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Guna Yala Region
San Blas Islands
Things to do in San Blas Islands
Isla Perro
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Isla Perro

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Isla Perro
4.5
230
#1 of 6 things to do in San Blas Islands
Islands • Beaches • Nature & Wildlife Areas
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3 within 10 kms
San Blas Islands
1,145
1.8 kmIslands
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54
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4.5
230 reviews
Excellent
169
Very good
40
Average
13
Poor
4
Terrible
4
OldPee
Boston, MA81 contributions
Once in a lifetime experience
Dec 2021
Our group of 3 families, 11 people, spent 1 night on Isla Perro. We tried to research an overnight trip to San Blas prior to our trip, but it was hard to find reliable information and we were pretty anxious about what we'd find. I'm pleased to report it all panned out. Spending the night here is a once in a lifetime experience. If you're waffling about going to San Blas, stop waffling and go! There are huge hassles but it's worth it. We booked through a tour company, both the transportation to San Blas and the overnight stay. My strong recommendation is to pay the $50/person to have them drive you rather than try to do it yourself. The road is theoretically paved but full of potholes and steep inclines and you'll be on the potholed part for at least an hour and you'll wreck your rental car if it isn't 4-wheel drive or high clearance ... beautiful scenery though. The "port" of carti is a dirty chaotic mess and we appreciated the tour company shepherding us from the car to the awaiting boat. The boat ride takes 45mins and can be a bit of a roller coaster but we didn't get as much sea-spray as we anticipated. There are dozens of small islands and we visited only 2 and stayed on 1, so I can only comment about Isla Perro. The island itself is maybe 5 acres, covered in palm trees and sand. The beach is classic powdery soft "caribbean" sand, with crystal clear water throughout. Lots of other islands around so views are scenic. Palm trees go right to the edge of the water so plenty of shade. There's a cool sunken boat for snorkeling and some coral and fish surrounding the island, but I wouldn't come here expecting fantastic snorkeling. There were only 3 thatch roof huts on the island and a couple camping tents, so maybe 15 people staying overnight. The huts are right next to the beach and have spectacular views, particularly during sunset/sunrise. The beds were surprisingly clean and comfortable. They have a generator on the island for lights/fans and they jerry-rigged running water for each of the bathrooms in the huts. Very rustic but comfortable. There's a large thatch roof open air dining/communal area which was lovely. Meals/drinks are included in the price and were "ok". We had lobster for dinner and half of us loved the lobster and half didn't. If you opt for fish or chicken, it's fried. You can also get plantains or rice, both of which were good. Drinks outside of meals were available for only $2 each. Don't day trip here. There were a few dozen day trippers until about 3pm and the island was significantly more chaotic and the staff seemed overwhelmed. But once they left, the 15 of us had the island to ourselves and it was amazing. The guna staff were very friendly however many didn't speak english and they weren't in a rush to get things done. For example, if they said "dinner is at 7", we'd all show up at 7 and sit for 20 minutes in the dining hall waiting for someone to start serving and it wasn't until we tracked down one of the staff that they'd even start cooking. Same goes for tours to other islands, where we'd show up at the appointed time and wait and wait and eventually track down someone in charge. So don't expect a traditional hotel experience at all. This is an "adventure" and we were all so blown away by the scenery and uniqueness of the experience that we gladly tolerated the inconveniences. We could have stopped at a guna village for a short stop on the way back to Carti but opted to skip it because we had to get back to Panama City by 6pm, so I can't comment on that.
Written 2 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Jerry
20 contributions
Heaven
Mar 2020 • Solo
Wonderful people and super friendly people. But on the weekends its over run with day trippers who drink slot. There is no diving here but there is snorkeling around a ship wreck. The water is crystal clear
Written 10 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Marcus M
2 contributions
Beautiful island
Sep 2019
I love this island. The shipwreck is right off the beach and a short swim away, perfect for snorkeling
Written 13 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Michelle Serra
3 contributions
Beautiful tropical island
Sep 2019
What a beautiful island. Exactly how you imagine it when you see island paradise magazines. The shipwreck was fun to snorkel on
Written 13 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Radu D
Bucharest, Romania87 contributions
Small laid back island
Feb 2019
A busy but charming and laid back island with an awesome beach, cold beer and sunken ship that provides a bit of fun while snorkeling. It's quite a fun place but nothing extraordinary.
Written 18 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Maxbirsa
Panama City, Panama114 contributions
Tropical paradise, please treat with maximum respect!
May 2019 • Couples
I have been to this wonderful place two times, being the last one just few days ago.
This place has one of the most amazing snorkeling spots in the archipelago, without going to far. It is highly recommended that you bring with you your own snorkeling equipment and my recommendation is to be extremely careful in not damaging the fragile corals (some species are extremely delicate!!) and avoid touching anything underwater, unfortunately you can already see a lot of broken corals all around. If you see any shells or starfish, try not to touch them. More and more tourist are visiting this spots, let's make an effort to keep them pristine for future generations. It is also fundamental not to spread around any trash (bottles, plastic, etc.). Kuna people also need to be educated as they tend to drink and throw cans into the sea, which is really painful to see. I made a short video available on YouTube, just search there for "San Blas Panama 18 05 2019", it is the first result you will get, I hope you will enjoy it.
Written 20 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
jf&ep
Cupertino, CA47 contributions
Pristine beaches. Wonderful get away.
Apr 2019 • Family
Highly recommended to visit for a day trip or overnight camping.

There are dozens of islands as part of San Blas. I think the island we visited was call "little dog island".

The beaches were pristine. The water was warm and clear. The island is privately owned and the owner takes care of it. They have fresh water sinks and regular bathrooms.

Great value too. The boat ride plus lobster lunch was $55/person. We also had to pay $110 road/province fee for our car and six people.

The only challenge is that it takes two hours to drive to the dock from Panama City. The island is about 45 minutes by boat ride. Make sure you bring your passports.
Written 28 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Lynda P
San Roque, Spain60 contributions
Pristine well kept Island with good snorkeling
Mar 2019 • Friends
This Island charges $3 but the snorkeling was the best we saw , there is a sunken ship which has become a coral reef .
Clean Island with basic accommodation
Written 22 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Bosnian1956
Chicago, IL34 contributions
Worth visiting
Feb 2019 • Couples
We are staying in Panama (Cerro Azul) for a month. A friend recommended we visit San Blas and arranged the trip for us to stay overnight on Perro island. Cost of the trip, boat ride, lodging, food was $105/person. We are renting an SUV (not 4WD) and we were not sure if we would be allowed in Guna territory but had no problems getting in. Passport is required and checked at the border. We payed $20/person plus $5 for the car. We did have Spanish speaking person with us and I think that helped. Road is challenging. Roller coaster with a lot of potholes.
Boat ride was a little rough and Certi port is not the cleanest place (especially the toilet if you need to use it).
Arrived to Perro Island, took off our flip flops, put the bathing suits on and that is really all we needed during our stay. Water is wonderfully clear and warm. Snorkeling is OK. We snorkeled in Maldives and Tahiti and this is not at that level but it was nice. We had little wooden cabin that was sufficient and clean. Communal bathroom was rather old but clean. The whole island is kept clean. Food leaves a lot to be desired. We made a mistake and ordered mixed seafood the first day and that was a gray mush, barely eatable. After that we had fish, fried of course as that is the only way they prepare it.
During the day island can get a little crowded because of the daily tours but after 4pm there were only about 10 people on the island. It was wonderfully quiet, soft breeze, sound of the ocean waves.... Wonderful!
Island has generator so we could charge our phones and tablets. And we had light at night. Water in the showers is cold but that was ok. Bring snacks and drinks if you want anything except beer, soda or water.
Our trip also included a trip to sunken island with star fish, and Fregata island where locals sell their hand made souvenirs.
We debated if we should stay another night and we were told that price would be $50/ person but w/o food. I think it would be nice to stay one more night but we needed to get back.
Written 15 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
berni507
Panama City, Panama122 contributions
a beautiful iland but too touristic. and they charge you to desembark!
Jan 2019 • Couples
we were sailing from remote acnchorage with teh SanBlasSailing catamaran skipped with captain Nino and we stopped at isal perro (achutupu in Guna) : nice spot but lots of backpackers and huts even tants ... and the guy is looking just for money. we did find a nice and quet anchorage a bit south and did enjoy the aera : Nino is really great and chareting a boat is really a privilege!
Written 20 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Isla Perro | San Blas Islands | UPDATED October 2022 Top Tips Before You Go (with Photos) - Tripadvisor

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