Yacht charter in Panama

01 · Overview

Yacht charter in Panama

Panama's Caribbean coast has two very different sailing areas. The San Blas islands, governed by the Guna people, are hundreds of tiny palm islands with reefs. Bocas del Toro, near Costa Rica, has rainforest, mangroves and small towns. Nearly every boat on our desk here is crewed, as local knowledge of the reefs matters.

02 · The sailing grounds

The sailing grounds

Most of the fleet is in the San Blas, with a smaller group at Bocas del Toro and a base at Linton Bay on the mainland coast. See each area's page for routes and the local rules.

Sailing areas on our desk:

San Blas: 7 boats

Bocas del Toro: 2 boats

03 · Season and weather

Season and weather

The San Blas are drier and windier from December to April. Bocas del Toro is wet most of the year, with September, October, February and March often drier.

04 · The fleet on our desk

The fleet on our desk

We list 12 boats in Panama from 4 charter companies. The fleet is catamarans (83%) and sailing yachts (17%). Half the boats were built in 2011 or later, and the typical boat is about 52 ft long with 4 cabins. The most common models here are the Lagoon 570, Elba 45 and Ipanema 58.

05 · Ways to charter

Ways to charter

Boats in Panama offer these kinds of charter (a boat can offer more than one):

Crewed (11 boats): a skipper and crew come with the boat, often with a cook or host.

Day charter (3 boats): a single day on the water, usually with crew.

Bareboat (1 boat): you skipper the boat yourself. The skipper needs a licence the operator accepts, and usually a VHF radio certificate.

06 · What a week costs

What a week costs

These prices are for the boat for seven nights, taken from the 2027 offers we hold in November 2026.

The cheapest tenth of boats here start from about €5,300 a week, and the top tenth from about €14,900.

Fuel, marina fees, the final clean and any skipper are usually extra on bareboat yachts; crewed boats include their crew. Each boat page shows what its operator includes and the live price for your dates.

07 · Bases and start days

Bases and start days

Boats start from San Blas (7 boats), Bocas del Toro (2 boats), Isla Aguja Cabins San Blas (2 boats) and Linton Bay Marina (1 boat). Many boats can start on any day of the week, with Thursday the most common.

08 · Getting there

Getting there

Fly to Panama City. The San Blas are a two- to three-hour 4x4 drive and a boat ride away; Bocas del Toro is a one-hour domestic flight.