The Comarca de Kuna Yala consists of a strip of mountainous coast and a nearby archipelago that stretch 226 kilometers down the eastern Caribbean side of the isthmus to the Colombian border.

Nearly all the islands are within five kilometers of the mainland. Only a handful of the inhabited ones have much in the way of visitor facilities. Few tourists visit the coast, which is home primarily to Kuna farms and dense tropical forest.

The islands most popular with and accessible to visitors are organized into five clusters in this chapter. It’s possible to visit more than one of these island clusters during a visit. However, distances are too great and the sea sometimes too rough to make a day trip from one cluster to another practical by the chief means of transportation: small wooden boats powered by outboard motors.

Unless you have access to a large power boat or yacht, choose just one area to explore. If your schedule allows, you can also fly to a second area and spend one or more nights there, but that will increase the logistical hassles significantly; interisland flights are tricky to arrange.

Visitors will get the most out of their visit if they take time both to explore Kuna villages and to escape to one of the uninhabited islands for snorkeling or sunbathing. Most island groups offer an attractive combination of both.

Those who stay around the busy hubs of El Porvenir and Cartí, for instance, have easy access to the uninhabited island of Achutupu and other pristine spots. Those who stay on the tranquil hotel islands around Río Sidra, on the other hand, can take a day trip to explore the nearby village islands, including traditional and picturesque Isla Maquina.

Try to stay a bare minimum of two nights on the islands. That allows enough time to explore a Kuna village, go snorkeling, shop for molas (handcrafted blouses), and lounge in a hammock. A three-night or longer stay gives visitors a better sense of the rhythms and beauty of life on the islands. Time will go much faster than you expect.