Panama City & San Lorenzo Pre-Extension

Arrive in Panama City and transfer to the hotel. This evening, meet your guide and enjoy a welcome dinner.

Visit Amador, strategically positioned to protect the southern terminus of the Panama Canal. Named for Panama's first president, Manuel Amador Guerrero, the fort served as a U.S. Army base until 1999.

Tour Frank Gehry's BioMuseo—his only design in Latin America. The museum features eight exhibits dedicated to the isthmus of Panama and its biodiversity.

Continue through the former Panama Canal Zone, passing landmarks such as the Panama Canal Administration Building in the foothills of Ancon Hill, on the way to Miraflores Locks. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant en route.

At Miraflores Locks, enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour followed by an illustrative documentary on the waterway narrated by Morgan Freeman.

In the evening, visit Casco Viejo, one of Panama City's UNESCO sites. Walk the historic peninsula with its cathedral spires, narrow streets and colorful colonial architecture before dinner at a local restaurant.

Travel across the isthmus to San Lorenzo National Park. Explore the forest on foot, listening for the raucous call of mantled howler monkeys and watching for toucans, trogons and blue morpho butterflies.

Continue to Fort San Lorenzo, perched on a cliff where the Chagres River meets the Caribbean. This UNESCO World Heritage site dates to the early 1600s, built to protect the Spanish Main.

After lunch at a local marina, visit the Agua Clara Locks for a firsthand look at the newest operational locks on the Panama Canal. Fifty percent larger and wider than the original locks, these accommodate the largest vessels transiting between oceans. Continue to Colón City to embark National Geographic Quest.