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Going from Colombia to Panama (mostly) overland.

(This is an "approved guide", which means that we think it is quite accurate and up to date. Written December 2006.)

This guide was provided by Kevin of the Black Sheep Hostel in Medellin.

It is possible and fairly safe to cross the border to Panama (mostly) overland, as opposed to taking a plane or a boat from Cartagena. The area around the border is called the Darien Gap.

It is important to remember though that the inland area (the Darien Gap) around the border is dangerous due to guerilla and paramilitares presence, and we recommend strongly not to explore the inland area. The route below is safe though.

1. Take a bus to Turbo. Especially on this route, its safer to travel during the day, avoid the nightbus (which is fine on most Colombian roads but not this one). From Medellin buses depart at the caribe terminal each hour and cost 45,000 pesos ($20). Journey time is 9 hours. From Cartagena you have to go to Monteria and change there to get to Turbo.

2. Basic to expensive accomodation is available in the centre of Turbo. Residencia Turbo charges 7000 pesos (3) per person.

3. Take a boat to Capurgana. The harbour is a few minutes walk from Residencia Turbo. Boats depart at 9am, but arrive an hour before to get a ticket as boat gets full, and to check in with immigration. Dont get your exit stamp here. Price is 40,000 pesos ($18) to Carpugana. Ride can be bumpy and takes 2.5 hours. Put backpack in binliner as can get wet.

3. Capurgana. Get your exit stamp at the DAS in Carpugana by the harbour. Accomodation is available here from 7,000 pesos ($3) per person. Hotel Uvita on the harbour is very nice for ($5). Nice resorty town to stay in for a few days.

4. Take a launch over the border. In Carpugana launches to Puerto Obaldia cost $30. Price is for the whole boat, regardless if theres 1 or 4 people. Not many locals continuing on to Puerto Olbaldia so look out for other travellers if you are travelling alone.

5. Puerto Olbaldia. At Puerto Olbaldia (the town is a military base) get your entry stamp at immigration. You will be asked for an exit ticket but can get around that by saying you have an e-ticket and havent printed it out yet. Basic accomodation is available at Pension Conde for $5, and food is limited. Nothing to see or do here, but you may get stuck waiting for the next flight. Flights get booked so arrive a few days before in Puerto Olbaldia to make a reservation at the office there, or make a reservation at the Panama city office.

6. Flight to Panama city. From Puerto Olbaldia Aeroperlas flies to Panama city at 9am Wednesday and Sunday. Cost is $57. Journey time is 1 hour. Again you have to go through immigration at the airport, but can blag it.

The same trip can be done the other way round:

1. From Panama city Aeroperlas flies to Puerto Olbaldia at 9am Wednesday and Sunday. Cost is $57. Journey time is 1 hour. Reservations should be made in advance.

2. At Puerto Olbaldia (the town is a military base) get your exit stamp at immigration. In Puerto Obaldia launches to Carpugana cost $30.

3. Get your colombian entry stamp at the DAS in Carpugana by the harbour.

4. Boats to Turbo depart at 7.30am, but arrive an hour before to get a ticket as boat gets full. Price is 40,000 pesos ($18) to Carpugana.

5. From Turbo buses depart hourly and arrive at the caribe terminal in Medellin. Travel is safe during the day.

Below information provided by a guest of the Black Sheep Hostel in Medellin, James. August, 2006

The bus to Turbo cost 49 000 pesos. It took about 8 hours. The bus was stopped and searched twice by the army and we arrived after dark.

Turbo doesnt have a terminal, and according to locals on the bus there are no cabs besides the occassional one that is dropping someone off from another town. So it is important to have some idea of where you are going. A kid named Elgin took me to the Residencias Turbo for a little change.

Residencias Turbo is an absolute dire dump. I am talking post apocalyptic type conditions here. Easily the worst place I have stayed. And, for 12000 pesos a night it was not even that cheap.

There is apparently a boat direct from Turbo to Puerto Obaldia but I did not inquire further becuase the Das office was closed anyways so I couldnt get a stamp.

The boat to Capurgana is a decent speedboat with life jackets, padded seats, and a rain canopy. It cost 44 000 pesos. Capurgana is really nice. I was stuck there for a while because the DAS office guy was taking a nap or something.

It should be noted that it is posted at the DAS office that to exit to Panama you need proof of Yellow Fever vaccination and sufficient funds. But the guy didnt ask me anything. I was asked to show funds in Panama City when I got off the plane and the guy just looked at my credit card for two seconds and that was good enough.

The boat to Puerto Obaldia cost me 25 000 pesos and took under an hour.

Puerto Obaldia is bad. Just bad. Safe, but it is barely a town, and I am very lucky there was a plane the next day. Planes go Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. There is one hotel that is not too bad, besides the rats. It is called Pension Cande, and a room costs five dollars.

The Immigration official is called Mr Bass, and he is an idiot. He was playing baseball all saturday (the day I arrived) and the next day made me wait over an hour while he was standing around the beer fridge with his buddies at the corner store shooting the shit. He stamped me through quick enough without any questions really, besides where I was going to stay. I had to buy a tourist card in Panama city at the airport. I paid $20, which I believe is not the proper price.

The plane to Panama City cost $58.72 with tax.

If you are going to do this route, you should make sure you change your money to some American in Medellin. I had a little bit that got me by, but I had to use my visa to pay for the plane ticket (you don't pay until you get to Panama City). Pesos will not be accepted after Capurgana, and the rate I got to change them in Panama City was a disgrace to the good people of Colombia.

The whole thing took two nights. It is very important to time it so that you don't have to wait too long for a plane or you will cry it is so boring in Puerto Obaldia. It would have been nicer to spend the second night in Capurgana and then come over on the boat in the morning before the plane, which leaves at 10, and was not full. The same guys who took me over the day before were dropping people off before the plane.

Note that another option to go from Colombia to Panama is to take a sailing boat from Cartagena. Or you can just fly from any major city in Colombia.

By Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) on Dec 22, 2006, 10:57 in Travel tips.

adrimm (☼Travelguide writer) says on Dec 23, 2006, 01:25:

Great post I saw a similar-sounding route posted in the LP TT, but it is very buried.. great that you have it here (good detail too)-it is easier to find here.

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lampltr says on Feb 19, 2007, 16:32:

Suggestions for travel by relative with medical condition Hey all, appreciate all your posts, information & suggestions. My dilemma as with my wife's father. His doctors do not recommend him flying due to his serious heart problem and altitude (Never heard of that one). They don't even recommed surgery as he is this fragile, however he is sick with guilt for coming back to Colombia from Panama on vacation last month & has very strong desires to go back perminately. We have no problem with this & have everything set up for him. Our dilemma is how to complete his wishes without jeopardizing his health. In a way I would rather make 1 quick non-stop flight for him, but I have my sub-conscience telling me different. I thought about by water, but this is out of the question (too risky, & no medical if needed). This is a great idea here above, but then again we have the time factor of traveling. Am open to suggestions, thank you!

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el flaco says on Feb 21, 2007, 01:55:

http://wimvdm.blogspot.com/2006/02/from-tolu-colombia-to-puntarenas-costa.html

This is an account of the trip done in February 2006 with photos. It has some good advice.

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treedoc says on Feb 21, 2007, 13:40:

How about shooting straight up the coast by pangas or launches all the way to Cartagena? Has anybody done that trip? Appreciate some input! Gracias......

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Mr. Hollywood says on Feb 21, 2007, 14:03:

lampltr No WAY should a guy with a bad heart in fragile condition be making the trip from Panama to Colombia any way except for airplane. And that's why airplanes are pressurized. I'm sure the statistical risk of a 1 hour flight from Panama City to Colombia is infinately less than travelling by boat.

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lampltr says on Mar 10, 2007, 16:43:

Traveling With a Medical Condition Mr. Hollywood, appreciate the imput, had the same idea in the back of my mind but truly desired others opinions. Again thank you, will have a long productive talk wth the wife.

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kat081 says on Apr 14, 2007, 19:54:

From Cartagena We just finished this trip, but starting in Cartagena. We got a minivan from Cartagena bus station for 37,000 (the bus is 30,000) to Monteria. These seem to go pretty regularly, as soon as they fill up. It took about 4 hours. Then we got a 4wd from Monteria to Turbo for 35,000, which took about another 4 hours. The road is pretty awful for most of the way. There is a bus for that part as well, but we got into Monteria at 4ish and we were keen to get to Turbo before it got too late.

There are heaps of cheap hotels on the main drag in Turbo which, while not exactly the Hilton, get the job done. We paid 12,000 for a double with a baño and tv.

Capurgana is pretty much a tourist resort town, but is still quite nice. You can snorkel. There is also the option of staying one town down the coast at Sapzurro, which is apparently about 1 street long. Some other people recommended that to us (muy tranquilo and you could camp there if you had a tent or hammock - you couldn't really in Capurgana without paying about the same for a campground as a hotel room).

Puerto Obaldia is also not as bad as described above. There's definitely not too much doing, and one night was enough, but it has some charm, the people are friendly and its kind of cool to see the army bunkers all over the place. I would recommend spending a night or at least a few hours there.

You should also book the flight to Panama City before you leave Colombia. The Aeroperlas number is on their website and we paid with an international Master Card over the phone a couple of days before. Our flight was full and already booked up when we arrived in Puerto Obaldia the day before. The flight 2 days later was full as well.

We didn't have any problems with customs / immigration at Capurgana (for the exit stamp) or Puerto Obaldia. It might have helped that we arrived on a weekday and with a big stack of Colombians in a boat. They searched our stuff (kind of half heartedly) in both Puerto Obaldia and Panama City. But they didn't make us buy a tourist card (which is apparently $5 anyway).

Also, if you want to go to the San Blas islands, you can arrange in Panama City to go and stay with a Kuna Family for $20 transport and $25 a night, all inclusive. Ask at Zuly's Hostel.

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slehmann says on May 15, 2007, 11:14:

Round Trip to La Miel My wife and I completed the round trip to La Miel, Panama last week. We rented a Hyundai Accent in Barranquilla and drove via Monteria to Turbo. The road from San Juan de Uraba to Turbo is absolutely awful - took 3 hours to cover 100 km - there is one 10 km spot near Necocli that is paved - the rest is terrible. On the return trip we just about got stuck, as did several other large trucks due to mud - this is a bad road. Once arrived in Turbo, we splurged for the night at the Hotel Castilla de Oro - figured we deserved it after the experience on the road. Great hotel with air, a beautiful pool, and parking for the car for 65.000. There are plenty of other less expensive options and Turbo didn't seem near as bad as I have read elsewhere. Boat was scheduled to leave Turbo for Capurgana at 8:30a.m. but didn't leave until 9:30a.m. and was 45.000. This particular boat made several stops at smaller outposts along the coast, apparently the boat will stop anywhere if there is a passenger. I actually liked the stops, very interesting. The boat also stops at a military checkpoint close to Turbo both inbound and outbound. The ride was a bit rough, but the coastline was georgeous. Once arrived in Capurgana, we HIKED to Sapzurro - about one and a half hours through the rainforest - very pretty and very muddy. Trail was fairly straightforward to follow, but you'll need to ask a couple times to make sure you're on the right path. Sapzurro is a wonderful little town with freindly folks - stayed with "Chila la Paisa" in a nice cabana by the beach for 40.000 with breakfast. The trail to La Miel in Panama is in very good shape with wooden steps up over the hill. 30 minutes to La Miel. There was one Panamanian soldier and one Colombian soldier at the border. Asked to see our passports and wrote our names in a book. Not much to do in La Miel, but there is a beautiful beach and we played a game of bingo with the locals. You cannot officially enter Panama in La Miel - all formalities are done in Puerto Obaldia. FYI, in both Capurgana and Sapzurro the generators that supply power are turned off late at night - it was quite hot without the fan running. Spent the second night in Capurgana, boats return to Turbo at 7:30a.m. and cost 44.000. Great trip.

Sean Lehmann

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adrimm (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 19, 2007, 11:11:

Slehmann Fabulous trip report! Thanks for sharing :)

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