The Best Photo Spots in San Blas: Iconic Palm Trees, Starfish, and Pristine Cays.
A route designed around bringing back the best images of the Panamanian Caribbean. Chichime supplies the most famous leaning palms in Guna Yala; Isla Estrella its calm water where starfish rest on the bottom; and the Coco Bandero Cays the most untouched setting, with colourful coral below the surface.
The order of the stops is set by the light, not by distance: Chichime first thing, with the sun low and the boats still away, then the open cays towards midday, when the water hits the turquoise that only comes with a high sun. The guide knows the angles and where to stand. It closes in the Natural Pool at 15:30.
Pickup at 5:00 am at your hotel, door-to-door 4x4 and about two and a half hours of road. Includes boat with life jackets, a typical lunch and a local guide; the comarca fee is separate, paid the same day, in cash or by card to the driver. Bring a dry bag: the boat throws spray.
Great if you travel with a camera or a drone and the order of the light matters more to you than the number of islands.
Maybe not your tour if you'd rather just get in the water: there is a fair amount of stopping to shoot here.
Set out early: the best light in the Caribbean is in the morning.
The iconic palm trees bathed in the golden morning light.
Starfish, coral, and pristine cays, with lunch included.
The final photo on 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 Chichime, Isla Estrella, Cayos Coco Bandero. 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 the light sets it, not the distance: Chichime first thing, with a low sun and the boats still out, and the open cays towards midday, when the water takes on the turquoise that only comes with a high sun.
There is a fair amount of stopping to shoot, so if your plan is to get in the water and leave it at that, other routes use the time better. With a camera or a drone, this is the one.
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 →
