Private Tour in San Blas Islands: A Personalized Experience in a Tropical Paradise
4.5
12 Ratings
Panama City
Experience a personalized tour in the stunning San Blas Islands. Enjoy a private car, captain, and boat, and explore the beautiful islands at your own pace.
Duration:
13 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Panama City - Start your journey with pick up around 5:20am in your hotel in one of our best cars 4x4 only for your group. Make a stop in the supermarket if you need to buy drinks (wine, beers, water, and snacks). Around 1 hour and a half after pick up you will enter to the San Blas hills, the roads are bumpy so please take medicine if you suffer of nauseas. Around 8:30am arrive to Carti port, a very rustic port with lot of pangas around. You guide Naidi will introduce him self and help you with your luggage. Time to ride some waves!!
Arrive to your first island Perro Grande after 30 minutes of boat, where we will welcome you with fruits, chairs, kayak and paddle boards exclusive for our clients.
- Isla Pelicano - Visit the tiny but beautiful Pelicano chico island, known by their hammocks in the ocean and great place to take a selfie! There is bar in this area if you want to order a drink.
- Isla Perro - Then Arrive to the famous Perro chico island where you will have a delicious lunch fish with patacones and rice or chicken, or any other catch of the day available (octopus, sea snails, shrimps etc).
Once you finish luch ask for your snorkel gear and jump in to the ocean to find the sunken boat. The best spot to make snorkelling in san blas, full of tiny colored fishes.
- San Blas Islands - Visit natural swimming pool. Where water arrive just to your chest or hip, just walk all round and try to find your starfish! Enjoy the beauty of this place, also very famous!
- San Blas Islands - Back to the port around :330p - 4pm
- Panama City - Back to your hotel in Panama city
What's Included
- Exclusive Private Car for your group.
- Personalized Private Boat for flexible island hopping.
- Essential gear included - life jackets and snorkel masks.
- Beach comforts provided - umbrella, chair, and towels.
- Explore three stunning islands: Wailidub, Perro Chico, and a Natural Swimming Pool.
- Complimentary drink of your choice: soda, beer, or water.
- Access to shared kayaks and paddleboards.
What's Not Included
- Entry fee to San Blas Islands $20USDpp
- Fees to the islands to visit in cash $3USD per people
- Lobster lunch (+$20USD)
Additional Information
Explore the breathtaking San Blas Islands at your leisure with our PRIVATE 4x4 vehicle exclusively for your use. Upon reaching the harbor, you’re assigned a PRIVATE captain and a panga boat, permitting you to dictate the duration of your stay at any of the three islands.
Choice of Islands: Perro Grande, Perro Chico, Pelicano, and the natural swimming pool.
Kayaks, snorkeling gear, and life vests will be supplied.
This is a self-guided adventure. Booking with us ensures you receive all the necessary information to independently navigate the area. Note that this tour does not include English-speaking guides.
Towels and beach chairs are available upon request, but availability is limited.
The tour requires a minimum of two participants.
- The car will make a stop in a minisuper, so you can buy snacks, drinks, ice, desserts, fruits and everything you want to take to San Blas. Its is a long drive 2.5 hours way in and 2.5 way back, then 40minutes in boat. Total time in Islands around 5hours.
- Please notice San Blas is an Indian protected zone. All the services are basic and rustic, only kuna people are in charge of all tourist’s services such as food, ground and water transportation, lodging, etc. Please take this into consideration, the services are not as in the city, the waiting time can be long, and kunas are more informal. We have provided hospitality train to them, but they are still working on it, their culture is different, they are never in a rush, this is part of the adventure to San Blas.
- Day tour return is at 3:30PM. You will arrive in Panama City between 6:30PM and 7:00PM.
- We recommend you bring your personal hygiene items, towels, sunscreen, mosquito repellent. You can bring a cooler with your own drinks, potable water, snacks and beverages (fruit juice or alcohol) you can by on site or bring it yourself. The driver will make a stop in a super market where you can buy a disposable cooler, ice etc. In San Blas Islands there are no ATMs, only cash in received. You can buy drinks there, snacks, souvenirs etc.“+Movil” and “Digicel” are the cell phone companies which works in San Blas Islands. There is no power electricity in the huts, only light.
Location
Panama City
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.5
(12 Ratings)
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George_s
Apr 12, 2024
The best tour we have taken. - The private San Blas tour was epic. We were picked up at our apartment by a private driver. He did a great job of getting ahead of the other tours for an early start and left the gas station as soon as we finished eating to get us there sooner. Once we got to the port we had our own boat, guide, captain and first mate. It was great. We were 5 people. We were alone on our first island for about an hour before others arrived. Eddie brought fresh pineapples for our family and brought our drinks to where we sat swam and snorkeled. The natural pool was pretty cool. A perfectly white sandbar about 2-4 feet deep surrounded by deeper water. Again - only ones there and stayed until we wanted to go. We went to have lunch. That food was OK. I had bones in my fish fillet, the whole fish by brother got was better and interestingly I think the chicken was the best meal. That island was cool with a sunken ship. Last we went to pelican island and relaxed in hammocks in the water and on the beach. The crew shared drinks with us and taught us what they could about their culture and even some of their words. I felt both immersed in their culture while having a first class experience. Seeing other boats with 10-15 people on them this is the way to go for sure.
Review provided by Viator
Lardog123
Apr 3, 2024
Great tour. - Great experience from the word go.
Be aware it takes time to get there from Panama City. Took 4 hours from 5:00AM hotel pick-up before your toes hit island sands. 3 1/4 to get to the Marina. However, the SUV we travelled in was newish and clean. The driver only had rudimentary English skills, which made for limited discussion during a long trip. But he was pleasant and accommodating. The last hour's drive is in the mountains before you hit the sea. Twisty-turny, uppy-downy you go. If you have a modicum of being subject to car sickness, take a Gravol. If you are on a tour where you might get stuck in the back seats of an old Honda CRV, take several. Frankly, i think a lot has to do with the temperment of the driver. This private tour vehicle and its driver were terrific. I watched and he seldom went over 40kph in the mountains and he wasn't offended or challenged by several other vehicles taking risks to pass him. He calmly drove on, for which i was appreciative. We have taken six tours this trip and note that every single tour guide and driver are male. Brings to mind that a high school boy's locker room, after the game, with various air-clouded AXE body spray assaults confronting you, the impact has nothing on some of these guys. If you have scent sensitivity, i would suggest requesting a scent free driver. I had to ride with the window open all the way. The islands were wonderful but you have to be aware that while the boat and guides are private to you, the places you go are not. One aspect of this excursion that was unique to the private tour was the guides stopped say a hundred meters or so off one of the islands, dropped the anchor, and we snorkeled with them looking at sting rays, etc. Apparently i saw a shark, as proven by the video the guide took during our swim, but i didn't realize i saw it. Ha. The shark was the same colour as the coral. Terrific tour, worth every penny. enjoy.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lavinia_s
Aug 10, 2023
Excellent! - It was downright stunning! We had a great time and you did a good job preparing us for what was in store. Our tour team was friendly and helpful. My only issue, and this is minor, is if you have customers who are senior citizens, it's a bit hard to get in and out of the boat. Our tour team was very helpful ensuring my parents had support getting in and out, but it was difficult. Regardless, I can't wait to go again! It was magical!
Review provided by Viator
Matteo_b
Mar 20, 2023
Top experience - Great experience. Very well prepared and good level of service l. Nice people with how have a day of tour.
Review provided by Viator
Melanie_b
Jun 11, 2022
Highly recommend! - A truly amazing experience and highly recommend! The second half of the car ride is extremely bumpy due to torn up roads so be prepared. The guides are amazing and the islands are beautiful. Great snorkeling and great food.
Review provided by Viator
Geraldj462
Mar 10, 2019
Worth the craziness getting there - Picked up on time, long long drive out there, but it’s the only way to see San Blas. Will stop on the way out at a nice gas station for your only chance for a restroom, snacks, and supplies. Could possibly change into bathing suit there, if your not already in yours. Then it’s up into the mountains for a crazy drive. I’m ok with that kind of drive, if your not take precautions, like Dramamine, ginger ale, and eating a very light non greasy breakfast. Check point in the mountains is next, have your passport and a $20 bill ready. Once at the marina, there is a check in process, and a chance to use a 25 cent pay toilet (no toilet paper) I would recommend you be in your bathing suit and have a water proof area for your phone. We did everything described, breakfast, beach time, used restrooms at Walli and Dog islands, kayaked, lunch, natural pool, snorkeled sunken boat, Ect Ect
Highly recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael
Jun 28, 2019
Excellent Value - This private tour is an excellent option to the group tours that are available. You share a 4x4 ride with another couple and then get into your own private boat. You follow the same itinerary, but are not part of a larger group, so you have a bit more flexibility to set your own pace.
Review provided by Viator
Nikhil_c
May 1, 2023
Lunch was bad. Coordination of your company was not good on the different islands. Boat guys did not speak English. - Islands were nice. Lunch was not good. Drive was ok. The stop was crowded with lot of people. Bathrooms were bad everywhere.
Review provided by Viator
Arnold
Aug 20, 2019
Misleading Advertising - We booked and paid for a private day tour for Tuesday Aug 6, 2019. My wife (who is Panamanian) and I took the tour to San Blas after seeing the ad stating Private Tour. We thus assumed it would be so. We understood that transportation to San Blas and back to Panama was in a shared transport, which was no problem with us, but they neglected to tell us that they would cram 7 people in a 4x4 car meant for 5 passengers,
Arriving at the port to go to San Blas, they informed us that we had to wait for other people coming in other cars to be able to take the boat. So what part of our tour was private? We were then told we would have to pay an additional $ 60 to take a private boat. Seemed like a classic switch and bait.
The return trip was extremely uncomfortable and the driver drove at reckless speeds to try and get back to Panama City after a long delay from one of the passengers.
We emailed Panama San Blas Tours on August 15, 2019 but never received a response. While San Blas itself was beautiful, Panama an Blas Tours was disappointing. Tourists beware of this company,.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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