Five Anchorages Worth the Sail
Everything below is inside the two countries we work in every day. None of it requires an ocean crossing, a delivery crew or a month off — which is rather the point. This is what the coastline actually offers an owner based in Cartagena or Panama.
1. Islas del Rosario, Colombia
The obvious first answer, and still the right one. A short run southwest of Cartagena — close enough to leave after breakfast and be anchored over sand before midday. Coral, clear water and a chain of small islands to work your way along.
It sits inside the Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo National Natural Park, so park rules apply: anchor on sand, never on coral, and expect fees. It is also the anchorage where shallow draft pays for itself — a boat drawing two feet gets to sit somewhere a six-foot draft cannot.
2. Islas de San Bernardo, Colombia
Further south, and quieter for exactly that reason. Isla Múcura and Tintipán are the anchorages most owners head for — a longer leg from Cartagena than the Rosarios, which is what keeps the day-trip traffic away.
Same national park, same rules, noticeably fewer boats. This is the one to plan around a night aboard rather than an afternoon.
3. Santa Marta and the Tayrona coast, Colombia
Northeast of Cartagena, with the marina at Santa Marta as a natural base and the bays of the Tayrona coast beyond it — where the Sierra Nevada comes down to the water and the scenery stops looking Caribbean and starts looking alpine.
Two practical notes. Much of the coastline here is national park, and access to the bays is regulated — check current rules before you plan a night there. And the trades off La Guajira build hard from December to March; this stretch has a genuine reputation among cruisers, so pick your weather window rather than your calendar.
4. Guna Yala (San Blas), Panama
Hundreds of islands and cays on Panama’s Caribbean side, in the autonomous territory of the Guna people. It is the anchorage everyone in this region eventually describes to you at length, and it deserves it: reef-protected water, palm cays, and very little development.
It is also the one that needs the most preparation. A Panamanian cruising permit is required, the Guna General Congress levies its own fees per vessel and per person, and individual islands charge their own anchoring fees. Navigation is by eyeball and good light — the charting is imperfect and the reefs are not forgiving. Provision fully before you go.
5. Archipiélago de Las Perlas, Panama
The Pacific entry on this list, and a useful reminder that Panama gives you two oceans. Las Perlas lies about 45 nautical miles from Panama City — more than thirty islands and a hundred islets, with Contadora and Isla del Rey as the usual first stops.
Plan around the tide. Ranges here reach around five metres, which is nothing like the Caribbean side and changes everything practical: anchor scope, shore lines, when a beach landing is possible and when your tender is suddenly a long way from the water.
Planning notes
- Permits and fees. Colombian national park fees on the Rosario and San Bernardo islands; a cruising permit plus community and island fees in Guna Yala. Budget for them and carry cash.
- Weather windows. December to March brings the strongest trades on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. It is the best season ashore and the most demanding one afloat.
- Tides. Effectively tideless on the Caribbean side; up to about five metres in Panama’s Pacific.
- Draft. Shallow draft opens roughly twice as many anchorages in this region as it does in the Mediterranean.
- Provisioning. Cartagena, Santa Marta and Panama City are the last serious supermarkets. Everything past them is a long way from a chandlery.
For the boats that suit this kind of cruising best, see the art of slow cruising.
Plan a season with us
We help owners plan itineraries, berths and shore support across both coasts. Write to servicios@elite-yachts.com.
