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Last year my friends and I took an epic sailing trip across the Caribbean sea, which included 3 amazing days sailing around the San Blas Islands. We started in Caratagena, Colombia and ended in Porvenir, Panama with salt in our hair and smiles on our faces. But what was the cost of sailing from Colombia to Panama?
I’ve put together this detailed budget breakdown to answer all your money questions about the cost of sailing from Colombia to Panama! I can almost guarantee you that once you’re sailing from Colombia to Panama, you’ll totally forget about how much you paid!
This budget breakdown includes the accommodation before and after, the sailing trip itself, transportation, additional fees and miscellaneous expenses. Here’s how much sailing from Colombia to Panama for 8 days cost.
NOTE: Most of these stunning photos were taken by my friend on the trip, Patrick Krum. His photo credit is delineated by (PK) in the captions
There are many companies (both sail and power boat) that can take you from Colombia to Panama or vice versa. The only way between the two countries is by plane or boat, as the Darrian Gap is the infamously impassable stretch of land between the two counties.
We went with the company Blue Sailing and had a truly phenomenal trip! We left from Cartagena and spent about 36 hours crossing the open sea, before arriving in the protected San Blas Islands Panama. There we spent 3 nights in the San Blas before getting shuttled to mainland Panama.
We spent 1 night in Cartagena before the trip, 5 nights sailings and ended with about a week in Panama, but I’ll just include 1 night after the sailing trip for ease of the budget breakdown.
Thus, this budget breakdown is for a 7 night, 8 day trip including a day before and after sailing from Colombia to Panama.
I’ll be listing all the prices in USD. The Colombian currency is COP and USD in Panama.
Accommodation
We spent 1 night in Cartagena before departing for our Colombia to Panama sailing trip. The boat leaves from the main wharf in Manga, so we stayed a 15 minute walk away from the wharf at the super cute Casa Del Puerto.
This was an amazing stay and I can’t recommend it enough if you’re going on this sailing trip! They have private rooms starting at $42 and single beds at just $15.
In Panama we stayed in the Casco Viejo neighborhood in Panama City. If you’re staying in the city you’ll definitely want to stay in this neighborhood as it’s part of the old city and has amazing architecture, tons of bars, restaurants, museums and is close walking distance to some of the markets.
We stayed at the Salina Viajero Casco Viejo hostel after our trip. This is a great, very clean and “hip” hostel that has a ton of opportunities to be social with other guests. We even got to take a free salsa class there. It was walking distance from everything in Casco Viejo and all around a great value for a hostel.
The Salina has a variety of rooms at different price points. Private rooms range from $48 for a private room shared bathroom to $155 for suites. Single dorm room beds start at just $24.
Here’s the accommodation price breakdown for the private rooms I split with my partner:
Private Room in Cartagena: $42
Private Room in Panama City: $48
For 2 nights of accommodation outside our sail our average cost per night was just $45 as a couple, so I spent $23 a night.
If you were staying in dorm beds your cost would average $20 per night.
Cost of Sailing Trip
Now for the bulk of the trip! The cost of sailing from Colombia to Panama! This is an all inclusive trip. The price you pay is for the transportation, immigration logistics, food and of course your bed.
The price will actually vary quite a bit depending on what boat you go on, time of year and number of guests on the boat. We were quoted prices for 8 different trips during the month of August (a popular time), all ranging from $660 – $780 usd per person.
You must pay $60 in advance to reserve your spot (this is non refundable) and the rest you will pay in cash upon boarding the boat.
Here’s what I paid for my trip on the Ti-Vaou 6 days of sailing: $730
The average cost per day for 6 days sailing from Colombia to Panama is $146
Cost of Transportation
I’m just including transportation within the 2 countries, because international flights will obviously vary greatly depending on where you’re coming from and where you fly into!
There are a few transportation logistics during this trip, but thankfully Blue Sailing will handle most of them! We had to arrange our own transportation to and from the airports, and Blue Sailing took care of the rest.
Uber from airport in Cartagena: $10
Hostel to sailboat: free (we walked!)
Water taxi from sailboat to dock in Porvenir: $25
Jeep from Porvenir to Panama City: $35
Uber to airport Panama: $35
Transportation costs during this 8 day trip was $105 in total or $13 per day.
Additional Fees
But beware! The $730 I paid for the sailing trip is not the only fee associated with this trip. There are a few other fees that are incorporated outside the sticker price.
If you have any sort of dietary requirement there is an additional fee. There is also a small fee which goes to the Kuna Yala, the native peoples of the San Blas archipelago.
Here are the additional fees I paid to Blue Sailing:
Vegetarian diet fee: $25
Kuna Yala: $20
These 2 additional fees equivalent to just $5.6 per day for the 8 day trip
Miscellaneous
Of course along the way you’ll accrue some miscellaneous expenditures! I want to give you a realistic cost of sailing from Colombia to Panama – that includes the random stuff you need to buy along the way!
Also keep in mind for your trip many things need to be paid in cash along the way, such as the water taxi, jeep, tipping, souvenirs from the Kuna Yala. We had about $100 usd on us during the sail which we used in full for the aforementioned fees.
For travel insurance, I use SafetyWing which costs just $1.20 per day.
Here is the cost of the miscellaneous but necessary things I bought on this trip:
Travel insurance: $9.6
Dramamine: $8
Bottled water in Colombia: $5
Tipping the boat crew: $20
The total for misc. comes to $43 or $5 per day.
Total Cost of Sailing Colombia to Panama
But wait? What about food costs in Colombia and Panama?
Okay yes, typically my budget breakdown includes food costs. But in all honesty I took this trip before I started keeping super detailed records of my travel expenses.
The food in Colombia was super cheap, I doubt I spent more than $15 for a full day of eating out. In Panama the costs were a bit similar to the US in Casco Veijo. For lunch and dinner the day I got off the boat I probably spent around $30. But later on in Panama I found a food stall near the Salina Hostel that had a rice and beans lunch for just $2.5!
Food expenses off the sailboat aside, here are the totals for this 8 day trip:
Accommodation off the boat: $23 per day (2 days)
Sailing (all inclusive): $146 per day (6 days)
Transportation: $15 per day
Fees: $5.6 per day
Misc: $5 per day
Since accommodation is sort of split into 2 nights off the boat and 5 nights on the boat, you can average the total price “accommodation” for 7 nights as $97 per day. This is admittedly a bit funky because the $730 includes food, but we’ll roll with it.
So the grand total cost of sailing from Colombia to Panama for an 8 day trip (6 days on boat, 2 days off) is $980.6 usd or $123 usd per day.
Is it Worth It?
Trust me, this is an unforgettable trip that you’ll be recounting for years. If you want more information about booking with Blue Sailing, send them an email at [email protected].
If you love the ocean, want to experience a taste of the high seas, eat incredible fresh food and make some new friends, this trip is for you! I can’t recommend it enough! Pack your bags and your sense of adventure – you’re sailing from Colombia to Panama.
Bree is a travel writer who specializes in adventure travel – from backpacking guides to ocean escapades! She has worked in marine based tourism in Alaska and in ocean outdoor education on Catalina Island. She is currently living with her partner in New Zealand where she is working and backpacking.
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Because I am not a sponsored traveller, I pay for everything myself and have included affiliate links on my website. If you book through one of my links, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using them as it helps keep the blog going!
Ahoy! I’m Bree and I’ve started this blog to help you plan your next great outdoor adventure. With a background in marine science, I’ve got an aptitude for all things ocean, but you’ll find land based adventures here too! Everything you see here is based on my own travel experience and paid for myself. I hope you stick around!