Crossing from South to Central America

Travelers wishing to cross between South and Central America have to find a way across the treacherous Darien Gap, a strip of dense jungle between Colombia and Panama which presents a tricky obstacle between the two continents.

There has never been a road through the Gap, and the area is currently only traversed by drug runners, FARC guerillas and a few courageous adventurers. Mere mortals luckily have a number of options which they can choose from in order to make the hop from Colombia to Panama, or vice versa.

One of the most popular is to take a sailboat from the Colombian port of Cartagena to Colon in Panama. The trip takes five days and travelers stop off in the beautiful San Blas islands en-route. Another seafaring option is the Ferry Xpress, a car and passenger ferry service introduced in November 2014, but it has suffered from problems with reliability.

A third option is to take a series of short trips by speedboat, starting in the Colombian port of Turbo. After a bumpy ride across choppy seas, travelers arrive at the picturesque village of Capurgana, which is not accessible by road, and from here can travel over the border into Panama, arriving at the tiny village of Puerto Obaldia before continuing the journey to Panama City (by plane) or Colon (by boat).

Those not interested in the romance of sea travel can, of course, take one of the numerous flights from Cartagena, Medellin or Bogota to Panama City and other destinations in Central America. Popular airlines include TACA, Copa and Avianca.