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San Blas
Panama
San Blas all inclusive.
If you are a seeker of an eternal sun, you want to take a dip from your boat, swim in long Caribbean beaches with crystal clear, green and blue waters, practice paddle and snorkel watching hundreds of starfish, San Blas is an idyllic place to enjoy a magical vacation aboard a sailboat or catamaran.
This paradise is preserved intact and free from mass tourism thanks to the native Kuna of San Blas. You will also get to know the famous indigenous region of the Guna Yala, their rituals, traditions, language, their environment, mountains, jungle, sun, sea...
If you want to travel to San Blas we tell you which is the best option to stay and discover these paradisiacal islands.
Pictures from San Blas
Why should I travel to San Blas?
For its eternal sunshine, its tiny islands always surrounded by a soft halo of white sand, populated with fresh coconut trees and crystal clear waters that hide suggestive corals and virgin reefs with great biodiversity. Of the 378 islands that make up the archipelago of San Blas, only 49 are currently inhabited and have been isolated from civilization for centuries. The islands are often lonely and only visited by a small handful of travelers.
To curl the curl, the archipelago of San Blas, not only has beautiful postcard beaches, but also embraces a lush, jungle-covered mountain range across the continent, where it seems that from one moment to the next Tarzan will appear hanging among thousands of lianas!
San Blas, also known as Guna Yala, is a place inhabited exclusively by the Kunas (or Gunas). In addition, you can live on land with them, who live in small straw huts (bohíos). The Native Kuna have full control of the access of tourists who come to Panama’s San Blas Islands and fight disciplinedly not to be invaded by the mass tourism industry protecting their lands. This makes the archipelago a real ’Olympus' for those who flee from conglomerated beaches and seek privacy on a holiday surrounded by one of the most beautiful places in the world and an integral and original culture in one of the most exceptional locations on the planet.
Did you know...?
The natives of Kuna Yala, are traditionally fishermen (the Guna themselves have specialized in fishing by free-diving, that is, the traditional way), they are hunters, coconut collectors, producers and artisans of molas and gold, which provoked with the arrival of the Spaniards constant confrontations during the colonial period. In 2008, they opened the only land access to San Blas from Panama City, making it easier for tourists to enter and giving the opportunity to contemplate its beauty and culture. In the archipelago of San Blas you won’t find cars, so there’s no noise... There are no restaurants, only a few huts/hotels in San Blas run by the Kunas themselves who also provide typical meals.
The Kuna have also managed to maintain their language, and in Guna Yala they have their own legislation, with a border separating them from the Panamanian mainland, even though they still belong to Panama. We do not conceive the San Blas Panama Islands without the Kunas, their presence makes this paradise a unique place in the world!
Did you know...?
These huts/hotels are built with the materials that nature itself gives to the kunas in San Blas (wooden reeds and planks for the walls, dried palm leaves for the roofs, and yet a regular use of veneer). There are no toilets or private bathrooms, most have hammocks for sleeping instead of beds and the floor of the rooms is covered with the same sand as the island itself; no air conditioning, no TV, very little internet, no hot water, and in some cases no electricity, which means that until a few years ago only came to San Blas Panama, truly adventurous tourists.. In fact you won’t find jet skis or paragliders, bottle diving is forbidden, but snorkeling, canoeing, visiting sunken boats, kayaking, paddle and sailing are allowed, which makes staying on a sailboat in San Blas the best option to explore this paradise!
On some of the inhabited islands, travelers will have to pay a small visitation fee, and the two biggest etiquette rules to follow are: don’t get top-less and don’t take pictures without asking permission: Most kunas will require a small fee of about $3 to take the picture. However, if you buy some handicrafts as a souvenir, it is possible that they will not charge you the fee... and it is because the kunas, are aware of the exotic fascination that their image and their traditional way of life that they have managed to preserve, arouse among tourists: they wear picturesque and colorful typical dresses (they are still adorned with the usual dress of their culture, like vibrant, geometric beads that zigzag from the ankles to the knees, and from the wrists to the elbows) and then there are the molas that are hand-woven fabrics. The men wear current clothes.
What is it like to visit San Blas by boat?
Imagine getting out of bed and the paradise of San Blas delights you every morning with the vision of a touching and always different sunrise. If you feel like it, have breakfast on deck or take a dip in the sea. While swimming in the turquoise and blue waters, so transparent, you can see the bottom, see hundreds of starfish, turtles, dolphins, fish of all colors and striped blankets... until you reach the beach that you have a few meters from you snorkeling or practicing. paddle. Meetings with Kuna friends and direct contact with their culture await you around a bottle of rum at night!
During your boat vacation to San Blas Panama, you will be able to sail and sleep sharing a boat with more people who travel like you or on a boat exclusively for you and your family. Your hosts will be experienced sailors who love life at sea and are immensely happy to share it with you, opening the door to their floating home and at the same time showing you the wonders of nature. The boat will be your apartment and means of transport. For many cruise passengers who have already travelled around the world, San Blas de Panama is the most beautiful place they have ever seen!
As we like to eat healthy, sailors fish or buy fish and seafood directly from the Kunas, so the menu will not miss fresh fish and seafood, even on the barbecue! But we may first take anchors to our next island to eat. These trips through the archipelago of San Blas by sailboat, will usually be short, one or two hours, that we will take advantage of to sunbathe, relax on deck and breathe that pure air that only the sea is able to give us.
Afterwards, bath, lunch, nap and maybe change island to spend the night, where you can go out to enjoy the local party or have the party on board or on the beach with the rest of the crews. It only remains to end a wonderful day sleeping with the slight movement of the boat, feeling the sea breeze over your body every night, and in the absolute silence where you will discover that you love nature more than you thought.
How to get to San Blas from Panama City
Our boats will take you sailing directly to the most beautiful beaches of San Blas and spend the night on each of them. You can go ashore whenever you want, you can even reach it by swimming while every day we visit a different island and in a different culture. You have the possibility to sail by sailboat for individual seats, occupying your own cabin, or rent the whole boat. We can even change the course if we want and stay longer in one place. Along with all these advantages, this option is more convenient and economical in value for money, so the best way to explore San Blas in Panama is by sea: no trip to San Blas will be complete without a few days sailing on a boat!
Our companions with years of experience sailing in San Blas, will welcome you in perfectly equipped sailboats with all kinds of comforts on board to stay and sail in Guna Yala. Simply let us know your concerns and preferences, and we will be happy to help you find the perfect boat for an unforgettable experience that you will never forget during your dream vacation in San Blas, Panama.
If you are a chaser of beauty in this world, visiting San Blas in Panama by sailing boat and enjoying its long Caribbean beaches full of palm trees with crystal clear waters is a great and magical experience! Come to rest, and isolate yourself while living an inner journey in one of the few places in the world where there are no hotel complexes, no restaurants and totally free from mass tourism. On the islands of San Blas, you feel so much nature that multiplies your feelings as never before. Come and see that the sky is not always so high and that it is also earthly. Where life has a more powerful imagination than your dream vacation, and where you will live unforgettable moments, unexplainable things, and meet incomparable people!
Want to know more about San Blas?
How to get there, what are you going to visit, curiosities, more about our team. . . Visit our blog.
Interesting information about holidays in San Blas.
The San Blas Archipelago is the only place in the Caribbean that offers a typically Polynesian landscape and is protected from the hurricanes that cross the Caribbean, thanks to the privileged geographical location of the Isthmus of Panama.
Between 3 and 7 days, it is the recommended time to visit the islands of San Blas Panama, but if you wish you can always make a cruise of more or less days.
Panama’s currency is the US dollar (USD$), and it is recommended to bring them in cash, as currency exchange is difficult and ATMs are non-existent in the archipelago.
You must have your current passport.
Vaccines: In principle they are not necessary. You may need to get a yellow fever vaccine, but that will depend on the country you’re traveling from. It is best to consult with the health organization you have in your country.
The climate in San Blas is tropical with temperatures between 28-33oC (80-90oF). The temperature of the sea water is around 28oC (82oF). The months of January, February and March are the dry season. From April to December there are strong tides but inside the archipelago the sea is calm. In June begins the rainy season that lasts until November with torrential rains and flat sea, but generally it can come any time of the year without any major problem.
The time zone is GMT-5.
The route planned for this voyage is not a contractual one and must be adapted and modified according to weather conditions, sea conditions, wind conditions and safety considerations for the crew and craft as estimated by the skipper. Different conditions during the voyage, adverse winds, waves and safety reasons for the crew and/or the boat may change this itinerary without giving rise to any right of complaint.
It should also be noted that the distribution of cabins is not individual but double. The availability of fresh water on board is not unlimited and its consumption should be moderated responsibly.
The places will be occupied by strict order of reservation. The reservation is considered formalized once the corresponding reservation has been made.
People who have already sailed with us on other occasions will get a 10% discount and if you bring a friend we will also give him/her a 5% discount.
Any questions you have can send us by mail to info@elbarcoingles. es or on +34 622. 62. 62. 21
Life is too short not to give us the luxury of making our dreams come true, don’t you think?
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