When visiting Panama we knew we wanted to hit up the city, get a taste of the rainforest and experience the laid back island life on the Caribbean side.
With only a week in the country, we managed to get in a little bit of each. The Guna Yala region, or San Blas Islands, consists of hundreds of tiny islands, most only accessible by tiny plane and then boat or canoe.
Getting There
Guna Yala is a semi-autonomous region stretching about 375 km along the eastern Caribbean coast of Panama. It consists of swathes of rainforest on the mainland and about 365 islands, only less than 50 of which are inhabited.
Areas
Visitors have 3 main areas to choose from: the popular and more easily accessible Western area, the Central area which sustains more traditional Guna practices and is less commercialized, and the Eastern area which is pretty isolated and does not see many outsiders.
The Western area is accessible by road, plane and boat, whereas most of the Central area and all of the Eastern area is only accessible by a combination of plane and boat. We chose to stay in the Eastern area of Guna Yala so we experienced the thrilling flight and boat combo.
Flights
The flights are all run by Air Panama. We managed to book our flight online a few months in advance on the Air Panama website. You will need to book your lodge first and they will let you know which airport is closest to them so you know which flight to book.
Note: A lot of people experience difficulty booking on their website. Trying to book on the English site did not work for us. We had to book on the Spanish language website (with our limited Spanish vocabulary) and that is how we got it to work. We did not receive our tickets but our credit card was charged. We emailed customer service via the website and they forwarded our tickets. Hopefully Air Panama has since improved their website but just note that it can be a challenge booking these flights.
Flying on a small twelve seater prop plane from Panama City to Guna Yala was very exciting. We departed from Albrook Airport, the domestic airport in Panama City, bright and early at 6am. The airport was really small and took us a long time to check in. It was very interesting seeing the people who were also checking into the flight with us. Many of the local people had recycled bags, cardboard boxes, and trash bags as their luggage.
When we finally got ready to board, we walked onto the tarmac and into this tiny prop plane. There were only four seats per row and we were lucky to sit right behind the pilot. All the instruments were analog and they had this binder that looked about thirty years old, which they used for their check list.
Take off was right at sunrise and it was beautiful to see the city down below from the window. The total flight time was about an hour as we were not going very fast. But it was perfect for looking out the window and watching the untouched land and rainforest below.
When we finally started to descend it was slow and steady, but we could not see anything below us. As we circled down closer and closer to the ground, alarms from the plane started going off! “Pull up, pull up! Terrain, terrain!”
It was frightening at first. I just had flash backs of the movie La Bamba where Ritchie Valens and Buddy Holly pass away in a small plane crash! But the pilots just calmly turned off the alarms and kept descending into what we thought was the deep rainforest.
Finally, when we were about a minute from landing we saw this tiny dirt landing strip next to the water. I don’t even think it was all paved. But the pilots were good, we didn’t bounce too much upon landing and we made it safely.
At first I thought the Albrook airport was small, but the Achutupu airport was literally a small shack with no windows or doors, and inside there was a balance for a scale where they will weigh you and your bags. It was very humbling how much we take for granted with our big fancy airports, luggage and even our paved runways.
When we arrived we were the only non-locals disembarking the plane so our guide spotted us right away. He met us, grabbed our bags, and took us over to a small boat to head over to the tiny island.
The water was a bit rough and we got a bit wet. You should probably leave your suitcases behind and only bring a backpack of things. It is a tiny open boat with little cover so your things could get wet. And you don’t need much on the island anyway.
Where To Stay
Most people book themselves into a lodge which provides daily tours and meals. The island lodges are very small and intimate and they are all family-run. Accommodations are usually in the form of simple cabañas.
Booking
We ended up booking 2 days and 2 nights at Dolphin Lodge. It actually wasn’t the lodge we originally booked, which was a stay in an over water cabaña (something that has always been on my bucketlist!) Buuuut they cancelled our reservation and transferred us to Dolphin Lodge instead (with no over water cabanas 🙁 ) . I don’t want to taint this review so I won’t go into the details, but the way the original lodge handled the situation was very unprofessional and dishonest.
After getting over the initial annoyance and disappointment, we truly were happy with our stay. I’ve learned that when dealing with people in Central and South America things don’t always go as expected, they usually aren’t too apologetic about it and you just have to roll with it!
Our stay
Once we arrived at the island we were greeted by the owner, a very nice fellow, and paid our fees. We were shown to our cabaña and informed about breakfast. The island was very quiet and there was only one other couple there. There are only 7 cabañas on the island so it is a very intimate and peaceful experience.
The island is shared with the Guna family who reside on the other half of the island, away from the cabañas and comedor. Don’t expect any frills – it is definitely very rustic. There are no plug ins (I shouldn’t have bothered bringing my hair straightener or phone charger! haha) and you can’t even get any cell reception.
If you are not ok with some ants, lizards and cockroaches being in your room – don’t stay here 
We heard a loud crash and I made Ryan get up and turn on the light to search for whatever was making the noise! He didn’t find anything and said we should go back to bed.
I asked our guide if there were monkeys on the island and he said no. We’re still not sure what it was in our room…our best guess is it was a smart bird that got in through one of the openings in the ceiling. Lol we were just so shocked to wake up to that mess knowing that this all went on while we were trying to sleep! An adventure indeed 🙂
Our balcony at the back of the cabana had two hammocks that faced the ocean. It was such a beautiful view. Ryan and I lazed around and read and napped with the cool breeze and tropical air. It was so refreshing. It was nice being off the grid for the weekend – forcing us to get off our phones, off social media, and just take it all in and relax. Bring a book and a fully charged camera and you’ll be good to go.
There isn’t a sandy beach on the island, but there are stairs into the ocean where you can swim. However the water was quite rough during our stay due to the trade winds so we didn’t get to swim there.
Food
Costs
Lodge: We paid a total of $468 US for our stay at Dolphin Lodge. Payment is only accepted in cash on arrival. I found this a bit high considering how basic the accommodation and food were but it was comparable to other lodges we looked into in Guna Yala. At least we knew all the money was going directly to the family and not to any third parties. We did have a wonderful time so we felt the cost was worth the experience.
Flight: Our round trip Air Panama flight came to $156.80 US each. Also quite pricey considering it was a 45 minute domestic trip. But without any other options for getting there what can you do? And hey, it was quite the experience!
Activities
Most lodges include guided activities with the price. Dolphin Lodge included 2 activities per day.
On Day 1 we were taken to a private island for the afternoon and then to one of the main Guna islands in the evening to experience local village life. On Day 2 we went to another private island in the afternoon and then on a river and rainforest tour in the evening.
Private Islands
After breakfast on the first day we were taken over to a private little island by boat. The island was owned by a local man who lived there in the sole hut with his 2 pet monkeys. I had never been to such a small and truly private island. As we pulled up to the island I squealed in delight. It really felt like we were getting away from it all. Just what I had hoped to get out of this trip!
Tip: Bring cash with you as you are expected to tip people as you go around. We had to pay $2 to the man that owned the island (luckily we had some small bills on us)
The sand was perfectly white and the water was warm. We could see some locals fishing in the water nearby. There was nothing on the island except some hammocks and the plastic table and chairs that our guide had brought over for our lunch.
Ryan set up his hammock while I laid out in the sand and waded in the water. There were so many beautiful shells that were washed up on shore – I was amazed. The sun beat down hard on us and we were not prepared. Ryan had fallen asleep in the hammock and got burnt on just one side of his body.
Tip: Bring strong sunscreen and reapply! We didn’t notice how much sun we were getting until that night when we realized we were so burnt. There is not much shade on these private islands so you can’t escape the strong sun. The trade winds were strong so we felt pretty cool and didn’t notice how strong the sun was.
Our guide prepared our lunch that he had brought over from the lodge. We sat under the palm trees with the breeze cooling us down. It was so lovely. We spent a total of about 4 hours on this island.
On the second day we were taken to another private island, this one even more isolated. We had to travel further in the boat to reach it and once we got there it truly had nothing on it! Not even a single hut or hammock.
Our guide set up the hammocks for us and again had brought over a cooler with our lunch and set up some plastic chairs and a table for us. We only spent about 2 hours at this island and it was probably a good thing after all the sun we had got the day before.
Village Tour
We were taken to Achutupu island before dinner on our first night. Achutupu is the main village/island in the area where many of the locals live. There was a school there, medical centre and basketball court.
Our guide walked us around the village explaining local life to us along the way. Unfortunately we could not make out a lot of what he was saying as his English was not very good and he had a strong accent. None of the locals there could speak English either, as they all spoke the native Guna language (not Spanish). We also were not allowed to take photos as the village people do not like it. So we don’t have any photos to share unfortunately.
Our guide took us to visit with some of the local Guna women who make clothing and molas. We felt pressured to buy something and it was a bit awkward because we hadn’t brought much cash with us. I chose the smallest thing on offer (a mola) and we used up all our cash ($15). So, again, like I said before – bring cash with you.
The village tour was not as enjoyable as it was made out to seem. The village was actually quite filthy and the surrounding water was polluted with tons of garbage – it was shocking! The locals did not seem very welcoming – none of them greeted us. Not sure if it was the language barrier or if they do not want foreigners visiting, or if they could just care less. It was interesting observing how they lived but unfortunately we did not learn that much due to the language barrier.
River Tour
On our last night we went on a boat tour to the river and into the rainforest. We docked the boat up the river and explored by foot, led by another local guide. He pointed out all kinds of plants along the way as we searched for local wildlife. We heard monkeys, but only spotted a few.
Our guide did not speak English or Spanish so we could not communicate much. It was nice to just wander through the peaceful rainforest and take in the lush scenery. It definitely felt like we were going off the beaten path – just what we wanted.
A trip to Guna Yala will prove to be an unforgettable one. If you are looking for something off the beaten path and not your usual island getaway, book a stay on one of these beautiful rustic islands!
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