San Blas Adventures Tour Review: Panama – Colombia!

I recently had the best (and final) adventure of my Central America trip: a 4-day, 3-night island-hopping adventure between Panama and Colombia.

This is my review of San Blas Adventures, the company I went with, along with tips to make the best of your trip, and everything I wish I knew before.

Although I travelled from Panama City to Colombia, you can also do the trip in reverse. For me, the journey signified ending my 3-month solo travel adventure through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. This adventure had been on my bucket list for years and I’m so happy I did it!

Although I didn’t have huge expectations for Panama, it pleasantly surprised me. The Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro felt completely different to the misty, mountainous hiking region of Boquete and the glitzy urban jungle of Panama City. Visiting the idyllic San Blas Islands with rich indigenous culture was the cherry on the cake!

The boat rides

During the four-day trip, I’d estimate we did four 1.5-hour journeys and the rest were much shorter trips of around 20 minutes.

I mostly stayed dry however this depends where you sit on the boat. We had a blue and red boat and the blue one was slightly smaller and got a bit more splash, especially in the back. On the last day, I ended up on the back seat and got absolutely soaked!!

It wasn’t too bad (I was in my bikini anyway) but, if you do want to avoid getting wet, maybe sit at the front – and also wrap your valuables bag in a bin bag. However, someone has to take the back seat so perhaps turn-taking is only fair.

For the final journey from Sapzurro to Capurgana, we rode a local canoe-style boat. This was the only ride that was a bit hectic with waves almost coming into the boat as our luggage perched on the front. However, this might have just been due to the weather that day as I spoke to someone else who made the same journey and didn’t have any waves at all.

I can only give a glowing review to San Blas Adventures for the food! Everything was not only absolutely delicious but also fresh and healthy with plenty of protein.

Although we had a lot of seafood, there was always a vegetarian and vegan option. Generally, the food catered well to vegetarians anyway, especially the lunches with lots of salads featuring beans and lentils (and sometimes fish). Aside from chicken burritos one night, there wasn’t much meat.

It was the little touches, too, that were appreciated. After dinner on the first night, the crew lit a bonfire and I was just thinking how fun it would be to roast marshmallows… when they brought out everything to make s’mores!

Another time, we arrived on an island and had fresh coconuts waiting for us, free of charge (on other occasions, you could buy them for $2 each).

What we ate on tour:

• Day 1 lunch – fresh fish, rice, salad
• Day 1 dinner – lobster (with garlic cream cheese dip), ceviche, rice, mashed potato, purple cabbage
• Day 2 breakfast – cinnamon oats with fresh fruit, fried bread, jam, peanut butter, tea & coffee
• Day 2 lunch – healthy salads with plenty of protein, hummus, bread etc
• Day 2 dinner – chicken or veggie burritos
• Day 3 breakfast – scrambled eggs, granola, fresh fruit, fried bread, jam, peanut butter, tea & coffee
• Day 3 lunch – salads including pasta salad with bread and croutons
• Day 3 dinner – choice of fried chicken, lentil burger or seafood (mussels and squid) with veggies
• Day 4 breakfast – granola, fresh fruit, fried bread, jam, peanut butter, tea & coffee
• Day 4 lunch – ceviche (veggie available), tamales, coconut ice cream.

The crew

Wow, where to start with the crew? I can only sing their praises! They worked so hard, always helping with whatever we needed and prepping all our delicious meals. As soon as we’d get to an island, they’d begin cooking… I can’t imagine they had much downtime!

Although I can’t promise you’ll have the same crew we did, it seems from reviews they’re consistently good. We had Augustina as our main leader, keeping us organised and giving talks several times a day about our upcoming plans. She was fantastic with a fun, positive energy but also good organisational skills (I can’t imagine it’s easy keeping 20 people to schedule and answering all their questions!).

We also had Ricardo and Luis who were both very friendly and helpful. Luis’ positive energy was infectious and I’ll always remember our wake-up alarm being him sitting outside the rooms singing and playing guitar! Better than the iPhone alarm, right?

Another thing I can review San Blas Adventures positively for is their community impact. When we reached the islands, we had a crew of local Guna staff employed by the company, thus providing jobs and livelihoods for the locals.

In addition, they also donate some proceeds from the trips to community projects such as building schools and play areas and supporting local holiday celebrations (read more about their social impact here).

The islands are absolute paradise! There’s a grand total of 365 meaning it would take you exactly 1 year to visit them all. We visited 2-3 a day meaning we got to see a varied selection of them.

They vary in size from tiny scraps of uninhabited land to larger ones where a couple of thousand people live in village communities.

Around 50 of the islands are inhabited by a total of 50,000 Guna people.

With white sand and tall palm trees, the San Blas Islands are utter paradise. The waves are very gentle making it easy to swim and snorkel. No surfing here, sorry!

The corals and marine life are also impressive as we found out when snorkelling (you can use the team’s snorkelling equipment for no extra cost). We spotted so many types of colourful fish and even a squid.

Guna culture – the highlight of my trip!

Although the beautiful beaches and islands stand out as some of the best I’ve seen (and after the Philippines, Thailand and Fiji, the competition is high!), it was the unique culture that stuck with me.

The benefit of staying on the islands rather than doing a sailing tour was the time we spent with the islanders. Days 2 and 3 included a cultural talk and Q&A with a local, a lesson in dance with the chance to try the local clothing, and a guided village walk.

We were incredibly lucky with the timing as our trip coincided with the locals celebrating 100 years since their successful revolution, ending the Panamanian government’s efforts to wipe them out. We got to witness a local celebration and fry chicha fuerte, a local alcohol.

However, even the guides said they’d never witnessed this before so I can’t promise you’ll experience the exact same.

Facts at the Guna Yala people:

• They have their own language not related to Spanish (however many locals speak Spanish as a second language)
• The currency is coconuts! Some people have USD now to trade with mainland Panama however there’s no mutual currency with Colombia so they trade coconuts (at a value of 45 cents a unit) for food products
• Only Guna people can own the islands which are passed down through the female lineage.

Other things to pack

• Hand sanitiser and facial wipes may also be useful (I didn’t bring the latter and it was tricky using a liquid facial cleanser without running water)
• Sarong for the beach that can also double up as a cover when you sleep in the hammock
• Neck pillow (very useful for travel generally) for the hammock.
• Sunscreen and bug spray
• One layer as it does get surprisingly chilly at night
• Portable charger – in the end, we had power on two of the nights but I’m not sure this is guaranteed.

Total cost (in USD)

• $495-545 trip cost depending on the season (check the website for current rates)
• $35 for the Jeep between Panama City and Carti (the coast)
• $20 for island entry fees
• Keep reading for costs relating to getting to & from Capurgana, Colombia.

There’s no ATM in Capurgana in Colombia so, regardless of which way you’re travelling, bring enough cash with you (from Panama City or your previous stop in Colombia, I hear Necocli is the last place you’ll visit with an ATM). This is especially important if travelling to Colombia because you need to stay at least 1 night in Capurgana AND pay $55 for travel to Cartagena or Medellin.

There’s one liquor store in Capurgana where you can exchange USD for COP but they offer a poor rate and you lose almost 15%. I had no choice but to pay it, however one girl in my group had thought to exchange dollars to COP in Panama City where I presume the rate is way better (in larger cities, I find it’s around 5%).

Overall, I brought the recommended $100 for spending money, $150 for windy season delays and another $150 to cover my time in Capurgana and travel to Cartagena… and I ended up with almost $250 left over! So I think you can bring less than me, especially if you aren’t drinking alcohol.

Is it best to travel to Panama to Colombia or in reverse?

The only notable difference is that, when travelling from Colombia, the trip is almost 2 days longer because you meet in Cartagena (or Medellin) and take the bus together to Necocli. The next day, you catch the boat to Capurgana and have a briefing then take a boat to Sapzurro, where you sleep to begin the first day of the trip the following morning.

On the reverse (travelling from Panama to Colombia), the final day 4 arrives in Sapzurro then Capurgana.

So, if you want to spend longer and get bonded with the group, it could be nice to go from Colombia. However, if you’re more introverted and know that four days with a big group of new people is already a lot, you may prefer travelling from Panama.

Although there were other guests travelling from Capurgana to Cartagena the same day as me, note that you arrive late into Cartagena and the bus station feels a little sketchy (I recommend having Uber downloaded and ready to go). Solo female travellers may be a little uncomfortable so travelling the reverse way with a guaranteed group may feel more secure.

Ultimately, though, the way you do it will probably come down to the direction of your trip which is likely predetermined.

What’s the group like?

Although I can only comment on my group, I’m going to assume it was pretty average.

The general age range was early 20s to late 30s but we did have four fab Canadian ladies in their 50s. Being in my 30s, I was glad to have diversity in the group because my only concern before departure was that it would be me and a bunch of 20-year-olds for four days!

In the group of around 20 people, we were around half solo travellers and half couples and pairs of friends.