How To Get To The San Blas Islands From Panama City — ALONG DUSTY ROADS

Day Trips vs. Multi-Day San Blas Tours

The nature and length of the journey in/out is a key reason why we don’t recommend viewing the San Blas as a day trip destination from Panama City: the balance is all out of whack.

Despite this, it remains a very popular option, and you’ll see a plethora of day trips available online and in the capital. The following all have fantastic ratings, and provide much the same experience, just with slight variations in the islands they visit:

· Full-day trip with lunch | Nugnudub or Isla Chichime, Isla Diablo, Isla Perro Chico and Natural Pool

· Full-day trip with lunch | Isla Perro, Natural Pool, Isla Chichime, & Isla Diablo

· Full-day trip with lunch | Misdub, Natural Pool, Isla Perro Grande, & Isla Perro Chico

· Full-day trip with lunch | Natural Pool, Isla Yansa & Isla Misdu

Before booking any day trip though, it’s essential to understand:

1. It will be a very long day, starting at 5am and ending around 7pm

2. You’ll spend around six hours in the 4×4 – arguably longer than you’ll spend on the actual islands!

3. The islands and stops will also be the focus of most other day trips, therefore more crowded

4. A day trip means no peaceful night on a tiny island, no slow morning on the sand

5. It’s going to be a more rushed experience overall

Instead, if your heart is set on visiting the San Blas whilst in Panama, then we suggest it’s a much better idea to commit at least two days / one night on the islands.

This will give you a slower, more meaningful experience, as well as unhurried hours to swim, explore, rest, and actually enjoy the San Blas rather than just tick them off. The rustic huts, the cold beers under the stars, the volleyball, and the waking up on a tiny island paradise with only a handful of others are what it’s all about.

A two day / one night tour costs around $200 USD per person – this one is highly-rated.

All the multi-day island-hopping tour offerings and routes are fairly standard, with the main differences coming down to group size, comfort level, values, and how many islands you’ll actually visit. All meals, accommodation, transport, and activities are included, so you don’t need to organise anything independently once you’re picked up in Panama City.

After much research, we settled on this three-day / two-night San Blas island-hopping tour, and found the length of the trip to be perfect.

It was a really big splurge for us at $300 each though, so may not work for all budgets and itineraries.

To help you get started on find the right one, we’ve shared a selection of some other highly-rated small group options, all of which include free cancellation (useful if you’ve not 100% settled on your Panama itinerary.

· 2D / 1N in Remote San Blas | Stay on Miryadup Island, with boat tour to Cambombia Island

· 3D / 2N San Blas Tour | Isla Pelicano, Natural Pool, Ina Island, Isla Aroma, Isla Nugnudub, and Isla Perro Chico

· 3D / 2N San Blas Tour | Based on Isla Yansailadup with excursions to the beautiful Cayos Holandeses and Cayos Limones

· 3D / 2N in San Blas | Based on Isla Yansailadup with visits to Isla Misdup and the Natural Pool

· 4D / 3N Island Hopping Adventure | Isla Pelicano, Isla Aroma, Isla Misdub, Isla Chichime, Yanidub, Isla Perro Chico.

The above is also available on Viator.

Travel Tip // Plan your Panama City itinerary around the San Blas, rather than the other way round. If you’re doing a 2D/1N or 3D/2N standalone San Blas adventure, the logistics mean you’ll almost certainly have to spend a night in Panama City before and after: for some of you, that’ll be plenty. It also means you need to have your accommodation for the final night sorted out before you leave for the San Blas!

For something affordable and convenient in Casco Viejo, we recommend Casa Magnolia – a hostel / hotel, it’s got dorms, privates, good common areas, and also offers free luggage storage whilst you’re on the islands.

Some backpackers may prefer Viajero though.