On my "to do list" is travelling through the Panama Canal, but all the cruises from the UK include a week's sailing on either side of the canal, which I am not interested in. Can you please find me a trip that I can join which centres on the canal? P. Reiff, West London

Sunday Times travel expert, Richard Green, responds: Your best plan is to holiday in Panama itself, from where you can take a boat trip onto the canal. This way, you’ll also have the time to see the locks from the landside, ride on the historic railway that runs along the most of the canal, and visit the Panama Canal Museum in old Panama City. And if you should get canalled out, Panama has fine beaches, mountain retreats, and terrific rainforest wildlife.

Canal and Bay Tours (00 507 2092009) runs a monthly full day trip boat trip, which traverses the canal from end to end.

It sounds ideal and costs £73pp, but there’s a lot of dead time while the vessel queues up to pass through each of the three sets of locks. Their half-day trip is better. It runs on Saturdays and costs £49pp, with lunch and guide. It passes through the first set of locks on a smaller boat, but more importantly, you get fast tracked through, so most of the time is spend moving along the canal.

Trips Worldwide 0117 311 4400 can tailor make itineraries throughout Panama and can book the canal boat trip. A 14-night tour costs from £2,395pp, including flights, accommodation, transfers, and the canal trip. Or try Reef & Rainforest (01803866965), or Journey Latin America (020 87478315).

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