Expert: Juan Carlos Valencia - 1/16/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello Juan Carlos,
a friend and i are planning a trip from Canada to South America and we want to spend some time in Columbia. Our biggest dilema at the moment seems to be how to get from Panama to Columbia. I read your answer to a somebody elses question which helps a lot. Do you have any idea how we can get a hold of a shipping company that does the fairy service between the two countries (to make a reservation)? How often do the ships do that route? We don't want to spend days waiting for the next ship to go. How long does a crossing take aproximately? Thanks for your help.
Ken

ANSWER: Hey Ken,

your question has been posted many times before. I´ll answer it again but browse past answers to obtain additional details.

There are some boats transporting goods from Colon (Panama) to Cartagena, or from Panama to Buenaventura, but there´s no regular service, you really have to look for options.

The hostels in Panama City have billboards with offers of sailboat transportation to Colombia, but there´s no guarantee that you will find one when you need it. If you dont have tight travel arrangements, you may be able to wait until a boat becomes available, but then, you may be spending more money than if you buy the plane ticket (200 U.S dollars one-way).

I was in Panama in early 2007 and came back with a list of e-mails from boat owners offering the trip. The list may be outdated but here it is:

svpico@yahoo.com
tarona28@yahoo.se
zaoezao@yahoo.com
solvelamar2000@yahoo.com

You may find newer options by checking the billboards at the Panama City hostels. Try calling Casa de Carmen (phone 2634366) or the Voyager International Hostel (2605913).

These boats are small sailboats that will take a couple of days to travel each way. As for larger ships I really dont know, but I would not recommend it, it may not be safe.

Nevertheless, if you insist on traveling by boat, I would suggest you take the caribbean route. The weather would be nicer, the arrival port will be safer.

I hope that this helps

Saludos !

JC


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We will be travelling on our own vehicle - i guess that's a possibility too?

Answer
Ken,

this is also a very frequent question here, so browse past answers to get even more details. Here´s the basic information that you are looking for:

There´s no land road from Panama to South America.The colombian border with Panama follows an imaginary line in a marvelous but thick and unsurmountable rainforest.This area is amazingly beautiful but very dangerous because of guerrilla, paramilitaries and drug smugler activity. Do not even think of crossing this area by land. Tourists have been kidnapped or even killed there in recent years.

So no matter where you are going, you will have to find a transportation system for your car in order to continue your journey to South america. The ferry service between Colon and Cartagena lasted just a few years and it was interrupted long ago.

So how do you cross from Colombia to Panama? I´ve heard of cargo ships going from Colon (Panama) to Cartagena but I do not know the price for that nor the schedules (if there are any). You may also try to arrange a cargo ship going from Colon to the small port of Tolu (Colombia) or maybe to another port called Turbo (nearer to Medellin) but these are smaller towns and there may be even fewer ships making the journey. Safety conditions in Turbo used to be bad. Cartagena is a big city and a great tourist magnet so try going there.

There´s another option in the pacific: the port of Buenaventura (near Cali). You may be able to find a ship that moves your car from Panama city to Buenaventura but I would not recommed this option as Buenaventura is facing big security problems. Crime is incredibly high there at the moment.

I would say that you should be able to find a ship that moves your car from Panama (Colon) to Cartagena (Colombia). Stay there for a few days (it`s great place) and then travel in daytime from Cartagena to Medellin or Bogota by car. It`s a long journey but a nice one.

Safety concerns around Colombia continue, but things are better than at the turn of the century. I think that you may be able to travel safely in daytime using the main roads, especially the Pan American Highway, but keep asking how things are while you travel south. Do not deviate much from Panamericana road and never travel at night.

I would recommend that you travel through Colombia as suggested, being very careful and never driving at night. Keep yourself on the main roads and try to drive on long weekends (with holidays) when a lot of locals are also traveling and the army and the police are specially deployed to take care of travelers.

I hope that this helps !

Saludos

JCV