Perro Chico Island

You could walk the shoreline of Perro Chico in under ten minutes. What makes people ask for it by name is not the cay itself but what lies in the water a few strokes off the beach: a sunken vessel, resting shallow, now grown over with coral and patrolled by schools of reef fish.

The shipwreck, and what it has become

The wreck has stopped being a boat and become an artificial reef. Coral has taken hold on the hull, and the structure gives fish the thing a flat sandy bottom cannot: edges, shade and shelter. That is why the density of life is higher here than over open sand a hundred meters away, and why guides bring boat after boat to the same patch of water.

You do not need to dive

The wreck sits in water shallow enough for complete beginners and non-certified snorkelers to explore comfortably, usually a short swim from the boat or the beach. Visibility is normally excellent. Life jackets are mandatory on the boats for everyone, adults included, and you can keep yours on while you look — floating face-down over the wreck works perfectly well with one on.

What you actually see

Parrotfish and sergeant majors are close to guaranteed; angelfish and damselfish are common; rays turn up now and then, resting on the sand near the reef edge rather than out in the open. Guides know which corners of the wreck usually hold the bigger fish and will point you at them. Nothing here should be touched — coral is slow-growing and breaks easily, and that includes bracing a hand on it to steady yourself.

The cay above the water

Perro Chico is uninhabited and used as a day stop, not an overnight base. There is a narrow strip of beach where you dry off and eat between sessions in the water, and very little else. Because the stop itself is relatively short, most itineraries pair Perro Chico with two or three other islands in the same day.

Which tours come here

The VIP day tour is the one built around this wreck — guided reef snorkeling is exactly what it adds over the Classic itinerary, which does not include guided snorkeling. The shipwreck snorkel also appears on the morning island tour of an overnight stay, alongside the Limones Cays.

Good to know

• Best for: snorkeling at any skill level, underwater photography, a short high-value stop between longer beach time elsewhere.
• Facilities: minimal — this is a snorkel stop, not a lounging island.
• Gear: mask, snorkel and fins are not guaranteed to be included on every tour, and shared gear will not always fit well.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is the Perro Chico shipwreck?

It is a sunken vessel lying in shallow water just off the cay, now functioning as an artificial reef: the hull is covered in coral growth and surrounded by reef fish. You look at it from the surface, snorkeling above it, rather than going inside it.

Do I need to be a certified diver to see the wreck?

No. The whole point of this stop is that the wreck is shallow enough for people who have never snorkeled before. If you can float and breathe through a tube, you will see it — and a life jacket keeps you at the surface without any effort at all.

Can I scuba dive with tanks at Perro Chico?

Standard San Blas day tours and overnight stays do not include scuba diving with tanks. The reefs here, this one included, are genuinely at their best from the surface in a few meters of water. If diving with tanks is the point of your trip, San Blas is not the destination built for it, and we would rather say so upfront.

Which tour includes the guided shipwreck snorkel?

The VIP day tour. That is the concrete difference between it and the Classic day tour, which covers transport, an island and the Natural Pool but no guided reef snorkeling. Overnight guests also get the shipwreck snorkel on the island tour the morning after their stay.

Is snorkel gear provided?

Sometimes, but not on every tour and not in every size. Check what your specific booking includes, and bring your own mask if fit matters to you — a leaking mask ruins a stop that otherwise needs no skill at all.

See which day tours stop at this islandOpens on our sister site · sanblasfull.com