Sea Las Perlas Ferry — Local services in Ancón

Leaving a long review because when I was deciding who to book with, it was hard to find reviews with the info I was looking for.

I called to book a ferry to Contadora. It was disappointing that I called their whatsapp number and they did not answer. Then when I called and paid international minutes to speak with them, they asked me for my whatsapp info to send me information. Had to tell the gentleman I had just attempted calling them on whatsapp.

The guy on the phone was helpful and answered all my questions. I was interested in a day pass package. He told me the only difference between the two was beach location and hosted by hotel or restaurant (pimenta y sal). While he was right, it would have been helpful to be told that the pimenta y sal location only is nice when tide is high which is late morning to midday (more on this below).

The actual process of checking in and boarding was easy. I asked many questions to various staff because I saw review saying they missed the ferry due to not knowing which boat it was. All staff were friendly and helpful.

The actual boat ride was smooth. Only critique is that there is no ac and windows can’t be open. They were punctual.

Contadora was beautiful. The pimenta y sal package was overall decent. The gentleman at pimenta y sal who took our food/drink orders was helpful. He explained the low tide/high tide when we arrive (because there was no water). The bummer was that we paid for chairs and umbrella for a beach that wouldn’t be til later. However he gave us directions to find another beach until the tide came back.

The juices, cocktails and food at pimenta y sal were delicious and some of the best items we had during panama. Please note it is a small cafe in an abandoned hotel.

The cost is expensive but once the tide was high, we truly enjoyed the package. We went on a monday so the ferry and beach were not crowded or busy. We had an...

A great day trip from Panama City (Panama). The ferry leaves early and you should be there no later than 7 am. A bit tricky to put the right address into Uber. Use "Flamenco Marina Officina #4 Alado del" location. It should put a pin at the very end of a causeway. It takes about 30 min from Centro in the morning. Book your tickets in advance online but still need to check in at the table between the marina shop building and the actual ships. The ferry is a catamaran and they go full throttle. Could get bumpy so plan accordingly. It takes about 2 hrs to Contadora island. There is a dock there so some of the reports of having to transfer to the dinghy are no longer true. Once on the island, the only two beaches that are easily accessible are Executive and Large. The island is walkable, about 1 hr round trip, so plan to explore. The Executive beach is much nicer but the Large one has a restaurant and a few lounge chairs with umbrellas. Plan to be back at the dock no later than 3 pm. Make sure you have time to walk around the runway from the Large beach as there is no other road despite what the...

Took closer to 2 full hours than 90 minutes but there is a dock on both Saboga and Contadora now. We were told we needed to be there a full hour ahead of time for check-in but it seemed like 10-15 mins would've been plenty.

The boat is decent. There is indoor seating for most people, two bathrooms, and if you sit outside like we did you get just a tiny bit of ocean mist on you.

It leaves fairly early in the morning so we dressed on the warmish side for Panama but by the time we were halfway there it was pretty hot, I would've felt comfortable in shorts and a...