Best tour ever! - Oscar was so accommodating to us. He was very passionate about his job and went the extra mile to give us the best tour ever!

Great Excursion! Great Guide! - We booked this thru TripAdvisor instead of the ship since the ship's excursions were already full. We are so glad we did; we paid about the same or less and were the only four in our group. We saw others out on water and their boats were full. Out boat had about seats for about 15, but only us four passengers, the guide and the driver. The guide was knowledgeable and friendly. We could not have asked for anything else. We had about a 45-minute bus ride to the boat dock, then 2.5+ hours on the water in the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake looking for Monkeys on the islands. We were able to spot 2 of the 3 species that live there, the White-Faced Monkey was hiding that day.

Worth it! - A must! Highly recommend going! Beautiful mellow trip on the lake and lots of interaction with monkeys

Fun, an unmatched and unique experience - I loved the tour, the treatment of the guides Mr. Daniel and Mrs. Julieth, excellent people, a very pleasant and unique experience to see the animals and live with the monkeys, give them food and hear the different sounds that the monkeys made, it was definitely impressive

GREAT PRIVATE TOUR WITH MARIO - We came into Colon, Panama on our cruise ship. We had booked a private tour for 12 to go to the canal expansion then monkey island. Mario was very easy to communicate with and we selected him over a few other tour operators because he was very detailed on his trip details, what to expect and confirmation. When we exited the cruise area, he was there with a sign with our name on it. The van was very clean, spacious and it fit all 12 comfortably. The driver navigated the streets as Mario told us the history about the area and the canal facts. He was very funny and animated. We arrived at the canal expansion and he stayed with us as we watched the canal and boats. He answered questions and offered more details. He allowed us a lot of time to hopefully see a boat go through although after about an hour 1/2 we left as the boat stalled prior to canal for some reason. -We then headed over the bridge for a better look at the locks with the driver slowing down for great picture taking. -He offered beer and waters in a cooler and then we drove to the other side of the isthmus towards panama city. Again, he educated us with entertaining stories about the sites and "Balboa". We saw the pacific side of Panama and then headed to a pineapple area where they sell fruits to the stores and hotels. Sampling the "very best" pineapple any of us had ever tasted was a treat. We then headed a short distance to Monkey Island which is actually on Gatun Lake where the ships are going from one side to the other. It was a beautiful area where we boarded an open air boat for 14 to see the monkeys. Three different kinds are there and Mario and the boat operator made sure we saw them all. The ride was nice and refreshing. we got to feed the monkeys and they literally climbed on us and onto the boat and took the food wight out of our hands. We passed some of the large freighters and the scenery is beautiful. After our exciting boat ride we headed back to the ship. I'd say we were gone almost 5-6 hours but everything was fantastic. He was a wonderful host to our group. Friendly and safe driving. -I highly recommend booking any trips with Mario. He made our stop very memorable in Panama.

So many monkeys! - I absolutely adored this trip, we saw all 3 breeds of monkey and both the Titi Monkeys and White Faced Monkeys came onto the boat. Feeding a handful of peanuts and out of the palm of my hand and then having the monkey walk over it, is a memory that will live with me. Although once the excursion was underway it was brilliant, the lead up was very concerning. Given this is marketed as a cruise shore excursion, I was rather surprised that the meeting point was a random ice-cream shop, a 16 min walk or $10 cab ride from the Pacific Cruise Terminal where we were docked. Even more surprising was the email I had just over a day before hand, asking which hotel I wanted to be picked up from, and asking if I wanted a 6.30am or 1pm pick up, despite having booked one for 9am on a cruise ship excursion. I didn't receive confirmation of the pick up point, and a time change to 1pm until 8.30am just before I was about to leave assuming it was still booked for 9am as per my ticket. I was also rather surprised about having to then spend an hour going around various other hotels to pick up many other guests. The listing on Viator states there will be a maximum of 15 travellers.. I'd say there was definitely more on this excursion - so I'd suggest a lot of the description of this may not be accurate. However once it is underway and the stress of trying to make sure you don't miss it while there is a lack of communication, it really was an excellent trip and one of my favourite excursions of my whole cruise,