Canal expansion Agua Clara, Rainforest safari & San Lorenzo Fort
Description
Discover Panama’s Caribbean side on a full-day adventure of nature, history, and engineering. Start with a rainforest safari through lush jungle, home to monkeys, sloths, anteaters, caimans, crocodiles, and more. Several photo stops let you capture this ecological paradise. Continue to the UNESCO-listed San Lorenzo Fort, a coastal stronghold that resisted pirate attacks for nearly 75 years. Your guide will share its dramatic history and legends. End at the Agua Clara Locks, part of the Panama Canal Expansion, where giant cargo ships transit the new locks. Learn how this modern marvel reshaped world trade. This tour blends wildlife, culture, and the Canal into one unforgettable experience.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The tour starts with hotel pick from Panama City followed by a 1.5-hour mini bus ride to Colon. There, you will take a minibus ride around the rainforest. There will be many stops for your to observe and take photos of the multiple wildlife you will see.
You will have the opportunity to see post-Panamax boat transiting the new Canal Locks. Admission fee: US$15 adults and US$10 After see the Canal, we going to the rainforest to observe wild animals like safari, for the nature lover , they will be able to walk into one jungle trail, to observe the dense vegetation and find few animal during the walk.
The ruins of San Lorenzo Fort which is famous for repelling attacks by all the pirates of the Caribbean for almost 75 years.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pick up time from 10:15am to 11am, please note the minibus needs to go to multiples hotels and in some cases take more time than the normal . We pick up clients from any hotel or vacation rentals in Panama City. BUT hotels or resort outside the city then the client need to take a taxi or Uber to meet us at any hotel in our list or send an email to arrange round trip transfers with a private driver.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
Reviews(201)
Well planned trip with excellent guide. Arsenio gave us lots of current and historical information that was both interesting and useful. Plenty of time at the new Agua Clara locks and then several spontaneous stops on the way to Ft. San Lorenzo to view local wildlife.
We were a little disappointed that we didn’t get to walk in the rainforest because there were military drills happening. It did allow us to spend more time at the canal operation viewing areas and San Lorenzo . Watching the ship operations was very interesting. Our guide, Arsenio, was very knowledgeable and eagerly shared much history.
Fort Lorenzo and the canal. Agua alta not to be missed. Our guide alesio spoke really well French and had an extraordinary culture of his country. We saw animals very different from Panama city. A great experience.
Alonzo was the star of the show with his expert knowledge of the history of Panama and the Canal, old and new. We really enjoyed it! We got to see to see the boats going through. The driver kept a sharp lookout for wildlife so we got to see monkeys and more. I strongly recommend this tour
the tour was one of the best experiences of my life, very pleased with everything, an experience you must have at least once in your life
Our tour with Mr. Alonso was absolutely exceptional from start to finish. He picked us up right on time, and although the drive to our first stop—the Agua Clara Locks, part of the Panama Canal expansion—was about an hour, the ride flew by thanks to Alonso’s deep knowledge and fascinating storytelling. He gave us a rich, detailed history of Panama and the Panama Canal, helping us truly understand its importance and impact. He made sure we had the best view and timing to see a massive ship go through the canal process and explained every step clearly. He even helped us take some amazing photos along the way. After the canal visit, we went on a wildlife safari, where we spotted birds and other native animals, followed by a visit to San Lorenzo Fort, where Alonso again impressed us with his knowledge of the region's colonial and military history. This tour gave us such a comprehensive, meaningful experience—much better than just visiting the usual canal viewing spots. I’m so glad we booked with Alonso. Highly recommend this tour for anyone looking to really understand Panama beyond the surface!
We ended up really enjoying the Canal expansion and the Fort thanks to our private guide. Initially, we were picked up at a downtown hotel and there was no one else on the bus. We saw that personal items were left on many of the seats so took a seat that appeared unoccupied. The driver did not communicate with us, other than to use google translator to let us know that we would be picking up the rest of the tour group. The bus waited on the side of the road and then drove through a massive traffic jam to pick up a cruise ship tour group in Casco Viejjo who had their own tour guide with them. The experience was odd in that no one told us that we would be getting a separate tour guide for just the two of us once we arrived in Colon. Had that been explained, it would have made our initiation a lot easier. We found out that we were splitting from the other tour group once we arrived at the Canal. Our separate tour guide was outstanding. And he gave us a wonderful overview of the Canal and answered any and all of our questions. He then took us in a separate van with a different driver to the Fort. That tour was wonderful and we were so happy to get the history of the Fort and to hear lots of interesting stories about it. And, lastly, the driver was able to stop on our way back to Panama City to view many different Howler monkey and other nature. The trip was quite enjoyable once we learned what was going on. Initially, we were confused why the other guide was only speaking to the cruise ship passengers and not giving us any information. So, it was a nice surprise to find out that he was not our guide and that we had our own guide. Better communication would have made this a 5 star tour.
Well organised trip, with the highlight being close to the canal when big container ships were passing through. There is no real jungle experience but that did not matter.
We were taken to only 2 attractions: Agua Clara gate and the Fort. We were not taken to the walk in the rain forest as promised in the itinerary ( "After see the Canal, we going to the rainforest to observe wild animals like safari, for the nature lover , they will be able to walk into one jungle trail, to observe the dense vegetation and find few animal during the walk"). We did ask the guide about this. He made some excuse like other two families in the group are bit old to walk!! This is not true. My son and I are disappointed with this as we wanted to walk in the rainforest. We had ample free time during the tour and in fact we returned bit early to the hotel. It rained only for about 10 mins when we were on our way from Panama City to Colon. So there is no excuse to miss the walk in rainforest.
Alonso was the most amazing guide as well as our driver whose name escapes me! Spotting wild life as he was driving through and stopping to get photos was an u expected treat. Alonso was so informative and engaging. We had a truly wonderful trip to each area and learned so much from him.
