San Blas Islands by boat · San Blas Islands by boat
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San Blas Islands by boat
San Blas Islands by boat
There are a number of different boating options if you want to get here to or from Colombia:
'Sailing boats' to/from Colombia/Cartagena (price around 390-420 dollars for usually 5 days all incl).There are now over 30 vessels operating this route. They vary widely in safety, comfort, and price. A person would be ill advised to book an 180nm ocean passage on a vessel he hasn’t inspected with a captain he hasn’t met. The waters between San Blas and Colombia can be challenging at times. Don’t depend on second hand information.
Vessels depart regularly from Portobelo, Puerto Lindo, Carti islands and Porvenir. Make an informed decision. Here's a check list to consider: Safety 1. Experienced Licensed Captain 2. Life vests in good repair for all passengers and crew 3. Life raft 4. Dingy with a motor large enough to push the boat in an emergency 5. EPIRB – Emergency Positioning Indicator Radio Beacon 6. Fire extinguishers – up to date 7. Flares 8. VHF Radio 9. HF radio or Sat phone 10.GPS – more than one 11.Charts – electronic and paper 12.Autopilot – with back up, a must if the Captain doesn’t have crew 13.Crew – more than one experienced person on board 14.Number of passengers vs. size of boat. (many overcrowded) 15.Adequate water supply 16.Man Overboard device and procedure 17.Medical Kit 18.Safety briefing
Comfort 1. Number of passengers vs. size of boat – do the math 2. Cleanliness – a spotless boat is usually well maintained as well 3. Toilet facilities 4. Refrigeration – cold drinks 5. Number of comfortable berths 6. Chef – quality of food. 7. Entertainment – Music, TV, Movies, Books 8. Fishing gear 9. Snorkeling gear 10. Friendly atmosphere.
Hostel Mamallena in Panama City has excellent contacts throughout the San Blas area and can arrange transport, tours and accommodation anywhere you need to go. They also deal with some of the best sailing boats operating private charters in the San blas islands and between Panama and Colombia.
The Darien Gapster also makes runs between Porvenir/Carti, San Blas and Sapzurro, Colombia which includes three full days in the islands for $279.
There are also cargo boats leave to/from Carti Island and Porvenir Island (San Blas Island/Kuna Yala) to Puerto Obaldia on the frontier for crossing into Colombia. taking anywhere from 6 to 8 days! They buy coconuts and sell . Some of them are much quicker and when we were there most seemed to know about other faster cargo boats. (50 dollars a day per person including food is a good price, but you might have to bargain).
The same can be done with small (but very fast: 400hp) motorized boats taking only 5 to 6 hours, often but not necessarily on fridays (price about 40-80 dollar). For public (motor) boats no regular time schedules exist and may result in waiting around for a number of days. This is especially true, we waited in Corazon for 4 days. The best bet is to wait at the port very early morning (ie sunrise) and ask every single boat that comes in where they are heading. There are a lot of boats.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about San Blas Islands
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in San Blas Islands - updated May 2024
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San Blas Islands Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.