Sail San Blas.

Most charts still say San Blas. The Guna call it Guna Yala, and it is theirs: an autonomous comarca of roughly 350 low sand-and-palm islands strung along 100 miles of Panama's Caribbean coast. There is no marina bar, no beach club, no chandlery. You anchor in 4–8m over white sand, and a dugout ulu comes alongside with crab or a mola to sell.

What that buys you is short sailing and long swimming. Hops between anchorages run 3–10nm, so you are rarely under way more than two hours. What it costs you is convenience: no provisioning, no cash machines, thin mobile signal, fresh water rationed to what the boat carries or makes. Come for the water and the Guna, not for the nightlife.

The western cays are the classic week. Chichime, Cayos Limones, the East Holandés — the reef pool sailors call the Swimming Pool — then Coco Bandero and Green Island. Reef along the north side takes the swell; behind it the water flattens off and stays that way. Sixty miles further east it gets quieter: Isla Tigre, Playón Chico, Mamitupu, and Snug Harbour at Puerto Escocés.

Navigation is eyeball work. Reefs are unmarked, electronic charts are offset by a few hundred metres in places, and the Bauhaus cruising guide with satellite overlays is what people actually steer by. We move between 10:00 and 15:00 with the sun high and behind us, and we do not sail these reefs after dark.

Nothing here is a marina in the European sense. We use two points on the coast for joining, leaving and topping up: San Blas and Corazón de Jesús. Corazón de Jesús sits beside Narganá, joined by a footbridge — small shops, cold beer, the most reliable signal in the comarca, and a dock a tender can lie against.

Everywhere else the harbour is a patch of sand behind a reef and you go ashore in the dinghy. Two local rules worth knowing before you land: every coconut on every island is owned, so leave them where they lie, and ask before photographing people. Molas are worth buying; haggling hard over them is not a good look.

Panama sits below the hurricane belt, so no named storms. The trades blow north-east.

December to March is the sailing season proper: 15–25 knots, gusting 30 in the Christmas winds around late December and January, dry air, clear light for reef work, north swell breaking on the outer reefs. Boats reef early and the crossings are quick.

May to November is the rainy season: 5–15 knots, more motoring, flat anchorages, warm water, and afternoon squalls that clear inside an hour. Better half of the year for snorkelling, worse half for sailing, and the sandflies bite at dusk. April and November are the swing months and often the best compromise.

Crewed only, and our boats sail these islands all year rather than migrating for a season. Skipper and host aboard, whole boat or by the cabin. There is no bareboat in Guna Yala and we would not offer it — unmarked reefs, offset charts, no shoreside support, and the nearest travel-lift a long day's sail west. A grounding here is a salvage job, not a phone call.

Crew handle comarca entry, per-island landing fees, provisioning out of Panama City and the daily route. Most boats are catamarans in the 12–15m range; shallow draught counts for more than waterline in this archipelago.

Ranges for a week aboard, in euros:

By the cabin, two sharing: roughly €1,100–€1,900 per person, typically covering berth, meals aboard and fuel. Confirm inclusions boat by boat.

Whole crewed catamaran: roughly €7,000–€16,000, depending on size, cabin count and season.

Exact boats and dates are price on request — send us the week on WhatsApp and we will come back with what is free.

Budget on top: flights to Panama City, the transfer in, drinks ashore, crew tip, and cash in small US-dollar notes for comarca entry and the landing fees the Guna collect per person, per island. Nowhere in the archipelago takes cards.

Day 1 — Board late morning in the western cays. 5nm to Chichime: two islands, a reef pass, a wreck on the north side. Swim, briefing, early night.

Day 2 — 6nm to Cayos Limones. Sheltered water, easy snorkelling off the dinghy, ulus alongside with crab in the afternoon.

Day 3 — 10nm east to the East Holandés and the Swimming Pool. The outer reef is the best snorkelling of the week. Stay two nights if the trades are up.

Day 4 — 8nm to Coco Bandero. Four islands, sand, reef behind you, nothing else.

Day 5 — 12nm on toward Green Island and Naguargandup, then east in the afternoon.

Day 6 — Narganá and Corazón de Jesús. Footbridge, shops, signal, a beer someone else poured. Resupply and laundry.

Day 7 — Back west with the trades on the quarter, last swim, anchor within tender range of the transfer point.

Run it in reverse when the wind sits north of east. Beating 25 miles east into 25 knots is a delivery, not a holiday.

Fly into Panama City (Tocumen) and sleep in the city — almost every onward transfer leaves before dawn.

From there, two ways in. A 4x4 to the Cartí road head, 2.5–3 hours on a steep, hairpinned road with a comarca checkpoint on the way, then a panga out to the boat. Or a light aircraft from Albrook, 30–40 minutes to one of the coastal airstrips, which is what we use for the eastern anchorages.

Bring a passport, cash in small notes, reef shoes and a dry bag; the panga ride is wet. Leave a night in Panama City before your international flight home, because weather cancels the small planes. Message us on WhatsApp with your dates and party size.

Right for swimmers, snorkellers and anyone happy to be off-grid for a week. Less right for people who want a marina, a restaurant strip or a reliable data signal.