The San Blas Islands, part of the autonomous Guna Yala territory, are located on the northern side of central Panama, about a two and a half hour drive from Panama City. They are most well known for its relaxing white sand beaches and pristine turquoise waters. In reality it is an escape from your daily life where you can just enjoy the company of your friends and loved ones.
There are many different companies that offer tours from Panama City ranging from day tours to 4+ nights on the islands. Due to the drive and boat time to get to San Blas we recommend 2 nights and 3 days to really have enough time to relax and enjoy.
After researching the different companies we chose San Blas Dreams which we found to offer the most complete tour option. The 3 day/2 night tour cost $340 per person for a private cabin including round trip transportation, accomodations, daily boat tours to multiple islands, all meals from lunch on the first day to lunch on the last day, and a late check out on the last day.
We did review cheaper tours, but many did not include meals or day tours in their prices and would require us to plan the rest on our own, and probably costing us the same in the end.
Read This Before Visiting The San Blas Islands
The San Blas Islands offer a pristine beach oasis, but do not visit San Blas expecting a a luxury experience. The infrastructure, rooms, and meal offerings are simple. You will find most cabins have sand floors, limited electricity, and only adequate bedding. But don’t let that deter you from visiting the San Blas Islands, we only want to put your expectations in line.
However the local community who work on the islands do their best to provide an outstanding service and are so welcoming.
When booking a tour with San Blas Dreams there is the option of booking a Shared Cabin or Private Cabin, all with the same shared bathrooms. We opted for the private cabin for only $20 more per person to ensure some privacy and space to our own. Visiting in early December we saw the people who booked a shared cabin with anywhere from 4-12 beds actually had the space to themselves, but do not bet on this.
The bathroom facilities consisted of separate simple toilets, some of which you had to manually fill the back of to flush, and even simpler showers without heated water, only the sun warming it in the cistern.
San Blas Packing List
There are two items that you simply cannot forget to pack when visiting San Blas, that is your original passport and a $23 in cash for the tourist entry tax & port fees. Without this you can’t even enter in the Guna Yala territory. Besides that, we recommend packing as little as possible, as you will potential need to transfer your bag several times throughout the day on and off boats.
It is important to remember that whatever bag you use can get wet on the boats. At the same time anything that does get wet will not dry very well in the humid climate, and of course there will simply be sand everywhere and on everything.
3-day/ 2-night San Blas Packing List:
• Passport
• $23 cash for tourist tax + additional spending money (small bills are preferred)
• 3 shirts (at least 1 long sleeve)
• 2 bathing suits
• A pair of shorts
• A dress
• Light pajamas
• Flip flops or beach shoes
• Snorkel gear
• Underwater camera
• Portable battery pack
• A quick dry towel
• Coral reef safe sunscreen
• Sunglasses
• A hat
• Drinking water
• Snacks
• Any other specific drinks
While it is recommended to bring drinking water and any other specific drinks or snacks you would like, it is possible to purchase drinks such as beer, rum, water, or soda on the island for $1-$2 each which helps supports the local community further.
3-day/ 2-night San Blas Island Hopping Tour
We booked a 3-day, 2-night San Blas island hopping tour with San Blas Dreams which includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, lodging (both nights on different islands), transportation from Panama City, and two daily visits to different islands or natural pools.
They also offer many different tour route options through the San Blas Islands, if there is a specific island you want to make sure to visit. The island hopping tour did mean we had to pack up and check out of the accommodations each day, but we felt it allowed us to visit a wider range of islands. At the same time we only packed a small backpack each and left the rest of our luggage in Panama City.
Day 1: Panama City to San Blas Islands
The tour begins bright and early with a pickup from our hotel in Panama City around 5:30AM. The SUV holds a total of 6 passengers, which can be a bit tight depending on how much luggage everyone brings. Luckily everyone brought just a small bag and the ride was not too uncomfortable.
The drive north from Panama City took three hours to the port. This includes a stop at a gas station for breakfast and the opportunity to buy any last minute snacks or supplies. We recommend getting anything you want the day before as the options here are limited and more expensive, as every tour company stops at the same gas station.
After breakfast we continued on to passport control entering the Guna Yala territory, where you also pay the tourist tax. Our driver collected this at the gas station to speed up the process. For the drop off at the dock, we went to different locations depending on what tour and islands each person was visiting.
Our first stop was Isla Nugnudub where we had two hours to enjoy the island. There are several hammocks a few steps out into the water which make for a beautiful photo spot and a great place to relax.
While a trip to San Blas is all about relaxing and enjoying the pristine water, with only a few hammocks available, remember there might be other visitors as well who want to take advantage of the facilities. Half the islands we visited were packed and the other half only had a few couples, so it can really vary.
Around noon we were picked up by boat again to go to the Piscina Natural sandbar, were there is the potential to see starfish, depending on the season. Visitors touching the starfish and removing them from the water has harmed the local population. At the same time, with higher seasonal winds and water currents when we visited, the starfish get blown to the edge of the sandbars, where they are much harder to see.
We unfortunately did not see any starfish at this spot but did enjoy walking around the crystal clear blue water that only went up to our knees.
We then continued on to the next island, where we would be spending the night, Ariyaladub or more famously called Isla Iguana. When we arrived they took our order for lunch, which throughout the tour we found the options for lunch and dinner to be chicken or fish (or simply more carbs for the vegetarian option).
After lunch we had the chance to settle into our cabin and enjoy the afternoon on the beach. Right in front of our cabin was a hammock at the edge of the water, that unfortunately fell over halfway through the afternoon. This is a good example of how not to expect a 5 star experience while the locals are doing their best to provide an amazing experience. There were several other swings around the island which were quite fun.
Once we we done watching a breathtaking sunset over the water we were called to dinner with a seashell horn with the same option of chicken or fish. After dinner it was already dark and we just went back to our cabin to sleep after a long day in the sun.
Day 2: San Blas Island Hopping
We woke up really early in hopes of a nice sunrise, but without one we went back to bed until 8AM, as we had to pack our bags before breakfast and wanted to get some more photos around the little island. The local family who lived on the island had also set up a little souvenir shop with a nice range of options to choose from and support the community further.
Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, a slice of cheese, and a fried bread which was tasty but not too filling overall. We had some of the chips we brought along to accompany our breakfast as well.
We were told to be ready earlier, but the boat transfer picked us up around 9:30AM to take us to the next island. Since most visitors are on a different tour itinerary or different day of the tour, the boats would often drop off or pick up people on other islands along the way. This meant the exact pick up times were loose, but you definitely don’t want the whole boat waiting on you when it is time to go.
Our first stop of the day was Isla Perro Grande, the largest of the islands that we visited and by far the busiest. Every single seat was taken during our stay along with almost every spot in the shade around the island. It is an amazing island with a vast stretch of white sand beach on one side of the island, with limited sandy beach around the rest of it.
On the way to the next island we stopped at a different Piscina Natural than the first day in search of starfish. While most guests had no hope to see starfish based on the season, and just went to have a party in the water, we did actually find a few starfish in the seagrass right off the sandbar. We quickly grabbed our underwater camera to get some pictures snorkeling.
Then we continued over to Isla Perro Chico for lunch and some free time at the beach. After another meal of fish and french fries we couldn’t wait to get back in the water. On this island almost the entire circumference had a wide sandy beach, letting us find our own quiet space and of course take a hundred more photos.
After two hours on the island, we made our final boat transfer of the day to Isla Aroma a larger but less visited island, where we would be spending the night. We had the entire afternoon until after sunset to just relax in the many secluded spots. We actually found out the island is such a good example of San Blas, that Windstar cruises actually rents it out for its cruise.
Once it got dark it was time for dinner of, you might of already guessed, more fish and french fries. Before meals on several of the islands they did have the option to upgrade to a fresh caught seafood dish depending on if the fishermen found anything that day.
Day 3: Isla Aroma & Return to Panama City
The third day we spent the morning on Isla Aroma. The tour includes a late check out after lunch, but there are no set activities in the morning. The people on the island were wonderful and they sold us a tour to the natural pool and a nearby coral reef for only $5 per person. The truth is that it was magical as we had the entire area to ourselves. There were a few other guests on the island as well, but it felt like we were alone on our own oasis.
For us, Isla Aroma was the best out of all the islands on the 3-day/ 2-night San Blas tour thanks to its beautiful sandy beach and quiet atmosphere.
After lunch we were picked up for a 30 minute boat transfer back to the port, where we were met by the transfer car back to Panama City. We were dropped of back at hour hotel around 7PM to finish up an amazing and tiring 3-day/ 2-night San Blas Island Hopping Tour.