My Trip to the San Blas Islands
Posted by Travel Editor
My vacation to the San Blas Islands began with the decision that instead of taking a flight from Panama City to the San Blas Islands, we would hire a driver for a change. Yes, you can also get to the San Blas Islands with a driver. It costs $25 US per person for the three hours, very bumpy trip for up to seven people. The driver will take you to the San Blas Islands and pick you up and take you back to Panama City when you wish to leave the Islands. Let’s say, driving is for the more adventurous among us.
A jeep took us to the San Blas Islands. It was a wild ride on very bumpy terrain. Luckily, the car is a four wheel drive jeep. The drive took about three hours, up hills, down hills and through a river. At the end of this wild journey, not for the faint of heart, we were met by a man who worked at the hostel. He took us by boat to the island we would be staying at.
We were very surprised though when we arrived at the island we were going to stay at and saw there was no beach. We had been expecting clear blue ocean, white sand beaches and palm trees as you see in all the photographs of the San Blas. This was not the San Blas Islands we had heard about, nor what we expected to find after our rough and rocky journey to the islands.
However, the next day after breakfast we were taken by boat to a small island with the white sand beaches and palm trees we had been looking for and were expecting to find on the San Blas Islands. Our time that days was spent walking around the island which was very small and took only about ten minutes to complete the walk around. The beach was marvelous and the water clear blue. We sunbathed, snorkeled. At lunch time, a man who had brought us our lunch which consisted of fish and rice. After lunch, we spent a few more hours on the beach and then the guy from the hotel came back in his boat to take us back to the hotel after this lovely day on the island all by ourselves.
The next day we were taken on a tour of a local Kuna village as a sort of cultural immersion into their way of life. They still live in their traditional ways, having won the right from the Panama government to own the San Blas Islands, maintain their traditional life and speak their own language. They are friendly people and very welcoming to us. They live in a village of bamboo, palm leaf houses with dirt floors. They don’t have a lot of money, electricity or running water. Coconuts used to be their currency. Now it seems, they are accepting American dollars. If you want to photograph them, you must pay them a dollar for the privilege. But that’s okay.
On another day, we went fishing with a Kuna guide on his boat. We caught some big ones and they were prepared and cooked for us that night – delicious! Nothing like fresh fish.
Another days we were taken by boat to other islands and one of the best was where there was a shipwreck off shore. We spent a lot of time snorkeling around the shipwreck and taking photos. Lunch was again dropped off for us – sometimes fish, sometime chicken.
Our stay on the San Blas Islands wasn’t glamorous, we were roughing it. The total cost was $35 a day for lodging, food, and our transport to the beaches on the islands. The price was a good deal and our hosts were attentive and very friendly. The food was really good, lots of freshly caught fish, crab and lobster, chicken, rice and lots of fruit. It was all we needed.
All in all, my trip to the San Blas Islands was an adventure, roughing it a bit and staying in very rustic basic accommodations. The food was really good. But we wanted to get away from it all and this was a great escape and being taken to other beautiful islands where we could spend the day in an island paradise was perfect.
Anbabnega Lodge on San Blas Islands
Posted by Travel Editor
Situated on the island of Carti Tupile on the beach, where you will be taken by boat which will cost you about two dollars (per island visit), not far from the Carti airport, you will find the Anbabnega Lodge. To get to the hotel, you will then take a 4 x 4 through the jungle – a trip that takes about two hours. Carti Tupile is a part of the San Blas Islands Panama, otherwise called the Kuna Yala. Anbabnega Lodge is an eco lodge hotel owned by Chela and her daughter Stephany. They are both very friendly and helpful and speak English and Spanish so there won’t be any difficulties here in communicating. There are about 200 Kuna people living on the island who live in their traditional ways without running water or electricity in bamboo huts. You will find them very hospitable and welcoming. And this San Blas island is like a tropical paradise found. Definitely a place you’ll want to visit for your vacation for fun, sun and adventure.
The Anbabnega Lodge has bamboo walls and a thatched roof with solar powered lighting and running water for the showers and toilettes. There are beds and hammocks to sleep in – the hammocks being quite comfortable to sleep in. There are also hammocks on the balconies which overlook the sea. Whether staring at the sea, sunrises or sunsets are your thing, you will find the verandahs and the hammocks ideal for just kicking back and relaxing. Try some coconut milk from the island or beer as you enjoy your beach surroundings laying in one of the balcony hammocks.
Your three meals a day are included in the price of the room. The food is local, delicious and fresh, served at picnic tables by the water’s edge. Meals include tropical fruits, freshly caught seafood, fresh chicken, and vegetables, all local food and delicious. The food here is amazing!
The staff at the Anbabnega Lodge hotel are friendly and helpful. Your hotel stay at this San Blas Islands hotel also includes trips out to other uninhabited islands where you can spend the day on these marvelous white sand, deserted beaches, where the snorkeling offers views of colorful tropical fish and coral reefs. You will bring a picnic lunch with you to enjoy a full day at the other various islands such as Hook Island, Dog Island, Pelican Island and Iguana Island. Your stay will also include a visit to the Kuna Museum and a shopping trip to the Kuna community shops.
Travel to the San Blas Islands is best in January to April when it’s warm and sunny. Months outside of this time of year are the rainy season which doesn’t mean that it rains all the time.
The beach is beautiful, the service at the Anbabnega Lodge is excellent. The price ranges about $60 – $100 per person, depending on your length of stay and the season (high or low). Prices include your meals and the daily trips to the islands. This is an island adventure in a truly beautiful paradise on a stunning beach on the San Blas Islands Panama, whether you visit in the rainy season or not. With amazing service, its unspoiled white sandy palm tree lined beach in a rustic setting, a stay at the Anbabnega Lodge is a great vacation for kids, family, honeymoon couples or singles. They have a website where you can book online at kunaislands.webs.com.