Keep in mind, this list is from our past experiences, being transitioned from SailWinterlude and updated to include last winter’s Exumas adventures. It doesn’t include our “bucket list” for new adventures!
Scroll down to see the individual cruising spots listed – I’ll be finishing links to more information on each cruising favorite over the next few months, so check back for clickable links to a post dedicated to each favorite.
- Sapzurro, Colombia
- Vivorillos Cayes, Honduras
- Esnadup, Kuna Yala (San Blas Islands), Panama
- Guanaja, Bay Islands, Honduras
- Providencia, Colombia
- Rio Chagres, Panama
- Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize
- Exuma Land & Sea Park, Exumas, Bahamas
- Achutupu, Kuna Yala (San Blas Islands), Panama
- Portobelo, Panama
1. Sapzurro, Colombia
Sapzurro is nestled in the jungle at the border of Panama and Colombia. The harbor is small and the anchorage rolly, but the people are some of the friendliest and happiest we’ve found anywhere.
It’s one of the more isolated places we’ve visited and since the FARC revolutionaries were known to be in the hills, the Colombian Marines, the Coast Guard and the local militia were concerned about our safety. They advised us on where to hike and what to do while we spent a week in their paradise. We hiked to the waterfall, around the rugged coastline outside the harbor and up the mountain to the border. Homemade “ice cream” from a local entrepreneur topped off every hike.
Along with sv Kristiana, we were the only boats anchored in the harbor for most of the week. Later in the week, the owner of one of the Cartagena boatyards came with his family to spend a long weekend at his vacation home on the beach. We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving feast and small village hospitality.
IF YOU GO: Sapzurro is a very small village – bring all your provisions, although you may be able to pick up some fresh veggies from a local stand or Colombian trading boat. Also, be prepared for a rolly anchorage – we bridled our boat into the swell since the current seemed to keep us sideways to the swell and rocky rolly is not my favorite way to try to sleep!
2. Vivorillos Cayes
Anchoring behind a reef and sandbar stretching for miles between a tiny fish camp island and a bird refuge, the Vivorillos Cayes felt like anchoring at the end of the earth. With no protection from wind from due North to Southwest, we were happy that the tradewinds kept pumping the wind from the East and NE! This tiny anchorage is a traditional stopover on the way from the Bay Islands of Honduras around the corner of Honduras/Nicaragua down to Panama. The fishing and snorkeling were the best we’ve had anywhere. We were there with our 3 buddy boats since it’s not the safest passage to undertake alone and enjoyed “Conch 101” when one of the boats bought pounds and pounds of cleaned conch from local fishermen – none of us had cooked conch before! We enjoyed cracked conch, conch salad and conch fritters … along with our martinis!
3. Esnadup, San Blas Islands, Panama
Esnadup is one of our favorite western San Blas anchorages. There are several spots to anchor and we like them all. The snorkeling, especially along the front wall of the reef, and fishing are superb. We frequently see eagle rays cruising the wall and dolphins surprised us one trip by coming up from under us rather quickly. A bit heart stopping until we realized they were dolphins and not sharks! A cruiser frequently conducts yoga on one of the little islands.
4. Guanaja, Bay Islands, Honduras
Guanaja, the easternmost of the Bay Islands off the Honduran coastline was battered badly by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, but it’s rebuilt since and El Bight is the anchorage where cruisers wait for weather to make the easterly hop against the tradewinds along the Honduran coast to head to Panama. El Bight is well protected from most wind directions and can easily weather a norther, welcome news for cruisers! And Josh Cay and the surrounding tiny cays off the barrier reef make for fun snorkeling and adventuring. The north shore of Guanaja was reportedly where Columbus ventured and Michael’s Rock is spectacular.
5. Providencia, Colombia
Providencia (and San Andres too) were delightful surprises on our way to Panama! They are tiny islands off the coast of Nicaragua that belong to Colombia, go figure! Providencia is the furthest north, San Andres 50 miles farther south. We stopped at both on our way down, only Providencia on our way back. We liked Providencia better because San Andres is a little like Hawaii is for US mainlanders for Colombia mainlanders – a bit too touristy for our taste, but still wonderful – best watercolors we’ve seen anywhere! Providencia is still mostly a fishing village connected to the little island of Santa Catalina by a colorful footbridge. Motorscooters whiz through the main town and around the island. Pirates used to make use of Providencia’s wonderful natural harbor to hide … from more than just weather, I’m guessing! Some of the original cannons used to defend the island from Captain Morgan are still there. Split Mountain above, is sometimes called Captain Morgan’s a$$. There’s also a cool rock formation called Captain Morgan’s Head above some wonderful snorkeling. The people are some of the friendliest in the Caribbean, different than mainlanders like in Cartagena (altho’ they’re friendly too), you can find different provisions – San Andres is the best spot for provisions, altho’ we had no trouble in Providencia – keep in mind we were well stocked before we left the Bay Islands.
6. Rio Chagres, Panama
Gatun Locks, Panama Canal
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7. Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize
There are several anchorage possibilities, the first year, we anchored at Half Moon Caye and also at Long Caye. The real attraction is underwater and it requires some eyeball navigation in shallow coral reef strewn waters to enjoy the area. The famous Blue Hole is here, although not as much an attraction for us as more accomplished divers.
My Christmas Turtle!
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Anchored Behind Half Moon Caye
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8. Exuma Land & Sea Park, Exumas, Bahamas
We were skeptical about whether we would really like the Exumas since they seemed like much more commercialized than the Western Caribbean. Boy were we wrong! We loved the Exumas and particularly the Exumas Land & Sea Park. In fact, the reason we didn’t make it to Georgetown was because David couldn’t get me to leave the Land & Sea Park! Particularly the North Mooring Field at Warderick Wells. We hiked the entire island, climbed BooBoo Hill to leave our “sacrifice”, hung out on the beach with new friends, snorkeled, dinghy explored and generally had a blast. The only bad thing was that we had too little time. Someday we’ll go back and dedicate a few months to exploring this wonderful chain and beyond!
9. Achutupu, San Blas Islands, Panama
Achutupu (no I didn’t sneeze) is one of the more traditional Kuna islands in the far eastern San Blas. Not visited by many cruisers, Achutupu is trying to hang onto their Kuna tradition.
Even before the anchor was down, the wooden cayucos began approaching WL and Kristiana. The people were friendly without being too pesky as can be the case in some of the more western San Blas islands. The quality of the molas in Achutupu was true artwork at a better price than any we found anywhere in the San Blas!
We found it fascinating that the underwater water supply pipe to this island village had broken but the Kuna were industriously at work extending the runway on their airstrip, rather than fixing the water line. Consequently every morning, the ladies would paddle to the mainland and fill every container available with fresh water before they started their day. Personally, I’d have been getting that water line fixed!
10. Portobelo, Panama
History comes alive in Portobelo, the ancient city the Spanish used to hoard their riches and transport them back to Spain. Needless to say, pirates abounded and the town was ruled by many different cultures at different times. Today, Portobelo is a great anchorage, unless you have an tradewinds cranking when the swell from the harbor opening can become untenable, so plan accordingly! We were there in April and it was perfect. We colored Easter Eggs under an ancient fort, enjoyed the Semana Santa festivities along with several dinghy drifts down nearby creeks and rivers.
Exploring the ancient forts that surround Portobelo can take days and if the seas are calm, snorkeling outside can provide the opportunity to spot ancient cannons still underwater! Portobelo is also the home of the famous “Black Christ” (legend found by googling) festival held every October.
Nice piece of article, first-handed knowledge of this locality, very valuable for cruisers! Stay save and have fair winds…