Panama City, Panama: Day Trip to the Caribbean Coast: Agua Clara Locks & San Lorenzo Fort. Your day begins with a visit to the Agua Clara Locks, one of the most impressive components of the Panama Canal. Unlike the Pacific-side locks, which are split into two separate sets, the Agua Clara Locks on the Atlantic side feature three connected chambers. This unique design allows you to witness the entire lockage process from start to finish in one place. Whether a vessel is heading northbound or southbound, the full transit through the locks takes approximately 1.5 to 2 hours—plenty of time to observe this engineering marvel in action.

After the canal visit, your journey continues with a scenic drive through the lush rainforests of Panama’s Caribbean coast, a region rich in tropical vegetation and teeming with wildlife.

Next, you’ll arrive at Fort San Lorenzo, dramatically perched at the mouth of the Chagres River, west of the canal. This UNESCO World Heritage Site played a key role in Panama’s colonial defense system. In 1671, the infamous pirate Henry Morgan used this very river to access the Panamanian interior, ultimately leading to the sacking of Old Panama City.