On our short trip to Panama - during ten days - we could spend our time mainly in two destinations: San Blas, more precisely the San Blas archipelago, and Isla Bastimentos. Trying to make a journey that fit in these few days without rushing and trying to enjoy a glimpse of Panama, we chose:
- Two nights on a catamaran in the San Blas archipelago
- One night in the "Casco Viejo" of Panama City
- Four nights in a jungle lodge on the Bastimentos island
The two most obvious ways to organise a stay in the San Blas archipelago are: staying in accommodations on the islands, taking into account that these accommodations are very basic - usually cabins with shared bath - or making boat trips to visit several islands, all of this this being organised by a Panamanian tours agency for the accommodation reservation, transportation to the Carti pier and then the boat transportation to and from the chosen island, in which case it is advisable to bring some food and drinks, as the food and drinks offer in the islands is very limited and prices are high; or, as we did, staying in a boat - usually sailboat, or catamaran - and sailing from island to island during the stay, all being organised by the catamaran, or sailboat, and on an AI basis ("all inclusive") . The first option fits well into smaller budgets, while the AI cost on catamaran is really higher. Our choice of catamaran was made by contacting several websites that offered this service based on the best ratings found on Tripadvisor. After the contact by email, and waiting for the email responses that took longer than acceptable, I gave up waiting for responses and, resulting from a google search, I found and chose the Sailing Life Experience which promptly answered us and whose service I advise, as it has always been of very responsive and really helped choosing our travel options - it was even very practical to call the Marina, the person in charge of this service, who has a spanish phone. We have been presented several catamaran options, on which we considered the dimensions of the boat, the rooms, the bathrooms, the services included and the crew, and chose Chufa, with a Brazilian captain, Manuel, and a Guna Yala sailor and cooker, Johnny, and now that we're back, we thought it was a fantastic option. Manuel is a Brazilian who looks like he is enjoying his catamaran, being great host and always joyful, and Johnny is efficient, very friendly, not a great talker, but always ready to help in everything. They were a fantastic crew and great travel mates! Today, after we are back, we think of them with a warm nostalgia for the moments we spent on board.
In the Carti pier waiting for the motorboat
Buying lobsters
Relaxing at the front deck
Enjoying the islands
The trip is made of several stages:
- Transportation from Panama City, round trip, to the Carti pier. This can - and I recommend to do it - be arranged through the same travel agent that organises the trip to the islands. As we were five persons, we hired a car just for us but, being fewer people, you must hire a shared car, which is cheaper. This trip usually leaves our hotel in Panama City very early, around six o'clock in the morning, and takes about two hours to the Carti pier. On the way out of Panama City, we stopped at a supermarket to buy groceries - for us it was good to buy chocolates, cookies, water, but for those who stay in cabins, you can buy the necessary groceries.
- Motorboat round-trip from the Carti pier to the catamaran. This short trip, which takes around 20 minutes, is made by motorboat and, at the time of year we went - January - when the sea is rougher, it left us quite splashed from the waves (but it's part of the trip, and for those who enjoy some nice days on a catamaran it does not make any difference).
- Stay and travel on the catamaran during the chosen period. One great advantage we had was that, as there were a group of five persons, we had the whole catamaran hired just for us, which certainly makes us feel more comfortable.
The view from our catamaran
Enjoying - a lot! - that amazing sea!
Apart from the seasickness that some of us got, that forced the use of dramamine, being there and having everything ready for us was amazing: to have "all inclusive" and ready meals at the right schedule with very good fresh fish from the sea around us or lobster bought from Guna Yala fishermen, who appeared in their pirogues to sell it; swim, lay at the front deck and relax; visit the islands in our small motorboat and to stop in each island to walk in the almost deserted beaches; swim, enjoy the breeze, sun, rest.
It really Worth It!
The trip is a fantastic and I advise to stay at least two nights. If our budget was larger and we had more time we would stayed three nights, what would give us the opportunity to visit more remote and deserted islands.