Guide to San Blas Islands, Panama
A complete guide to the San Blas Islands in Panama. The picture-perfect tropical destination in Central America.
If you are visiting Panama, make sure to not miss out on this paradise.
In this blog post I will share everything you need to know before visiting the San Blas islands in Panama.
1. About the San Blas Islands
Starting this complete guide to the San Blas islands with some general information about the archipelago.
The San Blas Islands are located off the Panamanian coast, in the Caribbean Sea. The San Blas Islands or also called Guna Yala, consist of over 300 islands with picture-perfect beaches, crystal clear water and a rich culture.
The islands lie in the Guna Yala territory, a territory governed by the Guna indigenous group. Only 50 of the 365 islands are permanently inhabited by Gunas.
If you visit, make sure to also make efforts to learn about the local people and their culture.
Even though visiting the San Blas Islands has gotten more popular in the last few years, these paradise islands are still considered a hidden gem. A popular option to visit the islands is when traveling from Panama to Colombia or the other way around by boat. More details these sailing trips below.
While it is also possible to visit the San Blas Islands on a day trip, I highly recommend staying there over night for 2-3 nights to be able to enjoy the wonderful beaches to the fullest. The travel time is quite long and doing everything in a day can turn out pretty exhausting and stressful.
Cuisine in the San Blas Islands is mainly based on locally caught fish and seafood with local spices and coconut rice. Some islands already have a bigger variety like chicken as well.
Some things to keep in mind before visiting the San Blas Islands are:
- only basic amenities such as cold water, limited electricity and wifi and basic accommodation available on the islands
- no drones allowed in the Guna Yala territory. Even though I have seen quite a lot of drone pictures on Instagram, it was quite well communicated that drones are completely forbidden
- bring things like bug spray, sun screen, power banks, snorkel equipment etc.
- take enough cash, no cards accepted
- entrance fee to the territory for foreigners is 22 USD per person and 5 USD per car
2. How to get there?
The most common way to reach the San Blas islands is by boat. They leave from the port in Carti, about 2,5 hours drive from Panama City.
To get to the port, you need to be transported in a 4×4 vehicle. Even though the roads are not extremely bad, there are many portholes and muddy areas and the local community only lets 4×4 cars enter the area.
If you book a tour, your transfer from Panama City might be included or a tour add-on. I personally arrived in my own vehicle, which had a fee of 5 USD to enter the area and 2 USD for parking per car.
Once at the port, you will find many different boat operators. If you booked a tour, just look out for your company and hop on the boat and enjoy the short 30-minute boat ride to the islands. If you only booked accommodation individually, your hosts will pick you up at the port as well.
Another option to travel to the San Blas Islands is to fly in from Panama City. However only a few islands have small air strips and it is definitely the more expensive option and not very commonly used option.
Tour operators for visiting the San Blas Islands
I paid 150 USD for two nights including all boat transfers, meals and a half-day island hopping tour. The company I booked with is Visit San Blas Panama (tour was operated by Yadiel Tours) but there are MANY operators.
See a few more tour operators below:
3. Where to stay?
One of the most important parts of this guide to the San Blas Islands: Where to stay when visiting the San Blas Islands?
There are multiple options on different islands. Depending on each tour operator, there might be several accommodation options to choose from, when booking your tour to Guna Yala.
If you are looking for luxury options to stay with pool, hot water etc., I have to disappoint you. Accommodation on the islands is very simple and while there are some differences, they are all quite basic.
All stays are run and serviced by the Guna people, so it´s a great way to support their economy.
It is also possible to camp on some islands or to just put up a hammock between two palmtrees and spend the night there.
I stayed on Isla Niadub (Diablo island) in their shared dorm with sandy floor and paid 150 USD for two nights including all meals and boat transfers. They also had private cabins and dorms with wooden floors available.
Some accommodation options, that can be booked individually, are:
Budget options to stay in San Blas:
Mid-range to Luxury options to stay in San Blas:
4. What to do and see?
Obviously one of the best things to do in San Blas is enjoying the picture-perfect beaches and crystal clear water.
Staying on the islands is a great opportunity to take a break and just relax for a few days.
Snorkeling is another great thing to do here and some islands even have a house reef, so you can snorkel just off the beach. The islands I stayed at (Isla Niadup) had an amazing reef just off the beach, but make sure to bring your own snorkel equipment, as this was not available for rent on the island.
Most island hopping tours will also have one or two snorkel stops on their itinerary. Some famous spots are “Piscinas Naturales” which is a shallow area with gorgeous water and sea stars.
Scuba Diving is not allowed around the San Blas Islands. However, most reefs are located just off the islands in a very shallow location, so snorkeling is good enough to see the beautiful intact underwater world of the gulf of San Blas.
When visiting the San Blas Islands, you should also make efforts to learn about the interesting local Guna Yala culture and their traditions. Some tours will include a stop on a local inhabited island, where they show you how local people live, cook and make handcrafts. It is a great opportunity to learn about an indigenous population in Central America.
Some of the islands also have volleyball courts – have fun!
5. Sailing from Panama to Colombia or the other way around!
One of the most popular options to visit the San Blas islands is on a sailing trip from Panama to Colombia or the other way around. So, even though I have not done this trip yet, I thought I would include some information in this guide to the San Blas Islands as well.
If you´re traveling Central & South America, you probably know that there is no good option to cross from one country to the other by land. Therefor the only options are flying or sailing.
While flying might be slightly cheaper and definitely faster, sailing is the more picturesque and adventurous option to get from one country to the other.
If you are deciding to sail from Colombia to Panama or the other way around, you can book a sailing tour through the San Blas islands and make many stops along the way. This trip usually takes 3-4 nights and prices start at around 500 USD. Prices normally include all meals and activities, depending on the operator.
There are multiple operators offering this kind of trip. The one I found with the best reviews and value is San Blas Adventures. This is also the company I am planning to do my sailing trip with.
They organize everything including immigration formalities and transportation, so you can enjoy this sailing adventure to the fullest. I have met a few persons that have done the trip with this company and they absolutely loved it and highly recommended it to me.
Once I do the sailing trip, I will update this blog post with more detailed information, so stay tuned!
Some other operators are:
Prices depend on multiple factors such as accommodation, included transfers, boat type etc.
I hope based on this guide to the San Blas Islands, you have added this tropical paradise to your to-do list. You won´t regret it!
Check out more Panama blog posts below to help you plan your trip:
