The San Blas Islands are a part of the Guna Yala autonomous region, governed and inhabited by the Guna native people. As a result, the archipelago of over 300 islands retains a much more undeveloped, untouched nature (more on this later), creating an entire vibe you can’t get in Panama nor much anywhere else.

I did a bunch of research to try to get information and see what would make the most sense for me as a solo traveler. A few things that learned:

• There are multiple operators that offer different packages, but you could also put together the trip yourself by arranging transport to the departure port and identifying specific hosts you’d like to stay with through booking website
• The islands are inhabited by families who act as your hosts
• Accommodation types are rustic. Options include private and shared bungalows, dorms, tents, and sleeping on boats
• The most developed or recommended islands aren’t necessarily “the best”
• You can see the islands on the way to Colombia as a multi-day boat trip

After a bunch of reading and deliberation, and factoring in I would be traveling solo, I eventually decided to do an overnight trip with SanBlasTrip, which was $150 all-inclusive. What I learned was that the experience is pretty much dependent on your Guna family hosts, the islands you visit, and the people you’re with – which can vary immensely!

Here’s a photo diary of those two days.

Day 1

The trip starts in the early morning with pickup from Panama City. As we enter the Guna Yala Territory, the terrain dramatically shifts and the driver treats us to rollercoaster ride of twists and belly flipping drops.

As someone that doesn’t get terrible motion sickness, I find the driver’s crazy driving fun. Bring motion sickness pills and perhaps a barf bag if you get sick easily. I learn that throwing up is not uncommon, as evidenced by the little boy next to me in the Jeep.

After some waiting at the dock, I board the boat from the main dock to the islands. Still morning, many Guna locals are making their own trips from the mainland back to the islands. We make a few stops at different islands to drop off and pick up others.

We arrive at our island, Aroma! One of the residents tells me that 8 families live here, and we’re the guests of one of them.

To save money, I had chosen the tent option rather than a shared or private hut but it turned out to be the best choice because of the protection from insects! For this reason I would argue that a tent could be the most comfortable experience versus any of the other options.

The clouds are still out as noon approaches. A couple of fishermen row by the island and call out. Our chef yells to us, “Do you want lobster?!”

As Chef talks to the fishermen, we are served a typical lunch of delicious fried fish, rice, plantains, salad. This is also when the drinking starts.

I had heard that alcohol would not be provided, so I had brought my own effects (Ron Abuelo). This turns out to be unnecessary, and sharing my bottle earns me some points with Captain Germain and he lets me drive the boat to our next stop.

Our first stop is the Piscina Natural (Natural Pool). Being that the water around the sandbar is so shallow it actually isn’t ideal to snorkel, and you can see any starfish, shells and fish swimming around anyway. The crew fools me into thinking there are shark around here, lol.

The next island has some souvenirs for purchase, hammocks, and more alcohol. My memory starts get foggy around here. I don’t remember what this one was called.

After returning to Aroma, I end up falling asleep while reading on the beach. I wake up with one side of my body sunburnt, having slept on my side.

Our delicious dinner is ready and I am singled out by Chef, Germain’s brother, to eat both lobster and freshly caught fish. I don’t know why I’m getting special treatment; all I know is Chef is hammered drunk.

I try to fit the hang over already setting in from the day…fighting it by sipping a beer with the others around the bonfire. Chef tries to get me to join in the dancing; I tell him no about eight times.

Finally sensing my annoyance, the other hosts ask me to watch the Panama-Honduras international soccer game. I gather with four of them in the hut with a small TV inside broadcasting the game!

I didn’t want to use flash for the photo hence the terrible composited photo. We all intently watching the screen, and later Chef barged in.

Day 2

I am so annoyed by Chef and exhausted from the day that I go to my tent and fall asleep early. As a result I wake up before the sun rises, hours before anyone else was up.

This was one of the most momentous feelings of solitude I felt this trip: wandering around the island on a remote island, nothing moving except for the slight breeze in the trees and resident doggo. I find my book that I had left on the beach the day before and sit to read as the waves wash up on my feet.

The sunrise is beautiful and as with most non-DSLR cameras, my waterproof camera does not do it justice. The Guna Yala islands truly are as postcard picture-perfect as everybody says it is.

Breakfast is untoasted white bread with jam and Nutella. Chef is really, really proud of his Nutella and to be honest I’m happy to see it. You don’t eat Nutella on a remote island every day!

We rendezvous with others and go to another island that had a few other boats visiting. This one has an actual building, giving it a more developed feel. We devour snacks but I suspect this stop is more to refill on our most important fuel this trip. Rum!

Conclusion

As you can tell some details of the trip, such as the specific islands we visited, eluded me so I apologize for any incorrect information. But I know for a fact that our tour was treated to much more than what was listed on the website – more island stops, more food, more drink.

And because of these positive aspects, I would definitely recommend SanBlasTrip.com’s 2 days, 1 night Adventure. They had excellent communication, answered many questions and let me book just two days in advance. I also appreciated that the price ($150 for a personal tent) included transportation and the entry fee to Guna Yala territory. Many tours I looked at did NOT include that $20 entry tax in their price, so be sure to consider this fee before you book.

There were some aspects about traveling solo to these islands that were not ideal. Despite making new friends throughout the trip, I felt very alone when Chef was annoying me. The fact that we were on an isolated island made it a bit worse, and through my morning wanderings I was harassed by one of the hosts.

Despite this, I could not let this experience discourage me from recommending this trip. You can choose to extend your trip for just $40/night and if you have specific islands you want to visit, you can arrange that beforehand or by talking to one of the hosts once there.

We didn’t go to a lot of the cool islands that other operators advertised (shipwrecks, etc.) but I don’t feel like I missed out at all and two days on the islands proved the perfect amount of time.