One Day Tours to the San Blas Panama Islands
Posted by Travel Editor
If your time and budget is limited and you want to visit the San Blas Panama Islands, (the Kuna Yala Archipelago), there are a number of day tours operated by tour operators to the Islands. The problem is that these tours fill up fast, so you’ll have to book in advance in order to ensure a seat.
The best company which offers one day tours to the San Blas Panama Islands is Panama Travel Unlimited in Panama City. They have a variety of tours to the San Blas Panama Islands, but here we’re talking of the one day tours for those that are short for time to explore. The Panama Travel tour includes a visit to a Kuna community and one or two of the beautiful beaches on the islands. The tour departs at approximately 5:00 a.m. and will have you back in Panama City between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. approximately. Also included on the tour is the transportation in an air conditioned four by four vehicle from Panama City, boat transportation between the islands and your breakfast and lunch. The vehicles fit up to seven people and sometimes feet room can get a little tight, but, hey, this is an adventure for sure.
There are three different one day tours available ranging in price from $120 US to $135 US per person depending on the tour you want to take. There will be some beach taxes which are around $2 to $5.00 per person. You can also get a three day tour to the San Blas Islands from Panama Travel Unlimited, but we’re talking here just about the one day tour for those that don’t have a lot of time to spare.
The basic itinerary of the San Blas Islands tour by Panama Travel Unlimited is:
5.00 – 5.30 a.m. – Leave Panama City in a 4×4 Transport
8.30 – Arrive in Carti San Blas
8.45 – Launcher to island/Breakfast
9.30 – Visit Kuna community
10.30 – Visit one of the beach islands, with time for snorkeling and enjoying the beach
12-1 – Lunch
15.00 – Return to Carti
15.30 – Leave Carti by 4×4 Transport
Arrive back in Panama City between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m.
The one day tour to El Porvenir and Isla Perro costs $120 per person.
The tour to Isla Aguja Day Tour is $130 per person and the Carti including Isla Perro Day Tour will cost you $135 per person. Each tour includes some beach time and snorkeling. The El Porvenir – Isla Perro is a basic tour and offers a more simple menu of food. You’ll get more time on the beach on the Isla Aguja Day Tour and the Carti – Isla Perro tour.
So if you can only spare a day and still want to get to the San Blas Panama Islands, this is probably the best way of seeing some of the Islands. I’ll bet you’ll get a taste of the Islands and will end up desperate to come back and stay a little longer. This one day tour to the Islands is just enough to whet your whistle.
Panama Travel Unlimited in Panama City is located at Calle Primera, Edificio Stella, 7-103, Planta Baja Local “A” Diagonal a la Junta Comunal. Their telephone numbers are: (507) 395 5014 or their cellphone: (507) 67300664.
Photo courtesy of Panama Travel Unlimited. If you take any of these tours, let us know about your experiences on these San Blas Island tours.
The Price of San Blas Island Hotels
Posted by Travel Editor
Well, I’ve decided to go back to the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama and so I was checking out all the prices of the San Blas Island hotels. You couldn’t imagine my surprise to find out how much all of these hotels have gone up in price since my last visit in 2008. I’m even more surprised because there seems to be a lingering economic crisis around the world and the prices have still gone up in the San Blas Islands.
I checked out all of the hotels rates for all of the hotels on the San Blas Islands and was quite surprised at both the ratings and reviews.
Coral Lodge
The Coral Lodge Resort is really lovely each cabin sitting on stilts over the water, but the rates are high and are per person, per room. During the holiday season, rates are as high as $155 per person, plus hotel tax, plus a meal plan of $78 per person per day.
Kuanidup Lodge
The Kuanidup Lodge is still reasonably priced. TheKuanidup Lodge on Isla Kuanidup – (accessible from El Pouvenir) near Río Sidra, Kuna Yala is the perfect island escape, 25 minutes from Rio Sidra – white sand beaches, hammocks and attractive rustic cabanas. Telephone 6635-6737 and 6656-4673 or email kuani9@hotmail.com for booking a cabana vacation. The last price I found for the Kuanidup Lodge still sounds low at $45 – $65 a night. If booking more than 2 nights, you might be able to get a discount.
The Kuna Niskua Lodge
The Kuna Niskua Lodge has Most rooms have a private bath, but the lowered priced rooms share bathrooms. Rooms are priced from $50 – $75 per night, but prices may have changed since the writing of this posting. Good recommendations from guests who have stayed here. All rooms in the higher price range have a private bathroom with running water, electricity from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am. The price includes three meals a day and tours to other communities and uninhabited islands with pristine beaches. Still a good deal for the budget minded traveler.
The Kuna Niskua Lodge and the Kuanidup Lodge have remained reasonable priced, but prices for other San Blas Island Hotels have gone up immensely. I’ll post some more of the price increases in another article later because we are currently researching our next trip to the San Blas Islands.
If you are traveling to the San Blas Islands, you’ll find some useful websites on the San Blas Islands, Panama resources page. The two airlines that fly to San Blas Islands are listed there.