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Want to sail in San Blas Islands Panama? This is an amazing adventure you will never forget. Ready to sail across the Caribbean but don’t know where to start? I’ve got you covered in this complete planning and budget guide.
Get ready for a wild San Blas Islands sailing trip!
NOTES: 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.
Cue the Pirates of the Caribbean music!! You’re sailing in the San Blas Islands!
I have to come clean, before my friend suggested this trip, I didn’t really know anything about the Caribbean. I’d never heard of the San Blas Islands and traveling to Colombia had never been on my radar. But this ended up being one of the coolest travel experiences I’ve ever had and I can’t shut up about it.
If you’re like me and you heard about sailing in the San Blas Islands but didn’t understand all the details, I’ve got you.
You can do day sailing trip in the San Blas Islands, but the real adventure is sailing from from Colombia to Panama (or vice versa). Let me explain.
There are several charter companies (both sail and speedboat) that run multi-day trips from Cartagena, Colombia to the San Blas Islands, Panama (or vice versa). These are typically all inclusive in the sense that they’ll take care of most travel logistics for you, provide ocean activities and feed you 3 meals a day.
It takes anywhere from 36 – 50 hours by sailboat to cross from Colombia to the San Blas Islands. Once in the islands you’ll get 3 days of San Blas island bliss before being shuttled by boat to mainland Panama and then by car to Panama City. After that you’re on your own!
No, you will not go through the Panama Canal 🙁
When to go on a San Blas Islands Sailing Trip
If you have some planning flexibility you may want to take the dry/wet season into account. My friends and I had a narrow window for this trip so we went in August, which apparently is the wet season aka hurricane season. When I said I didn’t know anything about the Caribbean I wasn’t kidding, I had no clue that August was a part of hurricane season.
The dryer, windier, season is December – April, which also means it’s probably the most popular time to travel plan a San Blas Islands sailing trip. In the wet season you may find better deals because it’s a lower travel season, but you may have to contend with the weather.
Thankfully this sailing route is relatively inland and only about 48 hours, so while anything can happen, you’re not in the outer islands that are more exposed.
Sailing Vs. Speedboating
We opted to take a sailboat through the San Blas Islands but there are also several speedboat options as well. My friends and I enjoy the slow roll of sailing, plus the sailboat option takes you further from land and you live on the boat for a week. Yes please!
If the idea of being on a 42 foot sailboat with up to 15 strangers and rocking seas is a no go for you, then you may want to consider the speedboat option. From what I can tell, the speedboats give you a few days in the San Blas Island where you’ll sleep on land and then take a more coastal route between the two countries.
Travel Logistics
Okay so now that you’ve mentally/emotionally committed to going, there are some travel logistics to work out.
It all starts with choosing which direction to sail. You can start in the San Blas Islands and sail south and end in Cartagena or start there and sail north, ending in the San Blas Islands and eventually getting dropped off in Panama City. Originally we were going to sail from Panama to Colombia, but the company we wanted to go with (Blue Sailing, more on them in a minute) had better dates for us going the other direction, Colombia to Panama.
We were a big group of 10 so getting everyones dates lined up was crucial, so we ended up all meeting in Cartagena and getting on the boat from there. And boy oh boy, I am so glad we sailed this direction!
Let me convenience you why ending in the San Blas Islands is the better direction.
First of all you get the ocean crossing out of the way. For most people, this is a rocky experience that requires lots of dramamine. My partner and I both have our captains license and thus we both have spent a lot of time on boats, and we both still took dramamine.
There’s nothing more debilitating than being laid out with sea sickness! Thankfully we just took it the first night and were okay for the 36 hour crossing, but my friends made sure to take it every chance they could. One girl we weren’t traveling with was so ill she slept below deck the whole 36 hour crossing.
And we had a relatively normal crossing.
AND we were going into the waves, not getting joslted around with the waves at our rear.
According to our captain, traveling from Panama down to Colombia can often feel worse on the boat because you’re going with the prevailing seas and the boat has a bigger tendency to “surf” the waves and slam down a bit more.
After 36 hours of honestly very manageable rolling waves, sea spray, sun and birds we arrived in the San Blas Islands on the 2nd morning. WOWZA! Truly such a dreamy location with little islands dotted amongst sparkling clear blue waters.
We had 3 kickass days of no seasickness to relax and play in the ocean. We all agreed, getting to end the trip on such a high note by playing in the sea, swimming to little islands and frolicking on the beach was the way to do it.
Plan your sailing trip in the San Blas Islands from Colombia to Panama!
Where to Stay Before Your Sail
If you are departing from Cartagena, Colombia I highly recommend you stay in Casa Del Puerto! It was such a cute and aesthetic hostel, friendly staff and it even had a pool and bar. It’s in the “Manga” neighborhood and was only a 15 minute walk to where the boat departed from. It’s also close to “the walled city” which you’ll certainly want to walk around in!
Blue Sailing
We went with the company Blue Sailing and I truly can’t recommend them enough! They have a huge fleet of boats which you can browse on their website. They also have a number of price points but they’re all in the range of $660 – $780 USD for the sail itself.
There are a number of additional fees to be aware of. They’re all unavoidable regardless of which provider you book with. There is a $20 fee to the Kuna Yuna who are the indigenous peoples of the San Blas Islands. Transportation to Panama City will be $60 and you must have cash for this! It’s $25 for the water taxi to the mainland and then $35 for the 4×4 jeep to the city.
If you send [email protected] an inquiry email, they will send you a detailed email explaining all the logistics. Again I truly couldn’t imagine having gone with another company, we had an amazing time and they made the travel planning so easy, even with our group of 10!
Expectations when Sailing in San Blas Islands
Overall this trip was such a dream, but it is a very unique type of trip so it’s important to manage your expectations.
Firstly you will be in close quarters with strangers and if you have any boating experience you’ll know there can be little privacy on a sailboat. The below deck quarters are a bit stuffy and you’ll likely be in a bunk right next to a stranger – or even sharing a bed with them. I’d recommended spending as much time above deck as possible, especially to avoid sea sickness during the crossing.
There’s no shower, which isn’t a huge deal when you’re anchored in the islands (sea shower, heyo!) but during the 2 day crossing it’s going to be hot and sweaty. Due to the humidity I found that things didn’t really dry either. So yeah, you may be a bit sticky and uncomfortable and experiencing all of this next to a stranger. A stranger who, hopefully you’ve befriended.
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I envisioned the boat sailing the whole way. NOPE. Which I totally get, you can’t control the winds. We only had our sails up the first morning of the crossing and eventually solely relied on the engine. I’m glad we used motor power to get us to the islands in under 2 days, but there is such a lure in true sail power. We knew we were sailing during the non windy season, so this was to be expected.
When we got to the San Blas Islands, I was shocked to see so much trash in the water. And on the beaches. It really broke my heart. The labels from the trash indicated it was from all over the world, collecting in and choking the beautiful Panamanian islands. This of course was a good and very stark reminder of the life your trash lives when you dispose of it. I just had no idea the ocean currents would deposit so much of it here, on these islands.
FOOD is oh so so so very important to me. Blue Sailing was super accommodating with my vegetarianism (although it was an additional $25) and the meals provided were genuinely so delicious. I’m not even kidding, I wrote some of them down (panzanella for one). I do know, however, that the food can vary a lot because the deckhand is the chef onboard. So there’s no set menu with Blue Sailing, it varies boat to boat with the deckhand cooking.
Your bags will get wet. Nate and I have dry bag backpacks (he has a 60L sea to summit bag and I have a 40L Grundens) so we were all set in this regard, but all your luggage will need to be wrapped in plastic bags. You are only permitted to keep one small backpack with you in your cabin, any larger luggage will be stored in the front of the boat and thus inaccessible during the trip. One friend got her bag back only to find her leather sandals had grown mold. So don’t being anything precious if you can avoid it and do your best to waterproof your belongings.
Lastly, you’ll need to carry a lot of cash and the captain will hold on to your passport before you get to customs. That’s just the way it is.
What to Pack Sailing in San Blas Islands
Something to keep in mind is that you’ll have two portions of your trip. Your time on the boat vs your time in the cities of Cartagena and Panama City. I would recommend packing as light as possible while also organizing your items in a way that makes sense for on the boat/off the boat time.
Specific to on the boat – sun protection is key!!
- Hat
- Long sleeve sun layer (we love free fly)
- Shorts or linen pants
- 2 – 3 swimsuits
- Flip flops / sandals
- Reef safe sunscreen
- Polarized sunglasses
- Towel
- CASH
Specific to off the boat
- Closed toed shoes
- “Going out” clothes (if that’s your thing)
I’m not going to advise on how many underwear to bring or what toiletries are best, but I do just want to point out the differences between your time sailing vs. in the city.
On the boat you will likely be barefoot the whole time and only need flip flops or sandals if you want to protect your feet on the islands. You will be baking in the strong strong sun so I recommend UV protectant clothing. I scored a sunburn so gnarly I can still see where it was 8 months later. And this was after I put sunscreen on and had a linen button up shirt on (the shirt was open and I missed a patch of skin near my armpit).
While it will be hot it is also humid so unless you’re under full sail and the wind is ripping, don’t count on things drying. This is why I would avoid cotton and try to stick to linen or other quick drying materials. I bought 3 swimsuits and I probably only need 2. Yeah it’s uncomfy to put on a wet swimsuit but a quick jump in the water will fix that!
I felt like I brought too many clothes and everything fit in a 35L backpack! I would organize any “city” clothes and shoes and the very bottom of your bag as you really won’t wear them on the boat. Onboard my outfit was a swimsuit, linen or UV long sleeve shirt, shorts (I wish I had linen pants) a hat and sunglasses. And tons of sunscreen. It was nice to have a few long sleeves to choose from because by day 3 everything felt pretty damp all the time. If I did it again I would save a dry shirt for the last 2 days.
Should You Carry Cash in Colombia?
You will also want to have a reserve of cash.
Most boat captains will have you pay in cash the day of. Personally I was really worried about this but it’s just the way it is and there’s no work around. To pay in cash and also have cash for the trip and a bit of emergency cash, I needed to carry $900 USD. I opted to fly to Colombia with a few hundred dollars and than take money out of the ATM the morning I needed to pay Blue Sailing. Blue Sailing was really lovely and recommended which ATM to go to.
Honestly I was a little on edge carrying the cash during the 8 min walk back to the boat but not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. And voila! We paid. Sorta… turns out I’d done the USD to Colombian peso calculation wrong! I was a couple hundred dollars short!! Ahrrrgg! Back to the ATM.
Okay this time I knew the conversion and I even pulled out a little extra to cover any whoopsies for my second go around. Back on the boat I proudly paid, only slightly embarrassed in front for my world traveller friends. But wait! There’s more!! I’d been given a fake bill from the ATM! Awesome hahhaaa. Thankfully I was able to dip into my emergency cash to cover the difference. And then, finally, the payment was complete!
Also, Blue Sailing will take USD as that is the currency in Panama. I ended up paying in a hodge-podge of USD and COP.
And if you’re wondering what I did with that fake bill (worth $50 USD), per a locals suggestion I went to the grocery store where the ATM was and spent it. I felt a little bad putting it back into circulation but hey, an ATM gave it to me for crying out loud! I could tell the register boy was suspicious of the bill when he looked it over twice, but he must have taken pity on me because he gave me my change. People are so nice.
Our Experience Sailing in the San Blas Islands
So what was this 6 day trip really like? My friends and I were on the catamaran the Ti – Vaou, which slept 14 people. We were a big group of 10 but quickly got along with the other 4 passengers on the boat. It was such fun!
This was my first time in the Caribbean and I couldn’t imagine a more dreamy introduction! Not only did we freaking sail across the Caribbean, once we were in the San Blas it was just pure ocean time all the time. I was gawking at all the amazing tropical species like spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks, drum fish, lionfish (invasive! Boooo!), parrot fish and squirrel fish!
We hopped around to several different islands and really had a ball. The first day we spent anchored off this one island which we were able to go to for dinner. The crew shuttled us over in the dinghy and set up a beautiful lobster dinner for all 14 of us. I think as a group we all loved lobster night the best.
Once we cleared up from dinner, someone set up a big bonfire. We roasted marshmallows and played in the bioluminescent waves. The island we were on was the home of a local family that is generous enough to share their island paradise with sailing travelers. We all paid the Kuna Yala entrance tax which goes to these families.
The morning after our perfect night on the island we moved to another area that was more populated. This spot was an amazing snorkel spot… I saw my first nurse sharks!! Yippee! The island was dotted with whimsical colorful cabins, it must have been one of the islands that accommodates tourists. I spent so long in the water this day it actually started to feel too warm!
The last day was near a “party” island of sorts. The island had a little bar and a volleyball court. We watched the sun set and played in the shallow water which was reflecting the pink and orange sky.
That night we had dinner on the island which was, once again, amazing. We were shocked at how fast the last 5 days had gone by! In the morning we packed up and hugged our captain and crew goodbye, they were so amazing to us! As classic Americas our group left a big tip which I think they were pretty shocked by. If you’re wondering, we left $20 per person.
And that was that! Truly a once in a lifetime trip and certainly an epic way to travel between Panama and Colombia.
If you have any questions about this trip please let me know! There were a lot of unknowns for me when planning this adventure and I’d love to help anyone doing the same.
Bree is a travel writer who specializes in backpacking guides and ocean based travel. She’s 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.
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!