San Blas vs. Bocas del Toro: How to Pick the Right Islands in Panama

If you have a short amount of time in Panama, you will find yourself having to make tough decisions, like whether it’s best to visit the San Blas Islands or Bocas del Toro. And while it’s tempting to just tell you to do both — I do know that it’s not reasonable for everyone to do both.

The reality is that while Panama is a small country, it’s elongated and spread out, so it’s quite difficult to visit multiple places in Panama if you have a short amount of time in the country, such as just one week.

If you have only one week in Panama — or even less — you’ll find yourself having to make some tough calls on what to include and what to skip.

If you’re trying to decide what should be on your Panama itinerary when it comes to San Blas vs. Bocas del Toro, I’ve experienced both during my short visit to Panama, and I’m here to try to help you make that call!

While I loved both the San Blas Islands and my time in Bocas del Toro, each does have its pros and cons, and they’re extremely different — which does make it easier to choose between these two Panamanian gems.

Pick Bocas del Toro for…

Snorkeling & Diving

When it comes down to what has the better coral reefs between Bocas del Toro and San Blas, it’s Bocas del Toro, hands-down.

I did seven dives while I was in Bocas del Toro and I was absolutely amazed by the incredible marine life there and just how healthy the reef is.

… and I didn’t even get to see the more beautiful parts of the reef, like in Bastimentos Marine Park, since I was there out of season when the swell is usually too intense for dive boats to visit.

I didn’t go snorkeling in Bocas del Toro (why snorkel when you can dive? is my ethos) but there are plenty of places where you can find some great reefs that are at a perfect depth for snorkeling.

Cayo Coral is a popular stop on many of the boat tours of Bocas del Toro that are popular excursions, and that’s a great snorkeling destination, as the name suggests!

Another good snorkeling spot is Cayo Zapatilla #2, which is part of Bastimentos Marine Park, also commonly featured on boat tours. It’s one of the two

Meanwhile, while tours in the San Blas Islands may offer free use of snorkel gear… there’s really nothing to see, or at least, when I went on my day trip I didn’t see any coral.

Normally, I’m the kind of person you have to tear out of the water as soon as there’s a whisper of even a single tropical fish — but in San Blas Islands, I was more mesmerized by the look of the water from above, and the endless shades of blue that dappled in the sunlight.

If you really do want to go snorkeling in San Blas, the best spot is Isla Perro Chico, where there is a shipwreck at a shallow depth (max 5 meters) and also a small reef area on the southeast side of the island.

However, you’d need to make sure your tour stopped there (mine didn’t) and that you had sufficient time on the island to be able to enjoy the snorkeling.

Overwater Bungalows

Virtually all the overwater bungalows in Panama are in the Bocas del Toro vicinity. During my time visiting Bocas del Toro, I experienced two different ones: Faro de Colibri (above) and Urraca Private Island (below).

Both were on the more mid-range side of things, but there are some high luxury options if you want!

If you want to stay in an overwater bungalow, there really aren’t many outside of the Bocas del Toro area.

This is the place to go if you want that classic experience at the fraction of the price you’d experience in Maldives, French Polynesia, etc.!

Nightlife & Backpacker Vibes

When it comes to nightlife and just general backpacker-friendliness, there’s no question that Bocas del Toro comes out on top.

Bocas Town is a party town, especially on Fridays, where a weekly party dubbed ‘Filthy Fridays’ infiltrates the town and takes over its bars with a day-long bar crawl that lasts well into the evening.

And even not on Fridays, the main island, Isla Colón, is a big party hub, with lots of bars and hostels catering to the backpacker scene, such as Selina.

I’m not a drinker or a partier, so for me, this wasn’t a pro of Bocas del Toro, but more of a neutral aspect that I avoided by going night diving on Friday instead!

I also stayed on a quieter island, Isla Carenero, which is only a 5-minute water taxi to Bocas Town (and a boat ride only costs $1-2, depending on your Spanish skills, your captain’s mood, and the time of day).

More Variety of Beaches

I know, this one might be contentious…. but I’m going to give the edge to Bocas del Toro here, just by a hair.

While the San Blas Islands does have some absolutely gorgeous beaches, they’re not quite as consistent.

Really seeing the most beautiful beaches in San Blas involves going to some more remote islands of the archipelago, which requires spending a good deal more time and money to do so.

For me personally, I just did a day trip to San Blas so I could only go so far out into the islands — and I acknowledge this is likely impacting my decision!

While I loved the color of the water, visiting the typical community of the Guna Yala people, and the overall island vibes… I just didn’t feel anything quite rose to the level of a beach I’d want to spend a whole day at.

Many of the beaches I visited unfortunately had quite a bit of trash washed on shore, and the beaches were more patchy vs. some of the long stretches of gorgeous sandy beach I found easily in Bocas del Toro.

Maybe I’d feel differently if I did a multi-night tour of San Blas Islands, but I didn’t have time for that, since I was prioritizing my diving time in Bocas del Toro.

That said, I only saw what I saw, so I’m basing it based off my day trip experience and comparing that to my time in Bocas del Toro.

When it comes to beaches, Bocas del Toro has a handful of really incredible beaches like Red Frog Beach and Starfish Beach (Playa Estrella), where the water is so clear you can see the starfish without even dipping your head underwater.

These are just two of the many beautiful beaches that are easy to get to by boat (or bus, in the case of the latter) on your own time and schedule, with some amenities around in case you get hungry or thirsty.

Then there’s also places like Cayo Zapatilla, which you can take a boat tour to, which has some one of the most beautiful beaches in Bocas del Toro, but is a little further out.

More Affordable Prices

In general, it’s more affordable to travel around Bocas del Toro than it is to travel around the San Blas Islands.

This is because tourism is more developed in Bocas del Toro, so you can mix and match the kind of experiences you want to have, whereas in San Blas, your options are more limited.

It is somewhat possible to plan your own trip to San Blas independently of a guided tour, by booking VRBOs or accommodations on Booking.com or the like.

That said, options are still quite limited when you travel “independently” and the additional fees that they add on in addition to the accommodation (such as transfer fees, mandatory tours, etc.) do start to add up.

Meanwhile, in Bocas del Toro, you can easily stay in nice hostel like Selina for $28 a night and up, or even cheaper for less upscale picks.

I stayed in an overwater bungalow on Isla Carenero and paid only about $120 a night!

If you take a guided tour of San Blas, something like this 3-day, 2-night tour of San Blas will run you about $300 including the fees to enter Guna Yala territory, as it is its own autonomous land.

When you book a guided tour, visiting San Blas will run you about $150 per night you spend there — and it’s definitely easier to stay under that budget in Bocas del Toro.

For backpackers visiting Bocas del Toro, I would budget around $50-70 per person per night, depending on where you want to stay, your food choices, your alcohol budget, and what activities you choose.

More Independent Travel

This goes hand in hand with the above point — traveling Bocas del Toro is a lot easier to do independently.

Even if you go to San Blas islands without an organized small group tour, you will likely end up finding yourself attached to some sort of itinerary.

Whether it’s an organized sailing tour, a guesthouse on San Blas that you can find on VRBO or Booking, etc. — there is usually some element of a guided tour that is hard to escape.

Meanwhile, in Bocas del Toro, you can just hail a water taxi and be just about anywhere, from the colorful houses of Isla Bastimentos to Isla Solarte to one of the many beaches and small islands in the archipelago.

English is also more widely spoken in Bocas del Toro, so if you don’t speak any Spanish, you’ll have an easier time getting around in Bocas del Toro vs. San Blas.

Personally, on my day trip to San Blas, I was the only native English speaker and the rest of my tour group were all Spanish speakers.

Most Guna people learn their native tongue and Spanish, and English is a little-spoken third language, so you won’t get a chance to speak to as many Guna people without knowing a little Spanish.

Better Internet & WiFi

This is not necessarily a pro or a con, but just a fact of the matter. Rather, it’s depending on the kind of travel you want — for some, connectivity is not a big deal, since maybe part of why someone is traveling in the first place is to unplug!

You’ll find lots of charming cafés in Bocas Town with screaming-fast internet, and data is great all around the archipelago.

Meanwhile, in San Blas Islands, I had decent data available to me, but nothing compared to Bocas del Toro.

For me, I wasn’t working while I was traveling, so this was a draw, but if you’re an expat or digital nomad looking for somewhere with better internet options — I’d pick Bocas del Toro, Panama.

Ease of Traveling to & from Costa Rica

If you’re doing a longer overland trip in Central America, Bocas del Toro makes the perfect pit stop between Panama and Costa Rica, as its right near the Caribbean border of Costa Rica.

The Caribe shuttle makes trips between Costa Rica and Bocas del Toro a complete breeze. I took the shuttle from San Jose to Bocas del Toro, but if I had more time, I would have spent a few days in Puerto Viejo, about the halfway point between the two.

You make a stop here no matter what for lunch, and I loved the beautiful dark sand of the beach and the calm Caribbean beach town vibes.

The trip from Bocas del Toro to Costa Rica is a long one, involving many hours in a van, getting in and out of the shuttle a few times, a land border crossing, and a water taxi from Almirante, but the Caribe shuttle makes it a breeze.

It’s worth every penny of the $90 or so it costs from San Jose to make this overland journey so much less painful than it would otherwise be!

Pick San Blas for…

The Most Beautiful Water

While I did give a slight edge to Bocas del Toro for having gorgeous beaches, I will say that hands-down, the San Blas Islands has some of the most beautiful water in the world — comparable to the Maldives, even.

I loved visiting the Natural Pool, a stunning see-through pale aquamarine color, just a small layer of sand with crystalline water floating on top of it.

This marvelous part of the San Blas islands is the incredible result of one of the cays being totally upturned and sunk by a hurricane that roared through the islands many years back, leaving behind a very shallow aquamarine wading pool in its place.

On the boat rides, I saw so many different colors of blue, from electric blue to deep turquoise to dark navy to pale robins egg blue: it was absolutely spectacular.

And I’m sure that the more time you spend in San Blas and the more off the beaten path you get, the more beautiful the water gets — that was only what I got to see on a day trip!

Shorter Trips to Panama

If you are flying into Panama City directly for a shorter trip to Panama, than San Blas is probably the better pick, since it’s easy to do even as a day tour from Panama City.

That said, I believe an overnight trip or even spending two nights in San Blas would certainly be even nicer!

You could combine this with some time in Panama City, seeing its sights such as the Panama Canal and doing some day trips into the rainforest, etc.

Meanwhile, Bocas del Toro is on the entire other side of Panama. The flight is easy enough, at only an hour, but it’s not always the most fun experience to spend a lot of your time in airports.

That’s not to mention waiting for flight times to align properly if you are trying to get straight from Bocas del Toro from wherever you flew in from, plus having to pick up and drop off your luggage on multiple occasions.

Plus if you’re arriving internationally, you’ll almost certainly arrive at Tocumen Airport. Flights to and from Bocas land at Albrook Airport, so you’d also have to factor in an airport transfer there.

So if you are flying into Panama City with only about 4-5 days, I would suggest staying in Panama City and then dedicating a few days to a San Blas island hopping adventure!

To get from Panama City to the San Blas Islands only takes about 3 hours by car and boat, so it’s a pretty smooth trip — doable as a day trip, but the more time you have, the better!

Ease of Transit

Since there are so many tours from Panama City to San Blas, whether those are day trips, 2-day overnight trips, or 3-days 2-night trips, the ease of transit is really hard to beat.

One thing I’ll note: the final stretch of road between mainland Panama and the harbor that you leave from to reach the San Blas islands is really, really windy and brutal without Dramamine.

I was OK on the way there because I had taken my Dramamine, but then I forgot to take another pill on my way back…

… I immediately regretted that, because even though I was in the front seat of the van, I had motion sickness so bad it felt like my soul was leaving my body.

But other than that, it’s an absolute breeze to get between Panama City and San Blas when you take a tour.

Compare that to traveling between airports, flying, dealing with luggage, and all that? I’ll take the 5 AM early wake-up call for a door-to-door transfer to San Blas, thanks.

An Educational Experience

The coolest thing about the San Blas Islands is just how much you can learn about this special place, even if you just have one day here.

What I appreciated most about my tour was my excellent guide, who ensured that we learned all about the Kuna people: their history, traditions, beliefs, and struggle for equality under Panamanian rule.

I liked that even though we had but a limited time in Guna Yala, our tour made sure to spend about an hour touring the largest community on the islands — we weren’t just there for the clear waters and palm trees, but also for the people.

During that time, we were able to visit the Casa de Congreso (where all decisions are made communally) to learn about the political system on the island.

In Guna Yala, leaders called silas preserve the traditions and mediate conflict for the community, maintaining the local cultural customs and language.

Plus, you can buy handmade goods from local folks (I left with three beautiful molas, a traditional artwork of the Guna people) and support the micro-economy of mom-and-pop shops and local artisans!

Supporting Indigenous Communities

Similarly to the above, something that is particularly special about visiting the San Blas Islands is that it’s one of (sadly) very few places in the world where the Indigenous people have autonomy over their land.

Tourism in San Blas Islands is certainly a delicate ecosystem that will need to be monitored to ensure that it is still sustainable.

But because it’s in the hands of the local native people, they have an imperative to do so, and they’ve kept it that way thus far, even as the San Blas Islands grow in popularity.

Every single person I interacted with on my tour, from my driver to my guide to the boat captains to the people who made the delicious food on the islands was a local Kuna person, who had their roots in the island.

While Bocas del Toro also has its own Indigenous group, the Ngäbe people, they don’t have control over their lands in the same way.

Businesses in Bocas del Toro are often foreign-owned. While Ngäbe people may be employed by certain businesses, they usually aren’t the ones in positions of power, making decisions and deciding how to approach tourism in a sustainable way.

Disconnected Bliss

Like above in the section about San Blas, being disconnected can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the kind of island escape you’re hoping for!

I had pretty decent data coverage while I was in San Blas, but it’s hardly the kind of place where you’d open your laptop and put on Netflix… let alone try to get some remote work in.

While you can definitely send a few texts or respond to the occasional email in certain parts of the islands, there’s never a guarantee, and the further out you go and the longer you stay in San Blas, the less and less coverage there will be.

Make of that what you want — again, it’s neither a good thing nor a bad thing, but just something to keep in mind.

Moving Onwards to Colombia

Whereas Bocas del Toro is a great gateway to Costa Rica, San Blas has an edge in another area — moving onwards to Colombia!

In fact, sailing via San Blas is one of the only ways you can get to Colombia without flying, since the land border (the Darién Gap) is too dangerous to travel.

The land crossing is marked by incredibly dangerous conditions for migrants and refugees who are trying to enter Panama by foot, as the region is also plagued with drug smugglers and those hoping to prey on migrants.

While that is the sad reality of the land border with Colombia, the border by sea is a lot more peaceful… like, it’s almost hard to believe how one border crossing is so difficult for some and one is so idyllic.

This sailboat transfer with San Blas Adventures brings you to Colombia in 4 idyllic days, spending 90% of your time exploring the islands (and just a total of 8 hours on the boat, since you get to sleep on the islands instead of on the boat!)

At $495 in low season (and more in high season) it’s certainly not a cheap transfer (a flight would most certainly be cheaper!), but it is a memorable way to cross the border.

How many people can say they crossed from North America into South America by sailboat?

Allison Green

Allison Green is a former teacher who has been travel blogging since 2016, visiting 75+ countries in total. She has a Masters in Teaching and a B.A. in English and Creative Writing. As a former educator, she merges her writing and educational experience to encourage ethical, sustainable travel. She has been a speaker at the World Travel Writers Conference and TBEX. Her writing, photography, and podcasting work has appeared in National Geographic, CNN Arabic, CBC Canada, and Forbes, amongst others. When she’s not on the road, she lives in Bangkok, Thailand.