Panama Boat Rentals with Captain

What a Panama boat rental is

It is the smaller, quicker end of the fleet: open boats and day boats rather than yachts with saloons. They are fast across to Taboga and the Pearl Islands, easy to swim from, and the lowest figures on the Panama cards. Like every charter, the boat is your group's alone.

Every Panama boat rental comes with a captain

A licensed captain runs every boat, with a mate on most. You need no licence and no time on the water. The captain knows the bay, the shipping lanes off the canal entrance and the anchorages, and decides the route and the swim stop by the sea that day.

The boats

The 32 ft Blackfin Black Label and the 33 ft Deep Impact Wahoo Killer, quick center consoles. The 36 ft Luhrs. The 38 ft Contender Express Teikirisi, the 38 ft Billy Knowles Marlinator and the 38 ft Rampage, sportfishers that also take a swim day. The 40 ft Riviera Mandilus, a small cruiser with a cabin. The 37 ft Baja, the 41 ft CAT and the 44 ft Lagoon, small catamarans with flat decks. King Fish, a fishing boat. There is no set guest cap in Panama: send the full head count, children included, and the team matches the boat.

Which boat for your group

A couple or a small family: a center console or the Luhrs. Friends who want speed to the islands: a Contender or the Rampage. A group that wants shade and a flat deck: the Baja, the CAT or the Lagoon catamaran. Anglers: the Marlinator, the Rampage, Wahoo Killer or King Fish, with the tackle aboard.

Boat rental prices in Panama

The boat and the route set the price, with the captain and the crew on the card. The bay is the shortest route and the lowest figure on each card; Taboga and the Pearl Islands cost more on the same boat because the crossing is longer. The whole fleet, cheapest first, is on Panama yacht rentals.

Speed boats, center consoles and day boats

A speed boat or center console has an open deck, a T-top or bimini for shade, and the speed for a quick run to the Pearl Islands. A day boat or small cruiser adds a cabin with a head. A small catamaran trades speed for space and stability at anchor.

Boat rental or yacht rental?

A boat rental is quick, open and close to the water: the day is the swim, the speed and the islands. A yacht rental is a saloon, a flybridge and a crew that serves: the day is the comfort and the view. Groups that want both take a catamaran. The yachts are on luxury yacht charters in Panama.

Party boat rental in Panama

For a party of 20 to 30, the boats are the Todomar party boats, PBTF 3, PBTF 4 and Rapport, with open decks, their own sound and a bar counter. They are on Panama yacht parties.

A boat rental for fishing

The sportfishers in this range, the Marlinator, the Rampage, Wahoo Killer and King Fish, carry rods, tackle and a fish box with ice, and the crew rigs, gaffs and cleans. Roosterfish, snapper and jacks on the rocks and drop-offs of the Pearl Islands year round; tuna, dorado and sailfish offshore in the dry season. Mixed groups fish the morning and swim at noon. The full fishing page is on fishing charters in Panama.

A boat rental for a Taboga day

A speed boat is the quickest way to Taboga: across from Flamenco Marina, anchored off the quieter coves, the group swims and has lunch on the beach or aboard, and the boat waits. A small catamaran does the same with more shade and more room to lie in the sun. The island is on Taboga Island yacht charters.

Safety aboard

A life jacket for every guest, in children's sizes too, a licensed captain and a mate, and a briefing at the dock on where to sit while under way. On an open boat, everyone stays seated at speed and holds on in the swell; the captain slows for the crossing when the sea builds. Swimming happens only when the captain anchors, with the engine off.

What to bring

Swimwear, a hat that will not blow off, reef-safe sunscreen, sunglasses, a towel and a dry bag for phones on an open boat. Food and drinks in cans or plastic, or catering added to your charter. Ice, water and a Bluetooth speaker are aboard.

Weather and the best months

The dry season, December to April, brings steady trade winds, the calmest Pacific of the year and the clearest skies, the best months for a fast run to the Pearl Islands. From May to November the mornings are usually calm and short storms build in the afternoon, so morning departures go first and the captain watches the sky. The open boats feel the swell more than the yachts, so on a choppy day the captain may choose Taboga over the Pearl Islands.

Boat rentals for couples and small groups

The small end of the fleet is the private way to see Panama Bay as two or four: a quick run past the anchored ships, a swim off Taboguilla, a sunset behind the Bridge of the Americas with nobody else aboard. It is also the easiest boat to add a photographer to, for a proposal or an anniversary, and the quickest way to reach a quiet cove before anyone else arrives for the day, with the whole beach to yourselves for a while, before the boat turns home past the skyline.

Booking a boat rental

Pick the boat by the group and the route, book it online and pay the 50% deposit; the balance is paid in person on the day. The confirmation names the slip at Flamenco Marina.

Where the boats go

The bay past Casco Viejo, the skyline and the canal entrance. Taboguilla and Taboga for a swim. The Pearl Islands, Contadora and Saboga, for beaches and snorkeling. The drop-offs and rocks for roosterfish, snapper and jacks. Every boat boards at Flamenco Marina; arrive 20 to 30 minutes early.