Mi nombre es Rober de Argentina, me pueden seguir en instagram como @pedaleandopositivo, y quería compartir con ustedes la información y mi experiencia para cruzar con la bicicleta a Panamá desde Necoclí Colombia.

Primero, muy agradecido a Colombia y a la generosidad y amabilidad que destaca a los colombianos, me hicieron sentir un "Berraco", palabra que no voy a olvidar nunca.

•De Necoclí a Capurgana cuesta $85.000 colombianos (hay dos empresas de transporte con los precios marcados) y la tasa portuaria que es de $4700 colombianos. La bicicleta no te la quieren llevar, pero accedieron y me cobraron $30.000 colombianos.

•De Capurgana a Puerto Obaldía pague pasaje en un bote $80.000 incluida la bicicleta. Podes conversar sobre el precio pero nadie lo hace por menos. 

(Si se pueden abastecer en Necoclí con comida e insumos mejor, los precios en Capurgana y en Puerto Obaldía son muy caro).

•Migraciones en Puerto Obaldía primero te hacen un controles biométricos, luego de dos horas pasas a sellar pasaporte por 90 días, te piden demostrar solvencia de us$ 500, en caso de no poder demostrar solvencia te deportan inmediatamente a Colombia.

Puerto Obaldía es un pueblito muy chiquito, hay una panadería frente al parquecito, ahí está Miguel y chachi (excelente personas dispuestas a ayudar a viajeros) ahí les prestan wifi y los pueden asesorar.

•De Puerto Obaldía debes ir hasta Puerto Cartí en embarcación, no hay otra forma.

Los precios varían entre u$100  a  u$$130, podes llegar el 6 horas de forma rápida, o en mi caso espere un barquito carguero que demoro 9 días u$s100 (incluida la bicicleta y tres comidas diarias)  lleva hamaca para el bote ya que no hay donde dormir. El carguero para en todas las islas de la Comunidades Kuna Ayala, altamente recomendable para conocer su cultura.

•En Puerto Cartí la comunidad Kuna te cobran u$25 solo por transitar por la región (esto te lo cobran a unos 15 km del puerto en el control policial que está en la ruta). Para llegar a la Panamericana son 42 km difíciles empinados y no hay tiendas de ningún tipo. 

La travesía es una gran experiencia, cada uno evaluará si es mas fácil hacerlo en avión o de esta manera. Cualquier ayuda que necesiten sobre info  me piden contactar en Instagram por mensaje privado y con mucho gusto le diré lo que se. 

Les paso algunas fotos a modo informativo.

Saludos para todos y buenas rutas.

Rober - Instagram: pedaleandopositivo

Al equipo de Vibico Red de apoyo, mis felicitaciones por su organización. Un gran saludo.

Perfil de Instagram

Por: Lucca de @hermanodasamericas

*Darien Gap - My experience South to North* 

Hello everyone, how’s it going? I’m leaving here my report about the DARIÉN GAP, since many people still have questions about it (even after reading the group’s awesome doc), and like me, keep searching for the most up-to-date information.

I did the crossing from South to North and here was my route:

Necoclí → Capurganá (07/04/2025) – 95,000 COP (ticket) + 30,000 (bike) = 125,000 COP ~~ 30 USD

Tourist boat, departs every day at 8 a.m., fixed price, 2.5-hour trip, large and comfortable boat.

Capurganá → Puerto Obaldía (07/04/2025) – 30 USD

When I arrived in Capurganá, many people were shouting “Puerto Obaldía.” I picked the guy with the friendliest face and went to talk to him. Initially, the price was 40 USD to go alone with my bike. Since we were two people, I negotiated and paid 30 USD each. I got his contact and will share it here with you. Super nice guy, small boat, 45-minute ride. He even accompanied me to migration, watched my bike while I checked in, and then we went to the boat together.

Puerto Obaldía

Upon arrival, you need to check in with the legal police, and then head to migration. At migration, they didn’t ask for anything, didn’t charge anything, only asked how much cash I had, how much in my bank account, how many days I would stay in Panama, and where I planned to exit. Super easy.

I had lunch at a restaurant across from the migration office for 5 USD, and there I met a captain who was also having lunch. Initially, he wanted to charge 130 USD per person, but in the end we agreed on 100 USD to go from Puerto Obaldía to Palenque. And here's some new and important info:

1 - I had never heard of this route before, and I don’t know if anyone else has done it. It’s slightly north of Cartí, and you avoid the infamous climbs since the terrain is flatter until reaching the main highway that connects Colón to Panama City. You’ll ride about 60 km on secondary roads, all paved, beautiful, and with little traffic. No long climbs, but LOTS of short, steep ones (welcome to Central America!).

We camped 30 km after Palenque at a gas station under construction, with the local police. We even got to shower. The police recommended we camp there, saying it wasn’t very safe to wild camp. I felt safe on the road, but I think they’re just not used to cyclists there.

Why Palenque? Apparently, migrants returning from the U.S. are now catching boats from that village instead of Cartí. Most boats head that way and don’t stop in Cartí. Which brings me to the second point:

2 - After talking to the captain at lunch, I went to the town bakery where there’s free Wi-Fi and the owner is very kind. He asked the captain’s price and said his friend could do the same trip for 70/80 USD. Charging 130 was too much. The issue was that his friend would only leave in 3 days, and the 130 USD boat was leaving the next day. I negotiated with the 130 USD captain and we agreed on 100 USD for the trip.

However, I got the bakery owner’s contact—Alexander—and you can message him directly. He’ll let you know when his friend’s boat is leaving (cheaper and trustworthy). Alexander is building a new restaurant and let us sleep under the roof by the sea, with access to the bakery’s shower, Wi-Fi, and bathroom (they’re on opposite sides of the town square—paradise!).

Seriously, this guy is an angel. Message him, plan your trip, and buy some bread and coffee from him. Puerto Obaldía is very safe and chill overall. You can camp almost anywhere and people are super friendly (way better than I expected), so staying a few days if you need to wait for a boat isn’t a bad idea.

Final leg:

Puerto Obaldía → Palenque (08/04/2025) – 100 USD

8 hours by boat, nearly 300 km across the sea. Some parts were calm, others had waves and the boat jumped a lot. Make sure to secure your bike properly to prevent it from bouncing around. No seawater got inside the boat, so the bikes stayed dry the whole time.

You’ll arrive exhausted, but we still managed to ride 30 km to the gas station. In the first village there are well-stocked markets and decent prices (I haven’t seen the rest of Panama yet). There’s police in the next village and I think you can camp safely near them.

Summary:

Two travel days, about 3 hours of boat on the first day (passport stamped by noon), and 8 hours on the second day (also departed at 8 a.m.).

Total cost: 160 USD

I felt safe and at ease the whole time. The boat jumped a lot occasionally but it was not as scary as I expected. The most intense part was the small boat from Capurganá to Obaldía, but it was a short ride.

Finally, I learned from talking to locals that due to Donald Trump’s policies, many people are returning to Venezuela, so boats are leaving nearly every day. They’re cheaper now because they return north empty to pick up migrants. So, crossing from Colombia to Panama is quite easy right now. I can’t say the same for the opposite direction.

Anyway, if you have any questions, just message me. A lot of people helped me on this journey and I’d be happy to help you too (if I take too long to reply, just message me again—I often get lost on WhatsApp).

mas informacion por el perfil de instagram