Transit, clear in, cruise.
Panama, done properly.
Panama is where the Caribbean and the Pacific meet, and the Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) decides how a small boat gets from one to the other. This hub covers the canal transit, clearing in and out with Migración, the AMP, Aduanas and SENAN, both cruising grounds, and the passages that bring boats here from Florida and send them on to the Pacific.
Canal transit for small boats
The ACP treats anything under 125 ft as a 'handline' vessel: online admeasurement, a toll by length band, four line handlers, four 125-ft lines and a canal advisor on board. This chapter puts the steps, costs and the agent question in order.
How to transit the Panama Canal in a yacht: step by step
Boats up to 125 ft transit the Panama Canal as handlines: register in ACP's ASEM portal, pay toll and buffer, carry 4 line handlers and 4 lines.
Panama Canal transit cost for yachts and small boats
A yacht under 65 ft pays the ACP $3,975: $2,130 toll, $120 inspection, $165 security, $500 scheduling fee and a $1,060 refundable buffer.
Panama Canal agent vs DIY: what an agent actually does
You don't need an agent to transit the Panama Canal. Agents file in VUMPA, cover the buffer with a bank guarantee and arrange handlers and gear.
Panama Canal admeasurement and inspection for yachts
Panama Canal admeasurement for small craft is now online in ASEM: declare dimensions and projections, upload photos, get approval in about 24 hours.
Panama Canal line handlers, 125-ft lines and fenders
Every handline transit needs a skipper plus four line handlers over 16, four 125-ft lines (7/8 to 1½ in) and at least four fenders. How it works.
Panama Canal transit day for small boats: what to expect
A small-boat canal transit covers about 80 km, three lock sets, Gatún Lake and the Culebra Cut. Southbound takes two days, northbound often one.
Panama Canal small-boat scheduling and wait times
Small boats get a canal date only after arrival, approval and payment. Waits are longest Jan–Apr. How scheduling works and what delays it.
Panama Canal for catamarans: rafting and center chamber
Catamarans pay the same Panama Canal toll as monohulls of equal length. How center-chamber, nested, sidewall and tug lockages work, and rafting.
Boating around the Balboa canal entrance in a small boat
Small-boat rules at the Pacific canal entrance: keep out of the fairway, call Flamenco Signal on VHF 12 to cross, never go north of the bridge.
Shelter Bay Marina (Colón): canal staging, yard, costs
Shelter Bay Marina at Fort Sherman is the Caribbean-side base for a Panama Canal transit: about 200 slips, a 100-ton Travelift, dry storage and a shuttle to Colón.
La Playita de Amador: anchorage, dinghy dock, small marina
La Playita de Amador: the cruiser anchorage and small marina inside the Amador Causeway. Dinghy dock, water, fuel by reservation, VHF 9, who uses it.
Flamenco Marina, Amador: slips, fuel, yard, how it works
Flamenco Marina on the Amador Causeway is Panama City's main full-service marina: 260+ slips to 200 ft, fuel dock, 100-ton Travelift, VHF 10. How it works.
Arrival clearance & the cruising permit
Clearing into Panama by boat involves Migración, the AMP port captain, Aduanas, health quarantine and often a SENAN check, then a cruising permit (permiso de navegación) and a zarpe each time you move between ports. Here is who does what and in which order.
Arriving in Panama by boat: how to clear in
Clear into Panama at a port of entry: fly the Q flag, see Migración, then the AMP port captain for your cruising permit; Aduanas and health where posted.
Panama cruising permit (permiso de navegación)
Panama's cruising permit is issued by the AMP port captain to foreign yachts that stay and cruise: who needs it, what it costs, validity, renewal.
Zarpe in Panama: domestic vs international clearance
A zarpe is the AMP port captain's clearance to sail to a named port. You need an international zarpe to leave Panama, sometimes a domestic one.
Panama ports of entry for yachts, by coast
Where yachts clear into Panama: Colón/Shelter Bay, Puerto Lindo, Porvenir, Puerto Obaldía, Bocas (Caribbean); Balboa and Chiriquí (Pacific).
Panama visa rules for yacht skippers and crew
Yacht crew arriving in Panama are stamped in by Migración as visitors. Stay limits by nationality, crew changes, flying in to join a boat, overstays.
Leaving Panama by boat: exit zarpe and stamps
Leave Panama by yacht: stamp everyone out at Migración, then get the international zarpe from the AMP port captain. Where, when, and San Blas exits.
Foreign yacht in Panama: temporary vs full import
A foreign-flag yacht stays in Panama on temporary admission tied to its cruising permit. Selling or chartering locally means full import via Aduanas.
Marine offices and contacts in Panama City
Where each agency sits in Panama City and what it does: AMP at Diablo Heights, ACP at Balboa, SENAN on the causeway, ATP on Avenida Balboa, Migración.
Shelter Bay Marina (Colón): canal staging, yard, costs
Shelter Bay Marina at Fort Sherman is the Caribbean-side base for a Panama Canal transit: about 200 slips, a 100-ton Travelift, dry storage and a shuttle to Colón.
La Playita de Amador: anchorage, dinghy dock, small marina
La Playita de Amador: the cruiser anchorage and small marina inside the Amador Causeway. Dinghy dock, water, fuel by reservation, VHF 9, who uses it.
Cruising grounds: Pacific & Caribbean
Two coasts that behave nothing alike: 4–6 m tides, Las Perlas and Coiba on the Pacific; near-zero tide, San Blas (Guna Yala, with its own comarca fees), Portobelo and Bocas on the Caribbean. Seasons, anchorages, fuel and permits for each.
Cruising Panama's Pacific coast: Las Perlas to Chiriquí
Panama's Pacific coast by boat: Las Perlas, the Punta Mala rounding, Coiba (MiAmbiente fee paid ahead) and Chiriquí. Distances, seasons, fuel, zarpes.
Cruising Panama's Caribbean coast: Colón to San Blas
Panama's Caribbean coast by boat: Shelter Bay, Portobelo, Linton, Isla Grande, San Blas and Bocas del Toro. Winter trades and swell, reefs, fuel, security.
San Blas (Guna Yala) by boat: permits, fees and rules
San Blas by boat: the Guna Congreso cruising fee (paid at Porvenir), per-island anchoring fees, no scuba, no taking coconuts, lobster closures, etiquette.
Las Perlas anchorages: Contadora, Saboga, Isla del Rey
Pearl Islands anchorages island by island: Contadora, Pacheca, Mogo Mogo, Chapera, Saboga, Pedro González, San José, Isla del Rey. Holding, swell, tides.
Panama Pacific tides and currents: planning for 5–6 m
Panama's Pacific tide runs up to about 5.7 m on springs, the Caribbean under 0.6 m. How to read ACP tide tables and plan anchorages, ramps and channels.
Panama boating seasons: dry vs rainy, swell, hurricanes
Panama's dry season (mid-Dec–Apr) brings northerly trades and Caribbean swell; the rainy season (May–Nov) squalls and lightning. Hurricanes are rare.
Fuel, water, parts and provisioning in Panama for cruisers
Where cruisers get fuel, water, food and parts in Panama: fuel docks by region, why marina diesel costs more than the capped road price, and supermarkets.
Las Perlas from Panama City: distance, fuel, anchorages
Amador to Contadora is about 35 nm. Carry fuel for the round trip plus 20%, leave early, pick anchorages by season; no reliable fuel dock in the islands.
Taboga from Panama City: private boat or ferry?
Taboga is about 8 nm from Amador: 25 minutes by private boat or 30 on the Taboga Express or Calypso ferry. Anchoring, moorings, landing, swell, crowds.
Bahía de Panamá boating guide: tides, channel, anchorages
Boating in Bahía de Panamá: anchorages, the canal channel and ship anchorages, 4–6 m tides, afternoon wind, the Ramsar wetland, whales Jul–Oct, SENAN.
Linton Bay Marina (Portobelo): Caribbean cruiser base
Linton Bay Marina at Puerto Lindo has about 80 slips, 16 moorings and a 160-ton Travelift, the largest in Panama. Who it suits, services, costs and contact.
Panamarina (Portobelo): moorings, yard and services
Panamarina near Portobelo is a mooring field and storage yard, not a dock marina: screw moorings in 2–4 m, a boatyard, dry storage, a restaurant and published per-foot rates.
Bocas Marina (Bocas del Toro): slips, liveaboards, yard
Bocas Marina (Bocas Yacht Club and Marina) on Isla Colón has up to 100 slips for boats 20–120 ft, diesel, 3 m depth and a liveaboard community a dinghy ride from Bocas Town.
Boca Chica & Pedregal marinas, Chiriquí: fishing bases
Boca Chica, Isla Boca Brava and Pedregal (David): western Panama's sportfishing bases for Hannibal Bank and Coiba. Marinas, fuel, clearance, access.
Passages to and from Panama
Florida to Panama, Panama to the Galápagos and the South Pacific, rallies like the Panama Posse, and delivery captains. Timing around the Caribbean winter swell and the Pacific dry-season northerlies, plus the paperwork at each end.
Sailing from Florida to Panama: routes, seasons, clearing
Miami to Colón is about 1,200–1,450 nm depending on route. Leave after hurricane season, arrive Jan–Mar, and clear in at Colón or Bocas on arrival.
Panama to the Galápagos by boat: timing and paperwork
Panama to San Cristóbal is about 850–900 nm. Leave Feb–Apr, apply for the Galápagos autógrafo via an agent 60 days ahead, and clean the hull before you go.
Panama Posse and cruiser rallies: are they worth it?
The Panama Posse is a private cruising rally from Mexico through Central America to Panama and beyond. What it offers, other rallies, and how to decide.
Hiring a delivery captain to or from Panama
Hire a delivery captain your insurer approves in writing, with a USCG Master or RYA Yachtmaster, a written contract and a clear fee basis. What to check.
Shelter Bay Marina (Colón): canal staging, yard, costs
Shelter Bay Marina at Fort Sherman is the Caribbean-side base for a Panama Canal transit: about 200 slips, a 100-ton Travelift, dry storage and a shuttle to Colón.
Las Perlas from Panama City: distance, fuel, anchorages
Amador to Contadora is about 35 nm. Carry fuel for the round trip plus 20%, leave early, pick anchorages by season; no reliable fuel dock in the islands.