Thanks to the impassable Darien Gap, you only have 2 ways to cross the border between Panama and Colombia: flying or taking a boat. I chose the latter and spent 5 days sailing from Panama to Cartagena de Indias via the San Blas Islands.
I chose to take the sailboat because it was environmentally friendlier than flying and the experience seemed amazing. I’d heard the San Blas Islands were beautiful and the idea of being aboard a sailboat for a few days appealed to me.
In this guide, I’ll break down all of the information you need to know about sailing from San Blas, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia and share my personal experiences. I’ll explain what each day entails along with costs and timings, as well as comparing the sailboat with the other transport options available.
Overview of the sailboat trip from Panama to Colombia
Here’s all the key information you need to know about the trip in a snapshot. I recommend reading the full guide as I explain each day in detail further down.
- Cost: starting at $600 US as of 2024 which includes 3 meals a day, snacks, immigration fees and processing
- Duration: 5 days (3 days island hopping and 2 days sea crossing). If sailing from Panama, then you’ll island hop first
- People aboard: at least 12 passengers and 2 crew, but this depends on the company and boat
- Conditions: generally smooth sailing between the islands and some chop during the sea crossing. However, this is highly dependent on the time of year and weather patterns
- Booking in advance: to be safe, I recommend securing your spot aboard a boat at least a couple of weeks in advance as they fill up
- Tipping: this is optional but I highly recommend leaving a tip if you enjoyed the experience
- Do I recommend the sailboat: yes, sailing from Panama to Colombia was a brilliant experience. I made new friends over the 5 days and swam at beautiful island beaches
How much does it cost to take the sailboat from Panama to Colombia?
The overall cost of sailing from Panama to Colombia via the San Blas Islands will depend on the company you book through, the boat you are assigned and where it departs from. As of 2024, you should expect to pay at least $650 US.
This includes the trip fee, transport to where the boat departs from, usually around $30 US, and the mandatory $20 US (2024 rate) tax that goes to the Guna Yala indigenous people of San Blas.
I shopped around quite a bit before booking my place on the Wildcard via the company Wildcard Sailing. The base fee was $640 and I also paid $25 US for transport between Panama City and Linton Bay Marina, where we departed from. Add on the $20 US Kuna Yala tax and the total cost of sailing from Panama to Colombia via San Blas cost me $685 US.
I chose the Wildcard because with transport to the departure point included, it was the cheapest option I could find leaving on the date I wanted. Some boats depart from Carti or Porvenir. These are islands and so transport from Panama City costs more than to Linton Bay Marina.
Wildcard Sailing is 1 of the 2 major companies offering the 5-day trip. The other company is Blue Sailing and these guys seem to have a monopoly over this trip route. While I did find other companies when shopping around, all others except Wildcard Sailing were operating under the banner of Blue Sailing.
Blue Sailing’s base prices range between roughly $620 US-$680 US, but they work with a wider range of boats than Wildcard. Blue Sailing also has daily departures, unlike Wildcard Sailing’s weekly departures.
Your final option is to book directly with a sailboat captain. The operators I just mentioned are middlemen, they don’t own boats, meaning you could bypass them in the hopes of saving money. This is what I tried to do initially.
I inquired about different departure dates with the big companies and was told which boats would sail those days. I then tried to get in touch directly with the boat captains by searching the boats online.
The only boat I could find contact details for was the Santana. The Captain’s name is Gilberto and as of 2024 he charges $650 US base rate. To my surprise, this was slightly more expensive than Wildcard.
Sailboat operators give you dietary and other personal options such as bringing a bicycle or surfboard aboard. These are usually around $25 US and $50 US extra respectively, so factor that into the cost if you’re a vegetarian or traveling with large equipment, for example.
Cheaper options: speed boat or flying
While I think the sailboat trip from Panama to Colombia is the best option, I get that it isn’t within everyone’s budget. If that’s you, then you could take a speedboat or fly.
Speedboat
The speedboat trip lasts 4 days and prices start at around $450 US including the cost of transport to the departure point. The main providers are:
- San Blas Frontera (these guys look to be the cheapest)
- San Blas Adventures
- San Blas Dreams
Unlike with the sailboat, you sleep on the San Blas Islands and spend only a few hours crossing the open sea. You also see more islands. This might seem like a much better option, but keep in mind that you’re on a small boat so comfort won’t be the same. Also, if it rains or the water is rough, you’re likely to get wet.
Flying
The cheapest flights from Panama City to Colombia start at around $100 US with luggage included. This depends though on the date you fly and where you fly to/from. I recommend using Skyscanner to find the best deal.
How many people are on board the boat?
The number of people aboard depends on the boat you booked and how many other people booked for the same date. When I sailed on Wildcard the boat was full and we were 20 passengers plus 4 crew. This was a lot of people considering the size of the boat. However, other boats I checked held a maximum of 14 people.
How long does it take to sail from Panama to Colombia?
Overall, the sailboat trip takes roughly 6 full days. Now I’ll explain each day sailing from Panama to Colombia in detail.
My experience of Sailing from Panama to Colombia
Day 1: getting to the departure point
While it’s not technically counted as a day of the trip, I think you should include the day that you travel to the departure point. This is because it can take a few hours and then you will have to wait a few hours while there.
While you’re hanging around the crew sort out the immigration procedures and later in the evening give you a briefing before you set sail that night. We left Linton Bay Marina around 21:00.
Day 2: island #1 Aca Dargana
We got to the first island early in the morning and by the time I woke up we were already anchored and breakfast was being served.
The island we visited this day was called Acua Dargana and was the biggest of the trip. Like all San Blas Island, the sands were a pristine white and the water crystal blue. I swam from the boat to the island taking a snorkel provided by the boat—something I did at every island.
Out of all the islands, snorkelling at Aca Dargana was the best because the coral reef was full of fish and colour. I spent a couple of hours exploring the reef.
A delicious lunch was cooked up on the island (and at all islands we visited) and later in the day we played beach volleyball. Thankfully the owners of the island, a Kuna Yala family, had set up a volleyball net between 2 palm trees.
After a fun day of snorkelling, good food and volleyball, we had a chance to admire the night sky. There’s no light pollution at San Blas so the stars look amazing.
After stargazing, the Wildcard crew surprised us with a bonfire. It was an impressive blaze and it capped off a great day.
We returned to the Wildcard late evening and for the rest of the night we all hung out together on the boat listening to music and just chilling. Dinner was served on the boat every night.
Day 3: island #2 Ogo Cibudu
We sailed through the night and calm waters to arrive at the island of Ogo Cibudu early the next morning. Shortly after breakfast it was time to happily repeat the same plan as the day before.
The swim to the island was great but the snorkelling at Ogo Cibudu wasn’t as good as at Acua dargana. Here the coral was a bland brown with little sign of life. I’m no expert, but it could be that the reef was dead.
Ogo Cibudu was a lot smaller than Acua Dargana but just as beautiful. At Ogo Cibudu we could walk around the entire perimeter of the island; a short but nice stroll.
This day I spent some time paddle boarding (provided by Wildcard) and taking lots of pictures. We mostly hung out at the beach enjoying the views, great weather and each other’s company.
The best thing about day 2 and possibly the best moment of the entire trip was the sunset. As the sun began to disappear behind the horizon, the sky turned all sorts of amazing colours and the scene was incredibly beautiful. We swam back to Wildcard during this ethereal light and everyone was amazed by how surreal the sunset had felt.
Day 4: island #3 Coco Bandero
We stayed anchored at Ogo Cibudu through the night, setting off for the third and final island after breakfast. Late morning, we arrived at our last paradisiac destination, Coco Bandero.
The island of Coco Bandero is a tiny spec of land no more than a few metres wide. What differentiated this island from the others was that the water was incredibly clear and blue, and that there was another small island nearby that you could swim to.
We didn’t get the full day at Coco Bandero as we set sail to start the sea crossing at 16:00, but we had a special moment before leaving. A trio of nurse sharks were swimming near our sailboat and could easily be seen with a snorkel.
The sharks were quite interested in us and even came within a few metres of me. I’d recently got a PADI diving certification and my newfound love for marine life was satisfied by these nurse sharks.
Day 5: sea crossing day 1
After leaving San Blas behind the previous evening, we were now sailing the open waters of the Caribbean Sea. Up until now the sailing had been calm and relaxing, but things were about to change as we caught the tail end of Hurricane Beryl.
Later in the afternoon the sea became incredibly choppy and it rained heavily for a few hours. Everyone had to stay inside the boat which was cramped, hot and sweaty. It’s safe to say that a few of us became seasick, myself included.
We weren’t expecting the rain to ease up anytime soon, but to our surprise the skies cleared and the sun came out. This was the break we needed as conditions below deck were stuffy.
The rest of the day we all chilled on deck enjoying the fresh air. I popped a few sea sickness pills, but this didn’t help much as later in the night I was feeling rough.
Day 6: sea crossing day 2
This was the second of our 2-day sea crossing and the final day of the trip. By now the sea had become quite choppy and rain was intermittent. We all stayed positive and made the most of being back below deck in close quarters.
I had been taking seasickness pills every 6 h for the past 24 h and they were finally kicking in. This made things a lot more enjoyable as I skipped dinner the night before, but had now regained my appetite.
The majority of the day was spent chatting to each other and making plans for the next steps of our travels. When the rain stopped and the sun came out, we emerged from the boat to enjoy the deck. When the rain returned, we crammed back into our cave. At 1 point the rain was monsoon-like and none of us were expecting to get back out on deck.
Mid-afternoon and high-rise buildings emerged on the horizon. Cartagena was in sight and by now everyone was ready to set foot on dry land. As we approached the port city, we passed the island of Bocachica, where most of our crew were from.
We pulled into Cartagena and docked at a marina full of private yachts. While the trip had ended with some pretty poor weather conditions and lots of sea sickness, we were all still riding the high of the first 3 days island hopping so nobody cared.
An hour’s wait for our passports to be processed by immigration and we could leave the marina and officially enter Colombia. Most of us made plans to stay at the same hostel and we spent a couple of fun days together in Cartagena before people parted ways.
My overall thoughts of taking a sailboat from Panama to Colombia
I had a great experience and would recommend this trip as the best way of traveling from Panama to Colombia or vice versa. However, I also want to share more information about the fine details.
Sleeping arrangements
If your boat is full, as mine was, then it’s likely to be cramped and not too comfortable. I can’t speak for all boats, but on ours there were ‘double’ beds and strangers had to pair up to share them.
I was coupled with another guy and the bed was way too small for 2 grown men. Fortunately for the first 3 nights the weather was nice enough for us to sleep on the deck. However, for a couple of the nights I slept on the floor below deck. Sleeping on the floor was much more comfortable than sharing the bed, which gives you an idea of how small it was.
The weather
The experience you have during the trip is dependent on the weather. We got lucky as although it was the rainy season, the rain held off until after the island days. If it had rained throughout the entire tip, it would have been a very different experience.
Paying close to $700 US to be trapped on a small sailboat for 5 days would not have been fun. I highly recommend checking a long-term weather forecast and giving this good consideration in the run up to booking.
Environmental concerns
While the islands were absolutely stunning, there was a shocking amount of plastic pollution littering all of them. It’s impossible to point fingers at a single party, but it would seem that it’s caused by disrespectful tourists, a lack of care from the locals and, potentially, ocean currents bringing rubbish from afar.
To my annoyance, I saw people from our group leave litter lying about on the first day, but also saw how plastic that had clearly been used by the locals surrounded their palapa huts.
After seeing this on the first island, I instigated a clean-up at the end of each of the next 2 days. I don’t want to sound like I’m blowing my own horn, but it’s really important that someone in the group initiates this, otherwise, it gets neglected…
The photos I’ve included in this guide don’t show the rubbish, so it would be dishonest of me not to mention it. The plastic pollution didn’t bring my experience down, but it was a sad sight.
Sailing depends on the wind
There was little wind during our 5 days aboard Wildcard. Because of this we had to use the motor for the vast majority of the trip. The crew did open the sails one day, but the engine still did most of the leg work.
The people
Along with the weather, the other major factor that determines how good the trip will be is the people. Unfortunately, this is something you have no control over, so it’s important to have an open mind towards your group. That said, everyone is on such a good vibe that it’s unlikely you won’t get on. I got lucky as everyone on the Wildcard was cool.
For the most part the trip had a bit of a party vibe as most people brought plenty of alcohol for the 5 days. Drinking started relatively early in the day and continued into the evening.
This isn’t my vibe as I don’t really party or drink, but I still had a great time as the people were great and the beautiful islands and fun snorkelling created a nice balance. Of course, the atmosphere during your trip could be much more laid back, or even more party heavy—it completely comes down to the people aboard.
My top tips for the best Panama to Colombia sailboat experience
Here are my key takeaways from the experience that will help you to make the most of your sailboat trip.
- Choose the right season – if the forecast is rain for the 5 days you want to do the trip, then I’d consider postponing or flying. While I always advocate for the environmentally friendliest option, the sailboat trip would not be any fun if all you experienced was rain
- Bring as little plastic as possible – I explained the problem with plastic pollution in the San Blas Islands above and it’s best not to contribute towards it
- Do a beach clean-up every day – this will ensure you don’t make the situation worse but also leave a positive impact on the islands
- Bring cash – locals in small speed boats come to the islands to sell drinks and if you want to buy anything, you’ll need small notes or coins
- Seasick pills – take them every 6 h before you feel sick. If you’re already feeling sick, then it’s too late for the pills to work
- Volunteer to take a bed if asked – on our boat some people needed to pair up to share a double bed. I recommend volunteering first so you get the pick of the beds and don’t get stuck with a tiny one
- Speak with the locals – I learnt about how the islands are passed down through generations and a little about the families who own them
- Tip the crew – if you had fun, then I highly recommend leaving a tip at the end of the trip. It’s seriously appreciated and, on our trip, was very much deserved – our food was brilliant and the crew were attentive the whole time.
More adventure travel guides on A World Over
So that was my experience of sailing from Panama to Colombia via the San Blas Islands on the Wildcard. I hope I’ve answered all the questions you might have about the trip.
If you’d like to know more about the trip details, or have done it yourself and think that I’ve missed some key info, then leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you.