Places to avoid in Central America?

[robert sailor]

Carsten,
You’ll love Central America and especially Guatemala and the Bay Islands of Honduras. It’s much safer than the wrong side of the tracks in many large American cities. Of course just like large American cities there are areas that are best avoided. PM us if you wish.

[Cynara]

Besides latitude38. Com they have a magazine. We saiied from Long Beach California through the Panama canal up to Washington DC in 1985 to 1988. Many things have changed. For example there were few marinas.since then there has been a lot more marinas built.

[off-piste]

Doesn't Noonsite show this data?

Edit, abarrow beat me to it

[sailcrazy]

hpeer.....what's the Belize Sailor? website?

[Pukakai]

I did a sailboat delivery from the Caribbean side of Panama to San Diego in late 2021. After the Canal transit, we went out to the Perlas Islands before heading north. Our first leg was 1000 miles to Chiapas, Mexico solely to avoid any confrontations in Central America. Deliveries are different than cruising, though: Deliveries require reaching your destination as quickly as possible with no lolligagging whereas cruising is all about lolligagging. I second (or is it third) checking Noonsite for info on specific countries and the advantage of knowing Spanish while South of the Border. Enjoy your trip!

[Svfirefly47]

Originally Posted by carstenb

We are planning to sail down the west coast of Central America from Mexico to Panama next year.
We have tried to gather as much information as we can on safe places to anchor/marinas etc.

What I'm looking for is information on what places to AVOID. Either because they are simply not safe or crime is rampant.

thanks in advance


carsten

We currently in Acapulco, planning to sail to Costa Rica in April. The best source of current up to date info is avail on Panamaposse.com. Weekly calls with check ins. Weather, safety, tourism, provisioning, routing and more. many power/sail boats in transit makes for wonderful shared resources and support. Highly recommend. Fair seas.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Trvlmedic

We spent from 2017 to 2021 doing that same trip, San Diego California to Key West Florida. When pondering your question, regarding the Pacific side, we couldn’t come up with any places to avoid. We loved them all!

Here are some bullet points;

-Knowing Spanish does help as a previous answer stated.
-Watch for long line fishermen as you proceed south. Just when you think you are far enough out, there they are day and night.
-We avoided Puerto Armuelles Panama for checking in to Panama due to challenging dinghy landing conditions and possible corruption with officials.
-Join the Panama Posse!!! Panamaposse.com.
-Buy the “Panama Cruising Guide” by Eric Baumhaus before you leave.

One evening three of us cruisers were discussing favorite experiences. We all agreed that the southbound trip from the U.S. to the Panama Canal was our favorite. Enjoy and relish it.

Don
S/V Bonzai
Leopard 38

I second all these thoughts, we did the same cruise over nearly the same timeframe except finishing in March 2022 after a 20 month delay in Belize due to Covid. Having experience of two previous cruises to the west coast of Mexico, the part I liked the most was from the Canal up through the islands belonging to Columbia and Honduras where you get into some areas with great coral reefs to snorkle, and learn to navigate through. Everywhere we had no problem at all with the locals, in fact we were helped out in numerous ways by their generosity and patience with us gringos.

Regarding Acapulco, Panama or any big city, when you need to go shopping, ask the marina for a reliable taxi driver, who will accompany you at all times. Their repeat business depends on keeping you safe.


Doug
S/V Gypsy Soul
Morgan 46

[Trvlmedic]

Originally Posted by sailcrazy

hpeer.....what's the Belize Sailor? website?

His screen name here is Belize Sailor. He has two great books on Amazon for download. He lived in Belize. Now I believe he lives in Panama. Don’t think he has a website.

Belize and Guatemala Cruising Notes - Curtis Collins

Western Caribbean Cruising Notes - Curtis Collins

[sailcrazy]

Thanks for that. We've never cruised Belize, although we have visited there before. I'm concerned about our 2m draft and all the shallow water/reefs around there.

[luckyone]

Carsten,
Panama Posse is the only current source of info for this route. I am in panama now having left Puerto Vallarta in November. Just in the previous posts there is so much that is flat out wrong. Not because posters have malicious intent but because things change. Examples: yachts cannot check in at Puerto Armueles this year, only Boca Chica. You do not need an agent to check in or out of Costa Rica, although the agents will tell you that you do, I just did both myself. You don’t need to rent a room to shop in Golfito’s duty free zone and on and on. It’s hard to avoid Costa Rica and it is beautiful but it is probably the place you are most likely to face thievery of every sort except official corruption. One concrete tip, visit Guatemala by land or from the Caribbean. Don’t take your boat into Puerto Quetzal. It’s filthy! Don’t skip Northern Nicaragua. It’s a great trip! Have fun!

[carstenb]

Everyone si saying look on Panama Posse - but I have been on their webpage and aside from a lot of pictures of previous posses, I find nothing of interest. Maybe I simply can't find the correct pages?

[luckyone]

The Panama Posse is a paid membership organization. You have to sign up to see the content. Also, sad to say but the website is pretty crappy even after you pay to join. The real value is in the continuous conversation on the Line App and the weekly check-in call that covers weather and other stuff. So far today, it’s 14:45 in Pacific Panama, there have been 32 posts on the Line chat app. Sounds like a lot but most posts are a sentence or two. This continuous feed covers all sorts of stuff, mostly social like where people, are and what fish they’ve caught, plus constant questions about resources, current conditions and procedures. This season long feed is easily searchable so if somebody describes checking into Isla Tigre in Honduras, for instance, you can easily access the post. Or just ask your question and somebody will usually reply with the information you’re looking for. The value is that this is current information reported by fellow cruisers who have been where you are going as recently as yesterday. Hope that helps explain how it works and how it can be useful. Fair winds!

[Cynara]

Things have sure changed since we were there

[Davidjones666]

Imformation has traditionally been free of charge as the best way we can ensure easy cruising is through being in the know. Giving organizations money for info ie. Panamapossee/puddlejump/Bajahaha is undermining a hundred plus years of comradery and care between sailors. Keep it real folks. Dont support the monotization of a good thing.

[off-piste]

Originally Posted by Davidjones666

Imformation has traditionally been free of charge as the best way we can ensure easy cruising is through being in the know. Giving organizations money for info ie. Panamapossee/puddlejump/Bajahaha is undermining a hundred plus years of comradery and care between sailors. Keep it real folks. Dont support the monotization of a good thing.

Quite the reductionist perspective you've got there.