The best snorkeling in San Blas: the pristine reefs of Cayos Holandeses, crystal-clear water, and the most remote sandbars.
Reserved for people who came for the sea. You sail out to Cayos Holandeses, the richest and clearest reef in all of Guna Yala, where snorkelling is on another level: healthy coral, colourful fish and visibility you won't find near the coast. Fewer people, more nature.
The Holandés are the chain furthest from the mainland, and that shows in two ways: the crossing is long and in open water, and when you arrive there is barely a boat in sight. The day starts at 5:00 am at your hotel, you reach the water around 9:00, eat on the sandbanks at 13:00 and return at 15:30.
Includes door-to-door 4x4 transport, boat with life jackets, snorkelling gear, lunch and a local guide. The comarca fee is paid the same 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 the reason for the trip and you would take healthy reef over comfort.
Maybe not your tour if rough water bothers you: this is the longest and most exposed crossing we operate.
4x4 tour departing from Panama City.
Sailing to remote cays and snorkeling at the best reef.
Turquoise water, free time, and a traditional lunch.
A tour of the city.
There are no shops in the archipelago, and whatever is missing waits until you are back on the mainland. See the full list →
Free cancellation up to 72 hours before; after that the deposit is held, because your place is already blocked. Cancellation policy →
$225 per traveller. That covers transport from Panama City, the sailing, the meals of the format and the guide. Outside it sits the comarca entry, $22 for foreigners and $7 for residents, paid in cash on the way in.
This format sells an area, not a named island: what you'll see is Cayos Holandeses, Arrecife, Bancos de arena. In the remote cays you anchor where the sea allows that day, so the skipper picks the exact spot in the morning.
Departure is always before dawn, around 5:00, because the mountain pass and the tide impose it. The return depends on the format: single-day trips come back that afternoon, multi-night ones on the last day.
The distance and what waits at the end. The Cayos Holandeses are the chain furthest from the mainland: the crossing is long and in open sea, and that is exactly why the coral arrives healthy with few boats around. The $225 pay for that isolation, which is precisely what you see underwater.
It depends. Because of the distance this departure usually needs a minimum number of people to run, and that is confirmed when you book, not the day before. If your date does not gather a group we tell you in time and look for another, or suggest a closer route.
That morning, at the port, and the skipper is the one who says it. The question comes up more here than on other routes because the crossing is long and exposed: what is a nuisance on a nearby departure can be a reason to change plans on this one. If it does not sail, you reschedule or get everything back.
The rest — document, comarca fee, route changes — is answered separately. Go to the frequently asked questions →
