El Porvenir Airport Closed

Hello Jordan,

i am in contact with a travel agency in Panama City.

They tould me that the airport is still closed.

I dont know exactly but thats what i have heard...

May i ask you what for a sailing trip you have looked through?
I will be there in Oktober and not sure if i should go to a sailing trip or an island stay...

You could get in touch with Air Panama in order to know the info you request (or you could request a flight to El Porvenir through their web and see what's their answer).

Thanks for the info. I was thinking of trying to book a flight with Air Panama, and then see what happens, but I'm worried they may take my money but not my booking ;) I will try to get in touch with AIr Panama and will post their response on the forum so everyone knows what the deal is.

From what I can tell, it seems like the airport has been closed for over a year.

Thanks!

I doubt theres much chance of Air Panama taking your money, theres not even much chance that they will answer your email!! They don´t accept online bookings and you can only send them an email request and they have a bad habit of not responding. As far as we´re aware the airport is still closed though.

Hi
I'm in panama now and i can confirm that Porvenir airport is closed till Sept 1.
Anyway there are some options to get to SB.
One is to go by road. I know that when you arrange and acco in SB they will tell you the name of a guy who will bring you to SB for 50 dollars per way. In the Allbrook airport I ve talked with some Kunas, they flight with air panama to others airports in the area, for instance Nombre de Dios that is open.

sorry for my english hope this is helpful

English is fine, but the information not so good! Nombre de Dios isn´t in San Blas and there isn´t an airport there. You might mean Corazon de Jesus. There are still flights to those places but make sure you have your accommodation booked in advance if you go there. Where the airports are are mostly the more expensive options and not so many of them.

Getting to Carti is pretty easy by car, but $50 is certainly on the high side for the price. At Mamallena or at Panama Travel Unlimited we arrange it for $30 as well as arranging accommodation.

Hi stuart,
yep you are right I meant Corazon de Jesus!

anyway it is possible to book online with air panama. I did for my flight to David.
maybe is this possible only for specific routes?
ciao

Hello,

I hope I'm not too late for your inquiry.

El Porvenir still seems to be closed. Corazon de Jesus is a good airport to fly to for a visit to the San Blas. Lanchas can bring you anywhere, just negotiate with the Kunas.

If you are looking to get to the San Blas (combination jeep and lancha) over land, I suggest you use Lam Tours. The person who "runs the place" is Judi and she is a very responsible and reliable (tough combination to find in Panama, let alone Kuna Yala :-)) person. Phone number (in Panama): 608-89000 She is busy with the transportation in the morning, so afternoons are better to call and talk to her.

The jeep picks you up at any hotel/hostel in Panama City and drops you off at Carti for $25 per person, one way. There is a $6 p.p. Kuna Yala visitor's fee and another $3 port fee. My husband and I just did all this yesterday to get back to our boat (home). The cost of a lancha to your hotel/island of choice depends on the distance. Chichimi is a wonderful place to stay for a few days and the boat trip here costs $15 one way. Judi and Lam Tours also organize accommodation on the islands.

Hope this helps!

Liesbet
SV Irie
www.itsirie.com
Currently in the West Lemmons (San Blas)

Or I would suggest using Hostel Mamallena (www.mamallena.com) or Panama Travel Unlimited (www.panamatravelunlimited.com). Both can arrange transport and a variety of different priced options for islands and accommodation in San Blas.