April 2012
Option1. Take the Boat - cheap
$25 to Carti (San blas)
$50 to estupo (much close to Colombia)
$? Puerto Obaldia (panama)
Getting to Colombia, your goal is to get to Puerto Obaldia to get your passport stamped and take the boat to go to Capurgana (Colombia)
Go to miramar find cargo boats. Bus will drop you off Near the dock. It's a very small town. Boat people are a bit crazy but they are not all bad.
You will see cargo boats loading the goods for kuna people. Every boat goes to different locations so ask. Look for the captain or someone who is second in command because captain is usually in Colon handling logistics.
San Blas is the famous beautiful islands with world class beaches. You can be dropped off at an island that nobody lives and camp there for days.
Downside is that you have to look for another boat from there to get to Puerto Obaldia. Everything costs more once you leave the mainland and don't have much bargaining power for the price to get to Puerto Obaldia. Direct boat to puerto obaldia is rare. If you have no luck finding a boat, you can go to another dock in miramar front of the Chinese grocery store (ocean king). There is a small cargo boat which operates by captain brazillio. They charge $50 to get to estupo but it takes six days. It's a tiny crappy boat. There are four workers. They have a kitchen and bathroom on the boat. Paying $50 would include food for six days. But I didn't take this boat.
You can also find cargo boats from
Colon and Portobelo. It seems that you find captains in Colon but take the boat else where. I waited at Portobelo at the dock but only found expensive sail boat.
Option2 sailboat $450 - $550
There are number of boats operate this through mamallena hostel(panama city) captain jacks hostel (Portobelo). There are also sail boats waiting to take travelers at the dock of Portobelo. Sailboat is clean, beautiful nice, visit all San Blas islands, provide food and housing. Take you to the border. You will find many foreigners who speak English who are from US and Europe.
Option3 fly to Puerto Obaldia $90
I chose this option. One hour flight from Marcos Gelabert airport (not tocumen) through Air Panama
http://www.flyairpanama.com
Usually it's booked out for two to three weeks so you need to make a reservation. From puerto obaldia, take a boat to Capurgana (Colombia) then boat to Turbo.
So I arrive at the airport to check in. Receptionist tells me that flight schedule changed and it's going to depart at 4pm instead of 10:15am . I am slightly annoyed but after traveling for five months in Latin America, gotten used to disorganization. Still they should have sent me an email or a call. The more funny thing happen at around 11am. I decided to just stay in airport coffee shop directly across from reception desk and receptionist tells me that now plane will depart at noon. WTF, what if I left the airport and not come back till 2:30pm as she had instructed me when I arrived. Then I would have completely missed a plane.
I passed through security check at 12:40pm. It's 1:13pm and still have not departed yet.
Another Passenger told me that they received an email from the airline.
After arriving in Puerto Obaldia. I directly went to the immigration to get my passport stamped. when you leave the airport, go one block over, make a right (can only make a right), then you will see immigration office on your left, its a block or two away from the beach. Need a paper copy of the passport because they dont have a computer with internet, so they collect paper copy of the passport.
I tried to hike to Sapzurro, but I was stopped by the military officer. Boat dock to Capurgana is near the immigracion.
$15 from Obaldia to Capurgana
$32 or $55,000 pesos to go to Turbo from Capurgana. There is only one boat per day 7:30 in the morning. Immigration office in Capurgana opens at 9am.
When i arrived in turbo, there were bunch of people waiting to take passengers for the next popular touristic destination
Option 4 go through Darien
I have heard of people taking four wheel drive but don't don't understand because lots of area are filled with Trees and swamp everywhere.
I have researched this option.
1. Go to Meteti, take the boat that goes toward Caribe. Once the river ends hike toward nearest town pito
2. Go to Yaviza, take the boat toward Limon o Payita. There are no roads as far as I know but river works as road and they are every where just look at the map. Rumor has it that dangerous guerilla will kidnap you but when I talked to locals, they were clueless. When I talk to military personnel, he mentioned but without full confidence.
One day I will cross the border safely and write a book about it. There is a book from a guy who was captured for nine months and released. No ransom.
http://megan-lyles.suite101.com/sailing-from-panama-to-colombia-a52030
