#1 Panama Stayover City & Canal Tour 2 Visits 1 Fare - Fees incl.

30+ countries visited-worst tour operator and guide I’ve ever experienced

This was, without a doubt, the worst experience I have ever encountered—and I’ve traveled to over 30 countries. From start to finish, it was a mess of confusion, poor coordination, awkwardness, and a lack of professionalism. Let’s start from when I first booked this it took days to weeks to finally get a response about my booking when I messaged on viatior. Before the tour even began, communication was abysmal. I was told the tour operator had been trying to reach me, but they had the wrong number. That may have been my mistake, but they never attempted to contact me through other means like Viator . When I landed, I made multiple attempts to reach them via WhatsApp voice and text. I had no idea if the tour was still happening. I went through customs and immigration and luckily the guide was there. Had I waited for confirmation, it would’ve been 40 minutes before I got a response on WhatsApp. As soon as the tour commenced the guide and I waited 15–20 minutes for the driver, who was parked in the wrong area of the airport. At 1:40 PM, two hours into the tour, the driver did not know where to park at the canal locks. At 1:53 PM, the guide was unsure which line we needed to be in. At 2:00 PM, I was asked if I wanted to skip the film at the locks. I said I did, yet the guide argued with me about my own decision. Then, at 2:27 PM, she bizarrely told another visitor at the locks (not in our group) that they couldn’t put their child on their shoulders—something she had absolutely no authority over. At 2:51 PM, she asked a worker if she was properly exiting the canal. At 2:55 PM, when we finally left, there was zero coordination with the driver. We again waited. Then at 3:29 PM, after another stop the driver could not be found. After FOUR UNANSWERED CALLS, he finally picked up, turns out he had wandered off to a shop without telling anyone. At 3:36 PM, the guide said take a picture. I didn’t initiate or ask, but the driver stopped anyway, making it feel as though I needed to. A very common theme throughout the experience. I was told the entire time to take pictures of things I did not care about photographing. At 3:39 PM, the guide came off as condescending when I expressed disinterest in buying souvenirs, rolling her eyes and making passive remarks. Completely unprofessional. Not that there was time or personal desire to do anymore of the tour but- At 3:55 PM, I was told, without warning, that I wouldn’t get to do a significant portion of the tour. No explanation, no apology—just a matter-of-fact statement. The guide said it was due to “carnival”. I didn’t care but it would’ve been nice if that was communicated by the operator. To top it all off, at 3:58 PM and 4:02 PM, the guide asked me 2 separate random quiz questions from the tour, not in a light hearted way, but as if I was being tested. When I didn’t know an answer, she seemed annoyed. This tour was an absolute waste of time and money. It was disorganized, frustrating, and filled with awkward, forced interactions that made it feel more like a hand holding school field trip than an enjoyable experience. $170 for this? A complete rip-off. You could not pay me to go on this tour again. Do yourself a favor—book something else.

Response from the operator: Greetings Mr. Williams. We’re sorry to hear you did not have the great experience we aim to provide with each and every tour. Let me begin by stating that yes indeed there was a delay in replying to your email when you booked initially. No excuses!! We were away and out of the country on an emergency and upon our return, you were contacted and offered an apology for the delay. On that occasion I made sure to ask about your culinary preferences since you mentioned wanting to try traditional Panamanian Food. You also offered to buy lunch for the tour guide, which was generous but unnecessary, since they go above and beyond to provide a great experience to our customers, and when they do, they are able to earn a well deserved tip. The phone number that appears on the reservation is the number we used to contact you with. That number is +1 (217) 819-9043. We first attempted to send you messages through WhatsApp but it said that the number was not on the app. We then sent you 2 text messages....no answer. We tried calling you 4 or 5 times directly to that phone number....no answer. Finally on the day of the tour at 1122am I went to send you a message saying that we were waiting at the airport when I noticed you had written at 1042am that you were already at the airport because your flight landed early. Just to remind you, the itinerary you submitted said that you would be: Arriving at 1129am on Copa CM834. Departing at 645pm on Copa CM235. So your flight arrived early and cleared Customs, which sometimes take a long time. We had no way of knowing that or getting a hold of you through the phone number you provided on Viator. You in turn had our number and all it would have taken was a call or chat from you for the sake of coordination. The tour guide was waiting at the exit point of the terminal with a sign that had your name on it. She got there at 1040am to ensure meeting you on time. At 1050am I received a call from a strange number that happened to be yours. This number +1 (217) 499-9601 was different from the number that appeared on the reservation. I missed your call because I was on hold and on another call. As soon as I saw your message I acknowledged it and you said “Disregard I am with guide”. For your information, the tour guide that assisted you, has 20 years of experience and gets great reviews each and every time. She’s been with us since 2019 and yours is the 1st complaint about her performance. In our line of work we are used to dealing with some difficult customers but that doesn’t deter us from doing an outstanding job. Some customers are nitpickers where ever they go, but we don’t take it personal. We are getting paid to deliver a great service and that is what we do well. Some people will complain even when being treated with respect and consideration, but again we can’t change the world, however, we try to deliver each and everytime. Mr. Williams, just to clarify, although I read your explanations it doesn’t cut mustard. You picked the wrong company for the type of visit you intended. You had less than 5 hours to have lunch, Visit Panama Canal, Amador Causeway and Casco Viejo and additionally go to a boys orphanage for heaven knows what? Your off kilter request was met with a resounding NO. We’re not even remotely familiar with those types of facilities, let alone with a short notice and such a small window. Even if we had known in advance that you intented that type of visit our answer would still be the same.....NO. We will not be used to commit a crime under your false pretenses of purchasing a tour package. That is not our line of work nor do we engage in those types of acts. We are not in the business of giving visitors access through that type of tourism. In our opinion, had we agreed to assist you in that respect, it would be considered sex trafficking of children and you crossed the line with such a request; your request was purely illegal. The fact that our guide had the good sense, great judgment and integrity to decline your request. In your opinion we deserve a 1 star review. Perhaps you became disappointed because we would not oblige your request. If only to protect our children from predators, the decision to refuse was worth it. When you became unhinged because of a refusal is a reflection of your principles not ours. We’ve been in business close to 10 years and have never received such a request in all this time. We provide legitimate tours and experiences to city landmarks with the purpose of relaying a little about our culture and history. We aim to please our clients and have never given a bad tour. Never have I read such a terrible off putting play by play of made up story where the ‘meat’ or substance of the matter has been left out. In the future it looks like we’re going to have to video tape our tours to protect ourselves from people like you. It is because of these types of issues that we’re going to make a Police Report to denounce this type of behavior in Panama and will retain an attorney in an effort to vigorously defend our business and reputation.

via Viator