Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 2

Cruise

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 3

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 4

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 5

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 6

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 7

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 8

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 9

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 10

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 11

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 12

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 13

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 14

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 15

Coastal Panama: Cabin Charter by San Blas Sailing - 6 days - photo 16

7 days

01.11.2025 - 31.12.2027

Panama

Nargana

Holandes Cays

Isla San Blas

Coco Bandero

Isla Guanidup

Corazón de Jesús

About the tour

Six days sailing the islands off Panama’s north coast. The crew are Guna, locals from the archipelago who work these waters every day.

Guna Yala runs along Panama’s Caribbean shore: more than three hundred small sandy islands with white beaches and clear shallows. Between them lie coral heads and quiet lagoons where the boat anchors and swimming starts straight from the deck.

The route covers Hollandes, Coco Bandero, Nargana and Corazon de Jesus. Hollandes offers sheltered anchorages and clean reef water for snorkeling. Coco Bandero is a scatter of palm islets with coral and bright fish under the hull. Nargana and Corazon de Jesus are two tiny villages linked by a wooden bridge, with boats along the beach and molas hanging on verandas, stitched by hand and sold from home.

There are stops that stand out. Off Isla Perro Chico a wreck sits in the shallows, ringed by coral and schooling fish. The Pool and Cambombia are quiet lagoons behind the reef, good for swimming, paddleboards and short hops between islands. Coco Bandero and Hollandes are classic overnight spots for catamarans in this area. Green Island is a touch larger, with open sand, tall palms and calm water.

On board, meals are cooked the local way: grilled fish, crab with coconut, rice and fruit, all from the day’s catch.

ℹ️ Cabin Charter
This is a shared sailing cruise. Guests book individual cabins on a crewed yacht (captain, cook, deckhand). All meals are served on board. It’s a comfortable option for travelers who prefer a small group experience without chartering a private boat.

Included:
Crew
All required charter license fees
Meals served on board, including seafood (lobster or giant crab) when available
Open bar with reasonable consumption: fruit juice, water, sodas, beer, rum, and wine
Inflatable dinghy with outboard engine, kayaks, and paddle boards
Snorkeling gear (masks, snorkels, fins, etc.)
Trolling fishing rods
Bed linens and towels
Final cleaning of the yacht after the charter

Not included:
Personal expenses and optional gratuities
Any food or drinks not provided on board
Expenses made ashore
Round-trip air transportation Panama – San Blas – Panama

Tour itinerary

Nargana is a densely built Guna island where most of the shoreline is reinforced with coral rock and concrete slabs. The village has a compact grid of footpaths, wooden houses mixed with later concrete buildings and a central congress house used for community gatherings. A short bridge links Nargana to Corazón de Jesús, creating one continuous settlement across two small islands. Family docks line the waterfront, and carved wooden ulus rest on the shore between the houses. The interior holds no forest or open land, only tight residential blocks and several communal structures.

The Hollandes Cays are a group of small sand and mangrove islands in the northern part of Guna Yala, ringed by a shallow barrier reef. The cays form a broken arc with narrow channels cut through coral heads, and most anchorages sit behind the outer reef where the water stays calm even in the trades. Several of the larger islets hold small mangrove pockets and thin lines of coastal scrub, but there is no permanent settlement. The reef edge drops quickly into clear water with spur-and-groove formations typical for this section of the coast.

Isla San Blas is one of the central cays of Guna Yala, set inside a wide reef flat with shallow channels leading toward the outer barrier. The island is uninhabited and shaped by sand ridges and low coconut groves planted decades ago by Guna families who used the cay for seasonal stays. The shoreline is a mix of sand pockets and coral rubble with clear access for a tender, and the lagoon side is protected from swell except during strong northerlies. Off the eastern edge lies a hard-coral platform with scattered bommies and patches of soft coral typical for mid-archipelago reef structures.

Coco Bandero is a tight cluster of small sand cays in the northern part of Guna Yala, set behind a broad reef flat with narrow cuts leading toward the outer barrier. The cays are uninhabited and edged with shallow coral rubble, low coconut groves and short strips of coastal scrub shaped by the trades. Inside the lagoon the bottom is a mix of hard-coral plate and scattered bommies that create short, sheltered passages between the islets. The outer reef drops into deeper water with spur-and-groove formations typical for mid-archipelago structures.

Isla Guanidup is a small inhabited cay in the central part of Guna Yala, known for its long-running family lodge that offers simple over-water or beachfront cabins managed by Guna hosts. The settlement covers most of the island, with wooden houses set close together and narrow walkways leading toward the lagoon. The shoreline is reinforced with coral rock and sand blocks, and small family docks sit between the houses. Coconut palms around the edge were planted decades ago when the cay was used seasonally before it became a permanent community. Offshore the seabed forms a hard coral plate with scattered coral heads and light seagrass patches.

Corazón de Jesús is the eastern half of the twin Guna settlement linked to Nargana, but the island has a noticeably more open waterfront. The shoreline includes longer straight sections used for small boat landings, with several concrete pads and repaired coral blocks showing continuous use. The interior has wider footpaths than Nargana and a looser layout of houses, including a few older wooden buildings that survived multiple storm seasons. A small waterfront square and the community buildings around it form the center of daily activity. There are no forested areas; the entire island is shaped by long-term habitation.

Travel route

Boat & accommodation

Sailing catamaran Lagoon 470 "Gitano del Mar"

itano del Mar is a 52 ft sailing catamaran built on an extended Lagoon 470 platform, giving her the space and balance of a larger yacht with the handling of a proven ocean design. The hulls carry generous volume, the saloon is bright with wide views, and the exterior layout feels open and easy to move around. The forward trampoline, sheltered cockpit and roomy cabins make the boat comfortable for long stays at anchor as well as coastal passages. The build keeps the classic Lagoon character: solid structure, smooth motion under sail and a layout that works equally well for groups or families.

Cabins

4

Places

8

Toilets

4

Year of construction

1998

Length, m

16