Sailing Panama Colombia

Hi! We are a couple who want to go sailing from Panama to Colombia. We've seen many options to go to Cartagena, but we preffer to arrive to Capurgana. Do anyone know a boat or captain doing this cruise in the next days?

Thank you

Where are you in Panama?

If you use the SEARCH Function UPPER RIGHT, for a frequent poster here names Staurt333, he knows all the boats and info, give him a jingle at this Hostel, really nice fella.

[http://mamallena.com/]

There are links on his websites to boats.

Capurgana is not really an optimal place to go via sailboat to Colombia. Why? Because there is no immigration in Capurgana to stamp you in. To do that, you have to go to Turbo via lancha, which is further down the Golfo Darien. Only problem with Turbo is that it's an pretty nasty place to be. Get there too late, and you'll miss the last decent bus out, and you're stuck there for the night. My girlfriend is Colombian, and she says anyone who sets foot in Turbo is certifiably insane (her words).

My suggestion, as a yacht captain who sails these waters quite a bit, is stick with the Cartagena route if you are going to do the sail.

I would choose the Cartagena route, more options, besides Cartagena is a great place to spend time.

there is safe accommodations in turbo and while it´s not a desireable city it´s safe enough away from the port itself

So what you're saying is that there is this supposedly "safe" district of Turbo away from the "port"... Hmmm....

Ich don't think so. People get killed in Turbo on an almost daily basis, all over town. Not just "by the port". The abject poverty and violence are so out of control there, that the police have all but washed their hands of it. There is no sane reason to go to Turbo. Definitely not to save a few bucks, that's for sure.

Tony, Germ Uno thinks Puntarenas is a great beach in CR, so it figures.

the port is safe during the day...it´s just at nite that i wouldn´t wander alone...inspected a few boats for a lift up the caribe coast but none were up to even my low standards...but there were deals offered

...i´ve been thru turbo twice and never had a problem...but that doesn´t mean it isn´t a seedy town...because it is...but i have no qualms walking from my hotel to the only decent restaruant and a couple of blocks either way

...ok i´ll bite solobobo...i didn´t say puntarenas is a great beach...i say it´s a the number one destination for ticos.and a great place for engaging with them at play..it also has a very pretty malecon at nite...more than a kilometer of it and the longest muelle in central america to view it from

...now i´ll ask you for advice

i want to make one overnite stop between sixaola and puntarenas this march-april....what would the master guide of costa rica recommend..

andiamontony...i´ll be passing thru mompos from santa marta on march 2nd.... on my way to turbo with an overnite stop somewhere in between

...if you don´t hear from me after that people monitoring this dribble can assume you were right about turbo

Tell you what, why not just go straight to Turbo, and spend your holiday there? Why bother with Mompos and Santa Marta?? Those are just boring stops on the LP trail! Don't waste your time there, I'm sure there's lots to do in the "safe" part of town away from the port. Make the most of it.

¿why would i want to do that andiamotony?

...have you ever been to mompos?..or turbo?..or are you just relaying info that you received from someone else?

¿why would i want to do that andiamotony?

Well, you do seem to feel to have a point to prove by saying Turbo is so worth going to in order to prove whatever ridiculous point you think you're proving.

...have you ever been to mompos?..or turbo?..or are you just relaying info that you received from someone else?

Yeah, of course, I make all my travel plans based on third and fourth-hand rumor and conjecture. Doesn't everyone? :/

Been all over Colombia, senor, Mompos included. I spent more than 8 months last year in Colombia. Why would I want to go to Turbo if I KNOW that it's not worth going to? Does that make any sense whatsoever?Why do that when there are so many places in Colombia that ARE worth going to? If that's your mentality, why don't you go do a holiday in Somalia? Or Haiti? Or Iran?

This post has been removed because it may not have met our community guidelines.

i really don´t know where i said that turbo is a desireable place....i said it was a seedy town...but not to be afraid of passing thru it to or from carpurganá

...i´ve been both ways and never had a problem...and i plan on being getting to carpurganá by the 2nd week of march by way of turbo this time

...i´m an old seaman..been sailing blue water since the early 70s...been to much seedier ports than turbo...try buenaventura in 72.....puntarenas was never a problem..solohobo...then or now

...your travel brags don´t really impress me andia...i was probably sailing before you were born

Edited by: germuno

Well, Germuno, old salt that you are... guess you're drawn to seedy ports for some reason. By all means, keep frequenting them, the seedy ports need somebody to frequent them after all. :P

Something tells me that if you were indeed sailing before I was born, you're not doing much of it now. Guess old glories past are often the most memorable... arggghhhh... :P

And don't flatter yourself, ol' timer, I'm not on this forum to impress you, or anyone else for that matter. If there were more good information being given to people out here about Latin America, I'd probably not post at all. I guess people thanking me for giving them GOOD information is motivation enough to deal with the likes of posters of poor information. Not that I'm pointing fingers or naming names. ;)

Germuno and Tony need to meet in Puntarenas for a beer, or even better, Limon, thats SEEDY! Tell us where thy got $10 hookers and $1 rum.

Oh, you'll never catch me in Limon. Germuno? Different story I'm sure... ;)

have you ever been to limon tony..or are you relying on your girlfriend´s knowledge again like in turbo..

i say you and solohobo should get together and echange info on places you´re afraid to visit..and try to scare other people away from

what a couple of alarmist

tony..what´s the difference between good information...and GOOD information as you posted...

are you afraid of the route up the east coast of panama-colombia?...i think a ride on your boat would be a little more scary

I have been to Limon, not my kind of place at night, and its best a novice to the region steer clear, but I am sure Tony could hold his own there Germuno, and Puntarenas, in case you forgot.

puntarenas is not dangerous....it´s full of thieves but not violent muggers...the muelle is completely safe except for venerial diseases

I never said Puntarenas was dangerous, I only said it as its your favorite place...haha

Tamarindo has to have more thieves....

have you ever been to limon tony..or are you relying on your girlfriend´s knowledge again like in turbo..

Been to Limon many times Pops, and guess what? It's gotten worse with each visit. When I said you'll never catch me in Limon, I meant with my boat.

As for Turbo, I've been around the Darien Gulf enough and along that coast to know that it's not a place to go. It's impoverished, dangerous and downright stupid for anyone that has no business being there to be there. Especially when you consider that there are dozens of better places to go, and routes to take in Colombia. But go ahead and go, and enjoy yourself in the dreck. Knock yourself out.

tony..what´s the difference between good information...and GOOD information as you posted...

Huh???

are you afraid of the route up the east coast of panama-colombia?...i think a ride on your boat would be a little more scary

Yeah, perhaps it would be less scary going to Turbo with you on whatever sled you sailed on back in the 40's. :P

Afraid? I've done the trip at least a dozen times in the past six months. What are you missing? The fact is that there are several places along the Colombian coast that should be avoided, and Gulf of Darien is one of them. Why is that point so hard for you to take?

the reason why I moved to Panama City was because I wanted to go to Colombia. is not really safe cross the border by land
due to the presence of paramilitary guerrilla colombiana, so I had 2 options:

by air, according to the seasons, the price varies from 200 to $ 400

by sea, sailing with a price that ranges from 350 to $ 420, depending from which port you leaving and type of boat, almost always include
food, reservation costs, customs fees. Few captains include alcoholic beverages in the price but not all of them so you must to bring on board
your own bottles of rum beer wine etc ....

to organize the trip on a sailing boat I have being directed to 2 hostels in Panama City " Mamallena and Luna castle" but since I've start my travel
I never booked, so I preferred to go directly on the coast, specifically in Puerto Lindo, where there is the biggest
port for this kind of travel, to try to deal a good price and also to meet the captain and the boat before paying!
honestly I have heard many stories of wonderful travel, but also many captains or boat absolutely NOT able to carry tourist, giving so many problems as
sailing under alcohol effect, missed collisions with merchant ships, left the whole boat without food / water / diesel / electricity in the middle of the sea .... etc
The biggest problem was that Panama city is far away from the port and the hostels give No guarantee because they are just a link between the captains and the tourist, and
they never seen the boats (except in photos)

Arriving by bus to Puerto lindo I've been to the yacht club asks to speak to a captain, I have been addressed them at "Hostel wunderbar"
which takes care of everything. I met a german couple with an adorable little girl of 1 year and a half, the price was $ 11 with breakfast.
As in Panama city also organize trips to Colombia, but here the is a remarkable difference because you are already were you need to be for leaving, then
can physically see the boats and especially the day before you leave you have a meeting with the captain who tells you everything
you need to know, wunderbar owners have been sailing the same route for years, carrying tourists and what I was happy to know
because 'they are the captains to choose with whom to work in order to haven't nasty surprises during the crossing.

the whole trip was awesome, the captan Pedro was very funny also the others travellers, in total we was 8 people,
san blas islands are a kind of paradise and Cartagena a very modern city were you can find everything....