Most popular Panama canal tour in 2023? To get to San Blas you’ve got four options. You can fly from Panama straight into the San Blas Islands, take a sailing boat from Cartagena, take a speedboat from Capurganá, or take the bus from Panama City. Most backpackers travelling between Colombia and Panama choose one of these options. For a good reason: Travelling over the land border, known as the ‘Darien Gap’, can be very dangerous . This is a popular drug trafficking route out of Colombia to Panama and is not safe (plus it’s just untamed jungle the whole way!). Find more info on San Blas Sailing.
Anyone who visits this area of Mexico should visit the unique ruins of Tulum, perched over the Caribbean Sea – no ruins can boast such an incredible view! But if you’re staying in Tulum, you really have no excuses. I like this 3-in-1 Discovery Combo Tour because you get to explore coral reefs, ancient history, and nature all in one day. The tour starts with a guided tour of the Tulum Ruins; after that, you’ll go on a boat tour to the coral reef in the Caribbean Sea where you’ll get the chance to snorkel. The Tulum and cenote tour ends with a swim at Cenote Caracol, a beautiful cave cenote.
In this place the first Spanish settlement in the area was built in the early seventeenth century and was also where San Blas was founded. On the San Basilio Hill the most important Colonial Ruins on the Pacific Coast are found. The old fort of San Blas also known as La Contaduria (now semi-restored) and the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary «La Marinera» dating from 1769, where you can find the famous bronze bells immortalized by Henry W. Longfellow in his posthumous poem «The Bells of San Blas.» These Colonial ruins are not restored but well worth visiting… The church is beautiful and gives us a clear idea of the Spanish community that settled in San Blas in those days.
Another very popular island to visit is Saboga Island. Located 35 miles from Panama City the island is easily reached by ferry with the company Ferry Las Perlas. There are only a couple of hotels on the island and the island is home to 10 beautiful beaches. Saboga Island is great to visit for a day trip but if you want to spend a few nights I’d recommend staying at the island below and visiting from there. The ferry to the island leaves from the Trump Tower and costs $98 USD return for adults. Contadora Island is located right next to Saboga Island and is home to many great hotels and restaurants (which makes it more popular for overnight trips.) From Contadora you can easily take a ferry to Saboga Island but stay in nicer hotels and enjoy the beaches on the island too. The ferry to Contadora Island leaves from the same place and costs the same for a return trip.
Explore rowing on a kayak the beautiful Chagres River before it merges at the Gatun lake where the huge vessels and boats transit from Ocean to Ocean. The Chagres river is the main tributary of water of the Canal. A quite waterway, enjoying the sound of the wild life of this dense tropical forest. You might get the opportunity to see a sloth in a tree, a colorful bird peacefully living in the jungle or at the top the water plants, caimans, turtles among many others species of the local fauna. After a short hike to the small port used by the Embera indigenous at Gamboa, the tour last about 1 hour and 20 minutes (in the kayak) always accompanied by our bilingual guide and probably also by an Embera guide from the area who knows the place better than anyone. Read even more details on TaoTravel365.
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Although it’s not on most travelers’ itineraries, Punta Chame is home to one of the nicest beaches in Panama and it’s also the best place for kiteboarding in the country. Set on a peninsula jutting out into the Pacific Ocean, this area is literally all about the beach. The endless stretch of beach here is wide, and the water is warm and shallow, giving kiters who are learning the distinct advantage of being able to stand up in the water to collect themselves as they work with their kite. The winds are side on shore and quite consistent from December to April, which is Panama’s dry season. Several kite schools offer lessons, including Machete Kite and Kitesurf Panama, located at opposite ends of the beach.
