Panama to Colombia | Crossing Borders..

After probably our quickest visit to a country yet on this trip (partly down to how expensive both Costa Rica & Panama are, but also because we just couldn't wait to get to Colombia!) it was time to leave not only Panama, but it was also time to say adios to Central America!

Now as with any border there is a decision to make to how to cross and where to cross (hence the reason for these blogs..), but this was a big decision to make as there are a few ways to cross this border.. the dangerous way, the expensive/sea sickness way and the fast/cheaper way. Okay, I am just chucking in the sea sickness because I am ridiculously jealous of anyone who chose this way, it's one of my only regrets of the whole trip!

The Dangerous way..

This would be to cross the border through the Guerrilla jungle that is the Darien Gap! This is not advised unless you want to, well basically disappear..

The expensive/sea sickness way..

Also known as my biggest regret.. This is pretty much the most common way that travellers choose and is very widely spoken about throughout Central America. This is travelling by sailboat via paradise itself, the San Blas Islands. There are lots of different boat options to choose from here, from the ridiculously expensive to the expensive (yep, its still going to cost you). There are quite a few comparison sites to help you decide which one to go for, such as bluesailing.com. If you are willing to pay out for this, just make sure that you pick a reputable captain/sailboat to go with! There are a few horror stories of untrustworthy captains, and basically anyone with a boat has now decided to jump on the bandwagon to earn a bit of money (a lot of money, yep still touchy on this). Most of these trips will be five days long, three days on the islands and two days on the open water sailing to Cartagena, Colombia, which will set you back between $500-$700. Although, there are options for doing 3/4 day journeys to the coastal town of Capurgana, which will cost you between $400-$600.

The fast/cheaper way..

Yeah, you guessed it, this was our option. Frantically flicking through Sky Scanner for cheap flights to anywhere in Colombia we stumbled across a relatively cheap flight to Bogota for just under $100! This was our first flight since landing in Cancun, Mexico, but we just couldn't justify parting with the money for the alternatives.. Now, I know that this was a pretty good find and as you are probably aware, these flights can be an awful lot more expensive, but you will find that the majority are affordable and more importantly, considerably cheaper/safer than the other options! The other bonus to this if you are coming to Panama from Costa Rica and you decide on this option early enough (which we didn't, have a read of our previous border crossing..), you can use these flight tickets as your proof of travel. We have heard mixed messages from other travellers about showing a sailboat ticket as proof, so do look into this if you are planning to sail!

Onward travel from Colombia?..

Yeah that's right, another border, another proof of onward travel needed to enter that we didn't have. Colombia was one of the countries that we had been looking forward to the most and for that reason, we really didn't have a clue how long we would spend there! Now there are a few options of how to get proof of onward travel.. 1. Buy a cheap flight/bus ticket that you don't plan to use (Potential waste of money).

2. Buy a flight/bus ticket that you want to use and set this as your time-frame to leave the country (Restricts your time and flexibility).

3. Use a dodgy website to get a false onward travel ticket. (Risky, wouldn't recommend!)

4. Edit an old flight/bus ticket to look like a future ticket. (Risky, but could work..)

5. Buy a flight from an airline that offers a full refund if you cancel within a set period of time.

You probably guessed it, we chose option 5 and it worked! Just before we boarded our flight to Bogota I bought a return flight with United Airlines, who at the time of purchase had an option to cancel flights and get a full refund within 24 hours. So once we had landed in Bogota and passed through security, I cancelled the flight and a full refund came through around 7 days later, perfect! We now had 90 days to spend in Colombia with the flexibility to move on when are ready to leave.

Just remember to fully research this, one of these options will be most suited to you and your situation, so have a look into it first as you could potentially lose out on a bit of money just to enter!

Now, in terms of exchanging up your unused currency this is a little bit different than our previous border crossings, you can try to visit a local money exchange shop in Panama City or exchange your money at either airport! As ever, it is always good have a rough idea of how much you should be expecting in return. We use the XE currency exchange app to work out the exchange rates for each currency.

Journey Time: 25 minute taxi ride & a 1 hour 30 minute (ish) flight.

Flight Company: Copa Airlines.

Price: $97

Exit & Entry Fee: No exit or entry fee.

Visa: A visa is not required for most nationalities for stays of up to 90 days. Do check that your nationality applies to this as there are some that are needed and they come at a price!

Border Efficiency: Very straight forward, airport border crossing.