4 days in paradise.
The trip with San Blas Adventures was definitely one of my life’s highlights. The crew was amazing and every day enthusiastic and good vibes, especially Yann the lead guide. Livvy and Aida did a great job in the kitchen and with the organization. We learned a lot about the Kuna culture and got many insights in their life. It was especially cool, that one of the guides, Hector, is a Kuna himself and could explain a lot about the culture and traditions. I’ll definitely do the trip again!
Reviewed by inaj524 - 2022-12-30
Christmas in San Blas- Amazing!!!
San Blas Adventures was amazing! Every part of the trip was exceptional. We did the Christmas trip from Panama to Colombia and Yann and the team provided such an enjoyable, helpful and pleasant experience for every member of the group. The guides, especially Yann, went above and beyond to ensure everyone was catered for and had an enjoyable trip, even up to ensuring safe transport from Colombia and organising flights for group members etc. 10/10 experience and would definitely recommend! Thankyou Yann, Pablo and Sylvain!
Reviewed by Liam S - 2022-12-26
Increíble four days, excellent organisation and super fun
Absolutely fabulous tour. Will try and give as much detail as possible, both the good and bad, but to be clear from the start would absolutely rate this experience 5 stars. So, first things first - the journey. We were picked up from our hotel at 5:10am by a lovely guy called Chris, who spoke excellent English and provided us with really interesting information about the Guna culture throughout the journey. The journey to the San Blas itself is every bit as bad as people say, HOWEVER, following other people’s advice, we popped a Dramamine as soon as we woke up and followed that up with a plain light breakfast of bread rolls, and I can honestly say we didn’t feel sick at all, which was an absolute god send. Dramamine is nothing short of black magic so load up before you go (we took one everyday of the trip). In terms of packing, we kept it light, and we’re glad we did when we saw how much luggage other people had packed, though our biggest complaint with this tour is that we were not explicitly told to bring water with us. Other people on different tours had gotten the message and brought big bottles of water with them, but no one had told us it would be necessary. In all fairness, if you don’t bring any water you do get small bottles with lunch and dinner, and can buy extras for $2, but I would highly recommend bringing at least one big 4-5L bottle with you so you can have as much water as you need without paying extra. Once at the dock, we ended up waiting around for another 30-40 minutes before we were loaded onto a boat. Word of advice, always give your bag to the guides so they can put in under the tarpaulin to keep it dry, as it can get extremely wet on the boats. The way out to our first island actually wasn’t too wet after all, but I was glad go be wearing my swimming gear all the same. The first island (gorginega? Near pelican island) was the smallest island in which we stayed but it was super beautiful and the staff were lovely. In the evening we saw sting rays and sharks just offshore - really cool. This island also had the best toilet/shower facilities, i.e. soap available and clean. The second island we stayed on (aguja) was the biggest but also the most remote - in fact it was only us two there alongside one guide, but it was a really special experience and again the showers and toilets were good, though there was no soap available. The third and final island on which we stayed (perro chico) had the best sleeping arrangements (electricity and fans in the room!) but the worst toilets and showers by far - no soap and sadly they stunk of sewage and even the fresh water smelled pretty terrible. Ultimately, soap is obviously a luxury and given the remoteness of all the San Blas islands and the number of tourists, our complaints are fairly insignificant, but it was a shame because the first two islands we so good in this area. All the transport and activities throughout the four days ran seamlessly - we had about 7-8 different guides in total, but they always knew exactly where we were meant to be and what we were meant to be doing. It was perfect in that we were completely care free and not once did they slip up. Our itinerary was also practically identical to the one provided on here so that was nice. The one activity to be aware of is the waterfall hike - FYI if you have water shoes, wear them as you otherwise have to get your trainers completely sodden as you have to wade through the river twice. Also, it’s incredibly hot, sweaty and muddy, so if you’re not a fan of hiking you might not have a good time. The food was really great across the four days - we always went for the fish options and never regretted it. You also have the option of getting a whole lobster on the final night - if you like lobster 100% do this!! It was super delicious and super fun to eat. Finally, the journey home was much the same as the way out, although the sea was very choppy so we got quite wet and had to go a lot slower, and also through bad luck we had two kids throwing up in our car the whole drive back to Panama City but that is out of anyone’s control - just fyi it could happen to you too! Hopefully this review if helpful to anyone hoping to get a better understanding of what it is actually like :)
Reviewed by L3970FOkateb - 2022-12-19
What an adventure!
Just returned from Panama, and, without doubt, our 3 night trip to the the Guna Yala Islands a highlight (as they are referred to by the local population) Booking was easy and we received regular contacts by email prior top our trip; we were picked up from our hotel by 'Christopher', who, not only had a fantastic knowledge of the Islands and its people, negotiated the rather bumpy road to the port without any issue and then ensured we met our guide for the next stage of the tour ('Kenneth') before leaving us at the busy and slightly chaotic boat jetty Yes we got soaked on the boat journey to the first island, yes we never quite knew what we would be doing next or which island we would be staying on the next night (our favourite was 'Pelican Island') but we simply put our trust in Kenneth and the others co-ordinating our trip who always seemed to be expecting us, whether it be to catch another boat or to stay over on another island- before we were eventually returned to our hotel 4 days later The islands are absolutely beautiful- the accommodation varied from bamboo huts, to wooden or brick 'chalets', was always simple but clean; the food, again, was simple but generally good We're a married couple in our late 50's/ early 60's and most others our young travellers in their 20's and 30's, but, if you have a spirit of adventure then couldn't recommend it highly enough!
Reviewed by LancasterBee - 2022-12-10
Rustic Island Retreat
Beautiful islands and friendly people. Just need to be prepared for cold showers, limited food and drink options. If you want something other than, water, beer, or juice, you will need to bring it. Also bring a towel! The waterfall hike is a bit of a hike so you should be prepared for round trip 5 hours with mud and water. Very memorable trip and glad we roughed it for a few days to have this experience.
Reviewed by TravelerJody2014 - 2022-06-28
