If you are travelling to Panama for a vacation you can’t skip the San Blas Islands. This beautiful archipelago of 378 islands is located in the North of Panama connected to the Caribbean Sea. All the islands are spread over 100 square miles in the along the coastline.
Most of the islands are empty and you will only find some birds and palm trees on them. But the major islands are habitat by the native people called the Kuna. There are 49 major islands with different Kuna communities living on them. One of the most important islands is Acuadup where the tribe eldest and leaders of the Kuna live. For tourist the most famous island is probably Chichime because you can stay there in a hostel managed by the Kuna. You can only reach the San Blas Islands by boat or water/small plane. The Kuna Yala area itself can be reached by car from Panama City, this costs you around four hours driving.
Tourism in San Blas
Tourism in San Blas is still fragile and on small scale this makes the islands a beautiful place for you to explorer. Unfortunately you are not allowed to Scuba Dive in the Golfo de San Blas, but this means it has one of the best-preserved coral reefs in the world where you are allowed to snorkel. One of the main spots for tourist to try out snorkelling is dog island also know as Isla Perro. This island is famous because there is a shipwreck in front of the island reachable by snorkelling and swimming. On the isla Perro you will also find a very nice beach and place to stay for the night. Another place to stay for the night in San Blas is one of the major islands Chichime. Here you can sleep in a hammock with other tourist for around 10 US dollars including breakfast, lunch and diner. The location of the San Blas Islands can be seen underneath in the Google map;
Island vacation
Traveling to the San Blas Islands is probably one of the best tropical island vacations you can dream about. Because of the great diversity of islands, small, big, empty and inhabited you will find many different forms of natural beauty. On the San Blas Islands the people speak Kuna, Spanish and some English for addressing the tourist. You can pay with US dollars and the Panamanian Balboa, the conversion rate between these valuta is 1:1.