The most remote and crystal-clear keys of San Blas, far away from everything.
The Cayos Holandeses are the hidden jewel of San Blas: the chain furthest from the coast, where the water reaches a clarity that is hard to believe. You visit Isla Tortuga, Banedup and Isla Estrella — near-untouched cays with living reef, among the best snorkelling anywhere in the comarca.
Getting that far has a price in hours: it sails farther than anything else we run, so the day stretches longer than on the nearer cays. The crossing is long and in open water, and that is exactly what keeps these cays so empty. You're in the water around 8:30 and return via the Natural Pool at 15:30.
Includes door-to-door 4x4 transport, boat with life jackets, a typical lunch and a local guide; the comarca fee is paid on the day, in cash or by card to the driver. This route usually needs a minimum number of travellers to run — we confirm that when you book.
Great if snorkelling is your thing and you would take healthy reef and few people over comfort.
Maybe not your tour if you get seasick or you would rather not get up even earlier: this leaves half an hour before the others and the crossing is the longest we run.
4x4 trip from Panama City to Guna Yala.
The longest trip (worth every minute) to the remote keys.
Tortuga, Banedup, and Estrella, with snorkeling and lunch on the island.
Final stop at the sandbar, then back to the city.
You leave before dawn and there is nowhere to buy anything all day. The full packing list, and what happens if you forget each thing →
With 72 hours or more of notice you get 100 % of the deposit back, or you change the date at no cost. Inside those 72 hours the deposit is no longer refundable, because by then your seat in the 4x4 and the boat is held and nobody else can use it; even so, if you tell us, we try to reschedule. And if we are the ones who cancel, which only happens for real sea safety, you choose between another date at no cost or 100 % of what you paid.
$135 per person, with the door-to-door 4x4, the boat, lunch and the guide included. The comarca entrance fee is paid separately, once: $22 for foreigners and $7 for residents, in cash.
3: Isla Tortuga, Banedup, Isla Estrella. The order is set by the tide and the sea that day, not by a fixed schedule.
Pickup at your Panama City hotel is around 5:00 am, and you are back in the city late in the afternoon. The early start is set by the mountain crossing and the tide, not by preference.
Because there is more sea ahead. The pickup is brought forward compared with the rest of the catalogue and the crossing is the longest, over open water — and that is exactly what keeps these cays so empty.
If snorkelling is your reason for coming, yes: these are living reefs with very few people over them, and that clarity exists precisely because they are so far out. If open water makes you sick, no.
What does not depend on this tour — your ID, the comarca fee, route changes forced by the sea — is answered in one place instead of on every tour page. See all the frequently asked questions →
