omar

Wow...it was so much fun. The tour guide was very kind, answered any questions and took care of us. The communication was excellent. The transportation was provided. Definitely recommend to anyone.

This was an absolutely amazing trip. My husband and I were the only ones on the tour. Logan booked Melissa to take us on her boat. Wow!! What great eyesight. Melissa spotted 2 alligators, 3 different types of monkeys, 3 iguanas, 1 sloth, and some cute little bats hanging from a tree. We couldn’t ask for more. We also passed 2 huge tankers that had crossed the Panama Canal. I highly recommend Logan and Melissa.

César was a great guide. Very friendly and knowledgeable, about the monkeys and about Panama in general. Very respectful of the animals and the habitat. He helped me in and out of the boat with great kindness (I have crutches.) It was very moving to see these gorgeous animals in the wild.

Great to see a part of the canal and some wildlife. Even during the rain our guide was able to find wildlife and explain a lot about the rainforest.

The tour with our Guide Gustavo was very well organized and very informative. We saw monkeys and a crocodile. The monkeys came onto the boat and ate out of our hands. It was a wonderful trip.

Fun boat tour on the lake in the Panama canal to see different kinds of monkeys! Also saw several large ships going through the lake. Our guide brought food so the monekys would come close to the boat.

This was a completely magical experience. Our guide was very knowledgeable and spoke English almost perfectly. But also help us to learn Spanish when we asked. I would recommend this tour and guide .

Bit overwhelming at the cruise terminal but people were very helpful. We disembarked somewhat early. Our guide Octovio was helpful and very knowledgeable. When we boarded at Gatun Lake we were the only ones on the boat which was excellent as the larger boats were packed. This resulted in us having excellent encounters with the monkeys while adjacent boats could only have the front row experience feeding them.

Luis was a fantastic guide! He picked us up from our hotel and along the way to the lake he explained much of the structures and neighborhoods to us. It was super interesting! While in the boat he offered to take pictures of us and made sure we had plenty of opportunities to see the different kinds of monkeys. He has a great personality and his English was amazing!! He answered all of our questions about everything and anything and the experience from beginning to end was EXCEPTIONAL!

Communication was timely and we we were promptly picked up from our hotel to embark on this tour. The tour guide Logan was friendly and accommodating- providing drinks and laughs throughout. We really enjoyed our boat tour and got to even feed some monkeys. I highly recommend this company for your next Panama tour!

Our tour with Kevin was great! He was very timely and knowledgeable. We were able to see different types of monkeys & fed them. Overall a great experience.

My family and I had an unforgettable experience with Mr. Logan. He picked us up from our hotel in a clean, spacious vehicle, and from the very start, his warmth and professionalism set the tone for a fantastic day. Our first stop was a local grocery store where we picked up fresh fruit for the monkeys—and grabbed a few snacks for ourselves. During the scenic 40-minute drive to the Preserve, Mr. Logan pointed out various landmarks and shared insights about Panama, making the journey both informative and enjoyable. Once we arrived, we were quickly taken out to Lake Gatun, where we watched massive container ships pass through the Panama Canal—an incredible sight! Then came the most magical part of the day: we got to hand-feed monkeys as they jumped right onto our boat. My mom and sister were absolutely elated, and we were all smiling from ear to ear. We saw Capuchin and Tamarin monkeys up close, and even caught a glimpse of elusive howler monkeys. It was, without a doubt, the highlight of our entire trip. On the way back, Mr. Logan went above and beyond by taking us to local souvenir shops where we found unique gifts at better prices than the downtown tourist spots. He also treated us to a surprise driving tour of Old Town (Casco Viejo), offering fresh insights—even though we had already done a walking tour there earlier in the week! To top it all off, he recommended a fantastic local lunch spot, El Bote PTY, and dropped us off there to wrap up the perfect day. All of these extra touches were done simply out of the kindness of his heart. When we return to Panama, there's no doubt—we’ll be booking with Mr. Logan again. Highly, highly recommended!

What a blast. Logan is the best tour guide ever. The boat ride was a delight. The monkeys were just adorable coming on our boat to eat the bananas. Logan is also a great conversationalist. Very knowledgeable of the history of Panama

We did the Panama Canal & Monkey island tour with Jhaline Tours and loved it so much that we went back the next day and did the Indigenous village tour with them too. Mr. Logan “Papito” is personable, knowledgeable and he kept us laughing the whole trip. He provided drinks, took amazing photos of us throughout both activities and he was a wealth of knowledge about Panama, the country’s history and the wildlife. He made us fall in love with Panama and now we can’t wait to come back! We will be sure to recommend Jhaline Tours to all of our friends and family, they’re the best.

The BEST tour I've ever taken! Mr Logan was incredible, thoughtful, and super informative. Him and his captain knew exactly where the monkeys would be and how to care for them. The boat ride on the canal was beautiful and full of so much history. TAKE THIS TOUR or you'll regret it.

This is something very special for those personal who are in love with pure nature. Our guide - Mr. Logan did his best to make our Tour extraordinary. In spite of very strong rain, the trip was great. He adjusted the time of starting our cruise by boat to the weather. During the rain we stoped at the nearest hotel to wait. After half an hour, when rain stoped, he drove us to the boat. After the rain, the weather was perfect. We saw a lot of monkeys, but also a swimming crocodile, iguana and baby bats.

Our guide Logan brought us to many places with lots of action! It was a very impressive tour, can't recommend it enough :-)

Our tour guide Logan was amazing from start to finish. He arrived promptly at our hotel for pick up. When we arrived to Monkey Island it’s very easy to see they respond to him. He knew exactly what to do to make them come down and we were able to get amazing footage feeding them. Amazing experience! I would absolutely recommend him to anyone interested.

Logan was absolutely fabulous. We saw do many monkeys as well as other wildlife. We highly recommend this tour

We had the most amazing time! Our tour guide Mr. Logan was AMAZING. We were able to experience panama in a short amount of time but learn so much about it! I would HIGHLY recommend this tour to others! Very professional and friendly staff. They really go above and beyond to provide an amazing experience!

Everyone was very happy, especially the kids when they could feed the monkeys. We saw all three kind of monkey, iguana and birds.

Our tour guide Logan was far beyond amazing. Super informative and knew everything about the island. Was able to see all the wildlife and interact because of his experience. I would definitely recommend to anyone traveling to Panama.

This was a trip of a lifetime. We saw lots of monkey families and got to feed them. Armando could have not been more pleasant. I will be back.

My daughter and I enjoyed the day Arnulfo Logan our tour guide was on time for our pick up. He was very professional and considerate. He took the time to point out the different areas and spent time to ensure we got very good pictures and experiences with the monkeys. We loved the monkeys and enjoyed interacting with them. We were able to get pictures as Mr. Logan spent time to ensure that we had a valuable experience. The boat ride was great. The weather was awesome so we were able to enjoy the day completely. Arnulfo took us to an area afterwards where we could get souvenirs and we were able to find shirts and key rings etc. at a reasonable price. I would definitely recommend the trip to monkey island, it was a wonderful experience. Hats off to you Mr. Logan on a job well done

Love this tour. The monkeys were so much fun and the tour guide was informative. I believe his name was Logan but can't really remember. Definitely would recommend this tour.

Trip was cancelled shortly after the beginning due to terrible weather without reaching the destination and the goal of the trip. The Operator, despite repetitive questions from my side whether we should go on this weather, assured me that over the destination the weather is good. It was not and we had to turn back. Operator refused to refund the full travel fare.

Our guide Logan was awesome! Knowledgeable and super patient and kind! Highly recommend him as he will take care of all your needs.

Our guide Luis was amazing and very knowledgeable. Best to do this tour in morning when the monkeys are hungry