The Panama Canal Locks and Monkey Island in One Trip

The Monkey Island boats stay on Gatun Lake; they do not go into the locks. To see a ship lifted in a lock chamber and the monkey islands on the same day, book a combined tour: the usual pairing is the Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side in the morning, then the drive to Gamboa and two hours on the lake. The one with everything in the price is Safe Transportation Panama’s half day, from $108 in current promotion (usually $120) a person with the Miraflores visitor center ticket and the boat included (checked October 2026). Jhaline Tours Panama’s version costs less on the listing but leaves the visitor center ticket for you to pay.

The combined tours

Listing prices checked October 2026. Prices are per person.

Safe Transportation Panama’s half day starts with about an hour and a half at the Miraflores visitor center, then drives past Miraflores Lake and the Pedro Miguel Locks to the Chagres River at Gamboa, at the north end of the Culebra Cut, the canal’s channel through the hills, for two hours by boat on Gatun Lake to the islands. Jhaline Tours Panama runs the same shape, about two hours at Miraflores and two on the lake, and points out crocodiles and turtles as well as howler and capuchin monkeys.

Panama Day Trips’ day goes the other way across the isthmus: a boat safari on the canal and Gatun Lake past transiting ships and the wildlife on the shores, then the Agua Clara Locks of the 2016 expansion and the original 1914 Gatun Locks near Colon. The boat does not go into the locks, and its listing does not promise the monkey islands, so book it for the canal, with wildlife on the way.

The visitor center tickets

From the Panama Canal Authority’s visitor center pages, checked October 2026. The balboa is on par with the US dollar.

The Miraflores ticket includes the Panama Canal film in the visitor center’s IMAX theatre. The Canal Authority is modernising the Miraflores center through the end of 2026 and warns of longer waits at 8:00 am and 2:00 pm. The Agua Clara ticket covers the new locks’ viewing area and the Gatun Locks viewpoint, which opened in April 2025.

Which pairing to pick

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (checked October 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.

If the locks matter more than the monkeys, R&E Transfer Panama’s Agua Clara and Gatun Locks tour spends six hours on the Caribbean side, over the Atlantic Bridge and past the unfinished French canal, with no boat and no islands.

Who should pick something else

• You only want the monkeys: the boat-only trips are shorter and cost less; see Gatun Lake boat tours.
• You want sloths as well: see Monkey Island and sloths.
• You are on a cruise ship: check the pickup rules first; see Panama City and the cruise ports.