I am going to travel through Panama in August and I have just read that a yellow fever vaccination is recommended for the areas Darien, San Blas and Chepo. As I am running out of time and still have to do other vaccinations, I probably wont be able to do it. However I would love to do a sailing trip to San Blas.
Is my perception wrong that beeing mostly on see, we probably wont have many mosquitoes anyway? What is your experience? Have you been vaccinated against yellow fever?
I am not aware of any travelers or tourist getting the YF shots to visit Panama in the 11 years I have been on this forum, in fact, its the first I ever heard of this.
You do have a slight risk of Malaria, and Dengue Fever in rainy season, but even still, unless you are in very remote areas, I would not worry about it.
Sand Fleas will probably be the biggest issue, along with sunburns and hangovers.
When I sailed in the San Blas some of the islands had more mosquitoes than others. On principle Yellow Fever Immunization is a good idea for traveling through many countries!
Hi,
I'm also confused about Panama. I'm currently in Costa Rica, looking at going to Panama for the weekend (Bocas, very west of the canal) and then have onward travel through Nicaragua, Guatamala, Belize and Mexico. I don't have a yellow fever vaccination or certificate. People I know have never been questioned on entry back to Costa Rica, so I'm not concerned about that. But in general, do countries which say they want a certificate from travellers 'coming from' yellow fever risk countries only look at the country you are arriving from or are they concerned with previous countries before that? I may get to Nicaragua just a few days after leaving Panama.
Thanks!