Miraflores Visitor's Center

"View the ships passing through. Most ships only pass through in the mornings between 8:30-10am and after 3pm. Since most visitors come to see the ships, arriving early is best to get a good view. The visitor's center is open from 8am - 5pm. There’s an IMAX film that you can watch there that describes the history and it is fairly well done. The very large ships that pass through in the new section of the canal are hidden behind a section of trees. You can still see the tops of them, but you can’t really see the Canal’s locks work their magic."

"Plan to spent about 1.5-2 hours here, I also recommend visiting between 9-11am or 3-5pm because this is when the most boats are passing through the canal. Note that the visitors center closes at 6pm and doesn't allow entrance after 5pm. We did not purchase tickets ahead of time, we just arrived and paid for tickets on site."

"Panama Canal visitor center with exhibits, food & decks for watching ships pass through the locks."