San Blas charters: Guna rules, logistics, mistakes

A San Blas charter operates inside Guna Yala, a self-governing comarca where the Congreso General Guna and each island's saila set the rules on top of Panama's national paperwork. Your guests pay Guna fees, scuba and fishing are off limits, and the Congreso can close the islands to tourism at short notice. The operators who last work with Guna communities, not around them.

Who sets the rules in Guna Yala

Guna Yala runs along the Caribbean coast from the Gulf of San Blas to the Colombian border. It is governed by the Congreso General Guna and by each community's saila. National agencies still apply: the AMP for zarpes and vessel licences, Migración for passports, SENAN at sea, ATP for tourism registration. But on the islands the community decides, and its rules can change without notice.

The Congreso uses that power. On 1 February 2026 it suspended all maritime transport and tourism across most of the comarca for strong winds and high tides, letting only visitors already on the islands travel back. In June 2025 it announced a break with the central government and Noonsite advised cruisers to avoid clearing in at San Blas until offices reopened in July. Write a cancellation clause that covers a Congreso closure, not just weather; see cancellation and weather policies.

Guna fees and visitor rules

The Congreso does not publish a yacht fee schedule we could open online. Cruisers have reported a Congreso cruising fee of US$20 per boat and US$20 per non-resident person per month, paid at El Porvenir or to a visiting official, plus island anchoring fees of about US$10 per inhabited island group, and sometimes a landing fee per person. These are cruiser reports; pay what the official receipt says. The details are in San Blas permits, fees and rules.

Brief guests on the rules before they arrive:

• No scuba diving. Snorkelling is fine.
• No fishing and no taking coconuts; every palm has an owner.
• No lobster from 1 March to 30 June (ARAP's closed season).
• Ask before every photograph.
• Take all rubbish back to the mainland.

Carry cash in small US dollar bills. There are no ATMs or card payments in the islands.

Guna operators and local partnership

Most of the San Blas tourism economy is Guna-run: families manage the islands that take overnight guests, Guna boatmen run the lanchas from Cartí, and communities sell molas, fish and lobster direct. The Congreso has its own tourism office and has worked with the ATP on how yacht tourism should benefit the comarca.

An outside operator is expected to fit into that. In practice:

• Use Guna-run islands and lodging for shore time and overnights, and pay their fees.
• Hire Guna boatmen and guides for transfers and local knowledge of the reefs.
• Buy provisions and seafood locally, in season, at the price asked.
• Ask the saila before bringing a group ashore on an inhabited island.

We found no published Congreso rule that bars non-Guna operators outright, but the expectation of partnership is strong. Ask the Congreso's tourism office how they want an outside charter to work before you sell trips.

Sailing catamaran trips and the Cartagena crossing

Two sailing products dominate: multi-day island trips on a crewed catamaran or monohull, and the San Blas to Cartagena passage. The Cartagena trip usually takes about five days: two or three days in the islands, then an open-sea crossing of about 40 hours.

It must be legal on both sides of the border:

• In Panama, the boat needs authorization to carry paying passengers: an AMP passenger licence and ATP registration, or, for a foreign-flagged yacht, the special charter permit under Executive Decree 4 of 2025, granted only through a locally licensed charter company. See foreign-flagged boats and charter.
• Clearance out. Guests and crew clear Migración, and the boat needs an international zarpe. Noonsite (March 2025) reported no port captain at Porvenir, so the zarpe comes from Puerto Lindo, Colón or another port. See domestic and international zarpes.
• In Colombia, DIMAR stated in 2021 that foreign-flagged yachts may not offer commercial passenger service in Cartagena. Arrival, immigration and any onward charter must follow Colombian rules through an agent.

Many boats on this route are foreign-flagged. If you cannot show both countries' paperwork, do not sell the crossing.

Logistics: Cartí, Porvenir and the Caribbean coast

• Cartí by road. The road from El Llano on the Pan-American Highway is the only official land route into the comarca, about two hours from Panama City on a steep, potholed road. Guests usually go by 4x4 with a Guna driver; a Guna checkpoint collects an entry fee (confirm the current amount). From the Cartí port, lanchas run to the islands.
• El Porvenir. At the western end, with an airstrip and the Congreso and Migración offices behind the pier.
• By sea. Yachts base at Linton Bay or Puerto Lindo and sail east. See cruising Panama's Caribbean coast.

Provision in Panama City or Colón; supplies in the islands are thin. Arrive in good light, because the reefs claim yachts every season.

What operators get wrong

• Assuming one Congreso receipt covers every island.
• Landing groups on inhabited islands without asking the saila.
• Letting guests scuba, spearfish or pick coconuts.
• Selling the Cartagena crossing on a boat that is not authorized to carry passengers.
• No cash plan, and no clause for a Congreso closure.
• Running between reefs late in the day, with the sun ahead.

Your practical starting checklist

1. Get the national paperwork first: ATP registration, AMP passenger licence or Decree 4 charter permit, captain, insurance.
2. Contact the Congreso General Guna's tourism office and agree how your trips will work with local communities.
3. Line up Guna boatmen, island lodging and suppliers before you sell.
4. Pay the Congreso fee and each island's fee against printed receipts, in cash.
5. Brief guests: no scuba, no fishing, no coconuts, ask before photographs.
6. For Cartagena trips, plan Migración exit, the international zarpe and the Colombian agent before departure.
7. Write cancellation terms that cover a Congreso closure as well as weather.

Frequently asked questions

The next question to answer

The cruiser's guide to the Congreso fee and island fees. Read San Blas (Guna Yala) permits, fees and rules.

Linton, Portobelo and the run east to the islands. Read Cruising Panama's Caribbean coast.

Paperwork and crew planning for trips that sleep aboard. Read Overnight and multi-day charters.

Official resources

Use the relevant Panamanian authority for current requirements and fees. These resources are the next place to check; a practical recommendation is not an agency determination.

• Noonsite: Porvenir clearance (updated March 2025) (secondary, cruiser site) ↗
• Noonsite: San Blas and Bocas del Toro advisory, June–July 2025 (secondary, cruiser site) ↗
• La Estrella de Panamá: Congreso General Guna suspends maritime transport and tourism, Feb 2026 (secondary, press) ↗
• Gaceta Oficial: Decreto Ejecutivo 4 of 2025, nautical tourism (Art. 16, charter permits) ↗
• Radio Nacional de Colombia: DIMAR bars commercial passenger service on foreign yachts in Cartagena, 2021 (secondary, press) ↗
• Lonely Planet: sailing Panama to Colombia, Oct 2025 (secondary, travel press) ↗