Are you considering visiting Panama’s San Blas Islands, possibly as a day trip from Panama City?  This article explains the details of a day vist to the San Blas Islands, provides tips for visiting the San Blas Islands, and why I probably wouldn’t do it again, ha. And, by way of background, Dan and I visited the San Blas Islands as a day trip from our nearly week-long stay in Panama City, Panama in early April. I selected the San Blas Islands over other popular island destinations, such as Bocas del Toro due to the fact that you can drive from Panama City.

The San Blas Islands

And what are the San Blas Islands you may ask? The San Blas Islands are a group of approximately 300 autonomous Panamanian islands off the northern coast of Panama in the Caribbean Sea.  Panama’s indigenous Guna (a/k/a Kuna) population reside in the San Blas Islands, which are famous for their Mola fabrics. Today, the Guna people earn nearly all of their money from tourism and selling handicrafts.

The San Blas Islands are currently popular with tourists for their crystal clear blue waters, as well as ecotourism. We found the San Blas Islands to be quite pretty, but pretty rustic and not easy to navigate for a typical tourist without some sort of guide. Indeed, you can’t even access them without taking a boat from the mainland. The Guna people have their own language and heritage, which is really interesting if you have time to read up on them. There is also a (free!) Mola Museum in Panama City that provides a solid background before visiting.

How To Visit The San Blas Islands

Visitors have two primary options to visit the San Blas Islands – either staying one or two nights on an island or taking a day trip from Panama City. Plenty of tour companies offer tours that both stay overnight and that go just for the day. I would point out that if you are staying overnight, the accommodations are very rustic and what I would equate to one star hotels. That being said, the water is beautiful and there is something to be said about staying the night on a island in the middle of nowhere.

In any case, we were not interested in staying the night (the right choice for us), so we booked a day tour to the San Blas Islands, leaving around 5:00 AM and returning to Panama City around 6:00 PM. A LONG day.

A Very Early Morning Pick Up

Our day, and honestly all of these tours, begin with an early morning pickup (around 5:00 AM) at our hotel in Panama City in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Ours was something similar to a new Toyota Four Runner. There are usually 5 tourists in the car, plus the driver. We drove about 2.5 hours to Guna Yala. Contrary to many things I read online, most of the drive was on modern paved roads. The final hour was a bit rough on a rock, twisty road. We also stopped at a grocery store en route to pick up breakfast and anything else we needed. We purchased beer and water, but, again, contrary to many things I read online, all of the islands we visited sold food and drinks.

Port Carti

After driving for a couple of hours, we arrived in Guna Yala. Guna Yala ,formerly San Blas, is a region in northeast Panama that his home to the indigenous Guna people. Guna Yala is also home to Port Carti, where boats depart for the San Blas Islands. We stopped at the below sign on entering Guna Yala.

On arriving in Port Carti, we hopped out of our 4×4, visited the toilets (by far the cleanest of the day, 25 cent to use), and were presented with a box of fresh pineapple. We then donned life jackets, boarded our assigned boat, with other tour groups, and set off for our first stop. I would note that our driver did not go with us and we had a new “guide” for the day. The ride on the boat took about 30 minutes before reaching our first stop. It was a little bumpy.

Chichime Island

The first stop on the tour was at Chichime Island. Chichime Island is one of the more well known San Blas Islands, and also one where tourists can stay overnight. On arrival, we boated by crystal clear Caribbean blue water, as well as some dirtier waters, LOL, but mostly very beautiful. Upon docking, we disembarked and were offered chairs and snorkeling gear, and our boat guide put out a mini put put course. We were permitted to walk around the island and use its facilities for about 1.5 hours. While the island was quite pretty, it was also dirty (cigarette butts everywhere) and the facilities were seemed old, including the tables and chairs. There were also no towels available, which was quite annoying for a day tour to a beach…. Be sure to bring a towel with you on this tour!

In any case, we walked and swam a bit before purchasing beer at the small koisk where we would later have lunch. This was a welcome surprise, as we thought that we needed to bring our own beer and drinks. The beer was pretty reasonably priced, and the kiosk accepted credit card. I also did a bit of shopping for authentic Mola fabric.

After the 1.5 hours of free time, we enjoyed an included lunch of fried chicken or fish, both served with rice and slaw. And, the food was really delicious. I was not expecting much from the food, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Our meal also included a Panama beer. The group piled back into the boat right after lunch and we headed to our next stop.

A Natural Pool

About 5 minutes away (literally swimming distance) from Chichime Island was our next stop – a natural pool. According to our guide, this natural pool is the cite of a sunken island. The water is only about 1 – 3 feet deep (depending where you are) and its crystal clear. We stopped at this natural pool for 20 minutes. People literally jumped off the boat and climbed back in when ready to depart via a shoddy ladder. There were some pretty cool fish in the natural pool, and even a star fish (which you can apparently see pretty easily here).

Isla Perro Chico aka Assudub Bibbi

Isla Perro Chico, aka Assudub Bibbi, or Dog Island in English, is a really popular San Blas Island with tourists. I can see why, and it was my favorite island that we visited. Why? I am not entirely sure – I think it felt larger and more spread out, and the water, trees and sand were really beautiful. The bar here also served lots of drinks, including Pina Coladas. On arrival, we departed the boat and spent about 1 to 1.5 hours on Isla Perro. Most people got in the water, as there is a shipwreck that you can swim out to and snorkel around. We did not do that, and instead opted to drink beer and cocktails in the sun. I also did a little shopping here from some of the tourist kiosks set up on the island.

Like Chichime Island, Isla Perro Chico is home to rustic overnight accommodations. If I had to choose, I would probably stay at Isla Perro Chico over Chichime, as it just seemed way cleaner.

Isla Diablo

Our final stop of the day was at Isla Diablo for approximately one hour. Directly across from Isla Pero Chico (seriously, you could swim), Isla Diablo is another pretty island, with a very pretty beach, a large bar and numerous stalls selling local (well, kind of local…) goods. The water looked amazing here, but I think our entire tour was exhausted and sunburnt at this point in the day. As a result, most everyone went to the bar and then gathered at the covered communal table. We returned to the port after Isla Diablo and then began the long drive back to Panama City.

Practical Tips for Visiting The San Blas Islands

1. You need your passport to visit to the San Blas Islands. Take it in a waterproof bag, because everything you bring will get damp (if not wet).
2. I had read that we needed to bring our own water, alcohol, etc. to the islands, but every island that we visited had a bar selling water, soda and beer (and some cocktails). Each bar accepted cash and credit card (but I would still bring cash if you plan to buy stuff).
3. The San Blas Islands are incredibly rustic. This is not a luxury resort area.
4. The islands that we stopped at had restrooms for public use, with the level of cleanliness varying widely from almost too dirty to use to usable, but dirty. Bring tissues and hand sanitizer.
5. Not all of the water in the San Blas Islands is crystal clear; some of it is and other areas are more similar to regular ocean water. Definitely follow a guide or recommendations to find the best spots.
6. And on that note, apparently some areas are much cleaner than others. I wouldn’t swim somewhere a guide didn’t tell me to.
7. A day trip is kind of a dirty affair – meaning that you will be in and out of the water, in and out of a boat, etc. There are no showers unless you are overnighting (and I think there are showers then). You will definitely want a shower when you return to Panama City.
8. Given the rustic and basic nature of the San Blas Islands, I am glad that we did not stay overnight. It just would have been to much “roughing it” for us. I was very happy to return to my very clean hotel room and hot shower.
9. Bing your own swimsuit and towels to San Blas Islands, especially on day trips. There were no towels available, and we would have had to do without had we not brought our own towels.
10. Bring a water-tight bag for things that can’t get wet (like your passport and wallet). Our bags definitely got wet on the boat.
11. While credit card is accepted, bring cash.
12. This is a long, exhausting day in the sun. Keep that in mind, and also bring sunscreen!

STEAL OUR TRIP

Day Tour to San Blas Islands from Panama City: I took this tour, booked via Viator. Everything went smoothly and I felt safe.