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[Pauly]

My girlfriend and I will be heading into Colombia from Ecuador in July. We´re hoping to get to Panama from there but flights are so expensive and we hear that the boarder crossing is pretty dodgy. We´ve heard that it´s possible to hop on a yatch from Cartegena into Panama. Does anyone have any advice about how we get into Panama from Colombia???

[andrea]

I met a couple of people who hopped on a yacht from Panama to Colombia. I think they just looked around at a yacht club and got lucky. I think your chances are best if you have some crewing experience.

Andrea

[travelerbill]

I took a flight from Panama City to Cartegena for $210 USD. Later, I found out I could've got one for $150. There's a specific airline that has better rates and it's called Aires.

I checked the price of taking a ride on a sailboat and it was basically about $150. That was the best price I found in the couple days I looked and there really wasn't much available anyway. Whether food is included or work on the boat is expected are questions to ask.

While the sailboat ride will save you paying for a bed for several nights, it takes several days and there's no guarantee on the weather or condition of the boat. While most people plan on working on the boat to pay their way, this isn't that easy to line up since most boat owners can do most of the sailing themselves or expect it from paying customers. Young women without boyfriends always seem to get those jobs anyway garsh darn it...

It's not an amusment ride either. I heard a dramatic horror story from an Israeli girl when I got to Cartegena. They made it halfway before the mast broke and there wasn't enough gas for the engines, so they limped back to shore and had to travel back to Panama City to catch flights to Colombia. They got half their sailboat money back and spent twice as much for the trip besides enduring terrible weather to the point of being life threatening. She stayed up all night on watch as well. ugh.

Regarding finding a boat, check at hostel bulletin boards or walk down to wherever the boats are docked and ask around. Lots of people do this trip, so it's almost a business unto itself.