Panama City & San Lorenzo Pre-Extension

Arrive Panama City, transfer to our hotel, meet your guide, and enjoy a welcome dinner.

Visit Fort 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 Central America. The museum features eight exhibits dedicated to the isthmus and its biodiversity.

Continue through the old 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 a private VIP tour of the Panama Canal Museum. Return to the hotel for the afternoon.

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

Travel through the Canal Zone to the San Lorenzo Protected Area. Explore the forest on foot, listening for 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.

Visit the Agua Clara Locks Visitor Center for a look at the newest operational locks on the Panama Canal before continuing to Colón to embark National Geographic Quest.