Bocas del Toro is one of the top tourist attractions of Panama. There you can find beautiful beaches that are almost vacant and rainforests that are a biologist’s fantasy. Bocas del Toro is a laidback, fun seaside town. There is the aqua blue water of the Caribbean and beaches lined with palms against a dense rainforest backdrop. Colon Island is home to most of the hotels in Bocas. You will also find a variety of nightlife spots and good restaurants. English is the second language of Panama and they use US currency making is a great travel destination for citizens of the U.S.A.
You can take boat tours to nearby islands to dive, observe dolphins, snorkel or lay on the beach. You may also want to visit an Indian village or go into the rainforest. Bocas is a wonderful destination if you are a couple or family seeking to have a fun, nature, and educational experience.
The weather is usually great in Panama and Bocas Del Toro. There never has been a hurricane to touch the shores of Panama. Also the pristine beauty and relatively low prices make this an affordable luxury. Once there you may even consider purchasing a second or retirement home.
In 1502, Christopher Columbus was the first white man to anchor in Bocas waters. He repaired his boat in the calm waters of Panama. Since then the United Fruit Company established headquarters until banana blight in the 1920’s. But there is a park and historical buildings that are still standing. More recently there has been a real-estate boom but you can find some of the best buys in the Caribbean here.
Getting around is inexpensive by taxi on land or between islands on water taxis. You can find a hotel for every budget. There are hotels, eco-lodges, upscale eco-lodges and pensions for the back packer. The Playa Tortuga Resort has its own private beach. Tours to Dolphin Bay, Red Frog Beach or the Zapatillas keys are experiences you may wish to try.
If you snorkel you will want to go to Coral Key, Dark Wood Reef, Punta Juan Buoy or Hospital Point. There are amazing corals and tropical fish near Coral Key. You will find some of the best-preserved coral in the world here. See crabs, lobsters and stingrays. Even get certified for less than similar courses offered in the United States.
You can take a tour in a seaside laboratory of the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research. Or, take a river trip to the Ngobe Bugle Indian village and see how they have lived in much the same way as when Columbus landed. See stunning wildlife and scenery.
After your adventures of the day you may want to relax in the evening on the water in the Buena Vista Deli & Bar. If you want to dance visit the Barco Hundido. Other nightlife attractions include La Iguana and Mondo Taitu.
Don’t forget to pick up a souvenir before returning home. Beautiful jewelry, crafts and molas can be found in the shops on main street. Molas are colorful reverse appliqués. You will be purchasing directly from the Indians and know that your money is helping these people
Once you get there it’s hard to leave Panama’s fabulous Bocas del Toro. It’s a peaceful relaxing place with a funky, romantic charm that has something untamed about it.
It is all about life on the water. There are very few cars and most places are only accessible by boat.
The place is full of colorful people nursing drinks in rustic wood & thatch bars, going fishing or running rustic hotels on remote beaches.
Bocas is beautiful and natural. It has an abundance of emerald islands, pristine beaches, turquoise waters, dense forests, barely explored mountains and rivers, extensive coral gardens, spooky mangrove channels, and exotic wildlife. It’s the kind of Caribbean hideaway one expects to find only in old movies. Here it is though, all very real – a perfect paradise.
Bocas Town
The town is made up of a wide main street (that used to be the landing strip for the planes coming to pick up bananas for United Fruit) and a number of small parallel streets to the side that all follow the coast. There are nice restaurants like the delicious Lemon Grass or L’Ultimo Refugio and small hotels like the Bocas Hotel, along the water as well as a couple of great local eating places on the otherside of the street. Chitre cafe is our favourite for lunch as they have nice meat, chicken and rice with the best chilli sauce you ever tasted and with a glass of home made lemonade your bill will rarely come to more than $2.50.
There are a couple of ATMs in the town as well as a few Chinese run grocery stores and two gourmet stores selling good wine, French goat’s cheese, English muffins, green leafy vegetables as well as the locally grown and home made chocolate. There are a couple of pharmacies, a hospital with a good reputation, a Chinese dentist and a yoga centre as well as 5 or 6 internet cafes and a sports bar with the unlikely name of Baumfalks. There are also a few places renting surf boards,canoes, bicycles and even electric buggies. There are quite a few real estate agents – the best seeming to be Century 21, Beyond Bocas and Pro Bocas.
Thinking of Moving to Bocas?We (the publishers of this site) live in Bocas and if you are thinking of moving here we would be happy to help you on places to live, how to earn money here etc. or put you in contact with other people who can advise you too. To email us go Contact Us from the side tabs.
Bocas is full of glorious lush rainforest and to learn more about the rain forest in Panama go to
Bocas del Toro is a province of Panama made up of a group of islands off the east coast, just 20 miles south of Costa Rica. It stretches about 100 kilometres from Boca del Drago in the west to Isla Escudo de Veraguas in the east. Christopher Columbus explored here in 1502 while searching for the passage for the Pasific Ocean.
The archipelago of Bocas del Toro has nine major islands, 59 smaller islands with names and a myriad of unnamed mangrove cays with a total population of 89,300. There is a protected Marine National Park here where four species of turtles come to lay their eggs.
The islands are known for their incredible natural beauty, amazing flowers, animals, parrots & other birds, good weather, warm clear water full of coral, dolphins, colourful fish and sea turtles, great diving, sailing & surfing, great food and chilled out lifesyle all in a stable democratic country with a sound economy and friendly attitude to foreigners.
The People of Bocas
The people help make Bocas special. More ethnicities and nationalities are represented on the islands than anywhere in the country outside of Panama City and you will hear more English spoken here than anywhere in the country.
The islands have long been home to the Ngöbe-Buglé, as well as the descendents of Afro-Caribbean immigrants from the English-speaking islands of Jamaica, San Andrés, and Providencia, many of whom came down to work on the region’s enormous banana plantations.
The pace of life is slow and relaxed with nobody seeming to be in much of a hurry. Locals travel between the islands in dugout canoes, some with motors, but most without. These canoes, or pongas as they are called, litter the waterways and channels, especially in the morning when everybody is either going to the main island or the mainland. Glass fibre taxi boats with space for 8 or so passengers zoom around everywhere and you can flag one down as they pass. They also offer day trips around various islands to special places like Dolphin Bay at the end of San Cristobal Island or to see the little red frogs on Bastimentos.
Most of the hotels and restaurants on the islands are owned by Europeans and North Americans. Long-term expats are already grumbling that Bocas isn’t what it used to be, but so far the new arrivals have mainly just brought a more international flavor and a broader range of lodging, dining, entertainment, and activity possibilities.
For now though, backpackers and surfers can still find a bed for six bucks in a hostel and a meal for $1.50, but those with more money to spend can stay in relatively luxurious surroundings and dine on surprisingly good Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian, and other international cuisine.
Hotels in Bocas del Toro
There are a number of good hotels in Bocas town. Swan’s Cay is a bit up market and right in the middle of town, Casa Blanca near the airport offers a few nice rooms with internet and tv etc but no breakfast or other services. The one we like best is Hotel Angela. It has rooms from $40 a night, the staff are friendly and helpful, the owner is wonderful and the view over the water from the large covered veranda over the water is perfect! It is close to the airport (you can easily walk) and in a few minutes you are on the main street.
There are all kinds of restaurants in Bocas Town. Our favoutites for a nice dinner are L’Ultimo Refugio, Om (for Indian curry) and Lemon Grass for Far Eastern. 9 Degrees is very nice too with excellent wine. For more information on restaurants go to Restaurants in Panama
The weather
The weather is warm and tropical all year round. Bocas’s biggest shortcoming however is the rain. Bocas is one of the wettest regions in Panama.
The rain never completely stops, though the best chance of a dry visit is in the min-dry seasons of September/October and February/March. Happily, that’s during Bocas’s low season, when prices are cheaper and everything less crowded. But as with the rest of Panama, even in the rainy season storms usually blow through quickly. Rainfall tends to be heaviest in December and July.
Panama being less than 10 degrees from the equator means the sun here can be very hot. However, because of its location, Bocas del Toro usually has a cooling breeze. The trade winds blow from approximately December to March but Bocas is mostly sheltered by the outlying islands and the sea is virtually always calm.The water temperature varies only a degree or two year-round from its usual 29C (85F).
Bugs and biting thingsThere are a few mosquitos in Bocas but not too many (no Malaria here for the last 5 years) and most hotel rooms have fly screens however there are lots of pesky sand fleas,otherwise known as no-see-ums. You can just about see them, like a tiny black dot on your skin but really they should be renamed we-feel-ums as they really sink their teeth in. You have to use insect repellent, especially on your feet and legs most of the time. The people living here use coconut oil mixed with citronella and lemon oil which is very effective and probably better for your health then Deet products. Apparently the insects drown in the oil which is good to know too!!
Bocas del Toro Real Estate
There are still some great bargains to be had in Bocas but prices have risen considerably in the past three years as Bocas starts to be discovered for the jewel it is. You can still buy parcels of land for $35,000 though and a house for about $120,000 although many are much more expensive. The lots along the waterfront in town with permission for a dock are some of the most expensive pieces of real estate here naturally.
Getting to Bocas del Toro
Travelling to Bocas can either be as simple as taking a 40 minute flight from Panama City for $75 or as adventurous as going over land by bus and water taxi.
You can fly to Bocas del Toro by Eeroperlas or Air Panama. You will arrive at the Tocumen International Airport and then, to fly to Bocas, you will need to go to Albrook National Airport which is about 30 minutes to an hour from Tocumen. You will probably need to stay over night in Panama City: there are many moderately-priced hotels ($20-$40) near the Albrook National Airport.
By car, take the Interamerican Highway up to entrance to Gualaca (404 Km). Turn to the right and go to the end of the road to Chiriqui Grande (95 Km)nd then, in Punta Peña, the road to Almirante, where you can leave the car in a car park or take it across on the 8am ferry. Roads from Panama City are paved, in good condition with beautiful views in the mountains.
A direct bus from Panama City to Bocas del Toro, via Almirante has recently become available with the opening of a new road. The bus ride takes approximately 9 hours and the cost is $23 US. The bus departs from Gran Terminal Nacional de Transporte near Albrook Marcos Galabert Airport. The bus leaves in the evening at 8pm and dumps you off in Almirante around 5am. The bus only stops once around 11.30pm so be careful what you drink after that! Also, go with all the layers of clothes you possess as well as a blanket as the bus is kept at 19C which is freezing if you are in only shorts and a t shirt. Get a taxi for a dollar to the boat taxi and get the first water taxi which leaves at 6am. It takes 30 minutes annd costs $4. If you are really on a tight budget get the taxi to take you to the ferry and catch that at 8am.(Bus tel: 507-232-5803).
Bocas del Toro Marina
This is the newest and most up to date marina in Panama. It accommodates boats up to 100 ft. and the concrete floating docks provide stable platforms for walking and working, with aluminum ramps connecting the slips to the land.
Both short term and long term visitors are welcomed by the owners and staff, whose extensive knowledge will help make your arrival and stay in Bocas del Toro smooth and comfortable. A great advantage to you the yacht owner is that you can leave your vessel in Panamá indefinitely, with NO taxes to pay! The only requirement is that you maintain a current cruising permit.
Tourism in Bocas del Toro
Over the last few years the entire province has seen the beginnings of a tourist boom, with a number of middle range hotels and restaurants being opened in and around Bocas town. The town now boasts of three different PADI dive shops, many different styles of restaurants, a deep sea fishing outfit, numerous sailboat and catamaran cruises, mountain bike and moped rentals and a lot of fabulous seafood. Various half, full and multiple day trips can be arranged that combine different elements of what is available in the region.
IPAT (Tourism Office) has recently opened a new office in Bocas, which is located adjacent to the Police Office. The building is set on the waterfront, pointing towards Isla Carenero. The hours are 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m, however, the office is new and often understaffed. They lack much in the way of promotional material.
Excursions in Bocas
Catamaran
A good example of the type of excursion one can find is a very popular day trip that takes place on a 34-foot catamaran that cruises tourists throughout the archipelago through deeply vegetated islands and coral reefs, stopping along the way at different spots to snorkel and scuba dive. Once they reach their destination, a secluded and deserted white sand beach on the island of Bastimentos, the picnic baskets are unloaded and a typical Caribbean lunch is served with white rice, beans, fish, fruit and juices.
After resting and swimming in the light crystal blue waters, it is time for the jungle hike into the island’s nature preserve. Sloths, howler monkeys, toucans, parrots, iguanas and tiny, brightly colored, poison dart frogs are among the island’s different animal inhabitants. The day trip ends with another cruise through the islands with one more stop for snorkeling and then pulls back into Bocas town just before sunset.
Mountain bikes
A fun and distinct excursion to take on Isla Colon is to rent mountain bikes in Bocas town and cycle into the interior. There is a dirt road that goes from the town all the way through the heart of the island to its other side. Many areas of this 20-mile long and 8-mile wide island are still primary and secondary rain forests with a number of pastures and small pueblos of thatched roofed huts. It is in one of these villages along the road in the middle of the island where you can find one of Bocas hidden treasures.
The Cave
Across the street from the town’s lone soda (small store) is a plain cement walkway that veers off the road and down the slope of a hill. Nestled to one side, at the bottom of the ravine, near the mouth of a cave and a fresh water spring is a shrine to the Virgin Mary. The area is shaded by a grove of trees and is quite cool even at midday in the middle of summer. Situated at the entrance to the cave, and placed all around the statue, are dozens of different colored glass candles. As you enter into the cave, the light from these candles flickers and bounce off the walls in a kaleidoscope of shifting colors. Further into the cave, it is possible to look up and see thousands of small fruit bats sleeping upside down and hanging from the ceiling. There is a quiet serenity to the place that allows visitors to relax and enjoy the beauty of its surroundings.
Deep-Sea Fishing
Deep sea fishing is a fairly new addition to the different excursions available in the region, but that does not mean that it isn’t world class. For years locals have been fishing in the province’s warm and bounteous waters catching all types of fish and seafood including the local delicacy, langusta, or lobster. For the avid sports fisherman there are sailfish, blue and black marlin, shark, barracuda, red snapper and snook. Half and full day trips are very inexpensive when compared with other sports fishing destinations such as Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica.
Scuba Diving & Snorkeling
Scuba Diving & snorkeling in Bocas del Toro is in some of the best and most diverse waters in all of Central America. The cost however is about half what you would expect to pay in places like Roatan, Honduras. You can find over two dozen different types of corals, hundreds of species of fish, kelp forests, shipwrecks, caves and reefs all within an hour of Bocas town. With so many different types of diving experiences to be had, it is the perfect place to spend a couple of weeks exploring them all.
One popular destination for divers and snorkelers alike, is Hospital Point. At only five minute by boat from Bocas, this point is easily accessible and a great place to get your feet wet. The water is warm and clear and it is possible to see many different examples of coral such as brain and elk.
For those on a budget, a mask, snorkel and fins can be rented in town for as little as $12 for the day. They can then hire one of the many locals along the wharf to take them over by boat and then pick them up later in the day for no more the three dollars.
Bocas del Toro Animals
While the sea and the water are Bocas del Toro’s main attraction, the islands themselves offer their own unique and interesting experiences and adventures. The islands are teaming with life of every kind from the top to the bottom of the rain forest canopy. Troops of howler, white faced and spider monkeys inhabit all of the larger islands of the group. Three and four toed sloths are very common sights as well as numerous different kinds of reptiles, birds, amphibians and sea turtles.
One of the most interesting and unique creatures to be found on the islands is the poison dart frog. These pint-size frogs are no bigger than a man’s thumbnail and have a myriad of different color patterns. Lime greens, day glow oranges, fiery reds, deep purples and bright yellows to name just a few of the different colors. These amazing little creatures get their name from the poison that they excrete from their skin and its use by native Indians to tip their spears and darts in Pre-Colombian times.
They are not really a danger to humans, as the poison has to be injected into the body because it cannot penetrate the skin.
For more information on the Islands of Bocas click here
As soon as we landed back in Panama City I really noticed the differences between living in a large city on the Pacific as opposed to a small town on the Caribbean. The air was hotter for a start. It must be all the concrete. Rarely was I too hot in Bocas. Not that I was laying in the sun at midday or anything crazy like that. Actually, sometimes in the evening I could definitely have done with an extra layer. I could also have done with an umbrella! Panama City is now well into the dry season and won’t have much rain now for a few months while Bocas never goes long without a tropical shower.
After walking the three minutes it takes to get there (you can walk everywhere in Bocas Town), we got a 48 seater twin prop plane from Bocas’s tiny airport and 40 minutes later arrived in the capital’s domestic airport right next to Albrook Mall. Being veterans we got the bus back home at the cost of a dollar as opposed to the $20 or so a taxi would have charged.
Inevitably we got stuck in crazy traffic along Avenue Balboa (more than 5 cars on the road at any one time is weird in Bocas and most transportation is done by boat or taxi) and were subjected to the fruity aroma of poop coming off the bay by fashionable Punta Pacifica. In Bocas the sea is pristine although the odd drain or dustbin occasionally grabs your attention. We watched the huge ships lining up for their turn to pass through the canal and it reminded me of the Christmas Boat Parade in Bocas.
We were pretty excited really and got a good place to sit at the restaurant and bar 9 Degrees where we ordered a nice cold glass of Chardonnay. Slowly they came into view, covered in lights and shooting off fireworks and shouting out Feliz Navidad to us onlookers on the shore – all four of them. Boats that is, not onlookers. Yes that’s right just 4 boats! I decided then and there to get involved in local affairs so that by next year at least 20 boats turn up suitably adorned. In a place where half the population owns a boat and tourism is important, it was a poor show to say the least. They did their best anyway by coming by twice and we enjoyed it in a underwhelmed sort of way.
This morning, the first of 2009, we awoke to the whistling calls of the large birds of prey that fly around us on the 9th floor as opposed to the singing of the giant sized blackbirds of Bocas. Wonderfully there was hardly any car noise (no honking or car alarms) and not a worker was beating metal on any of the seven building sites that surround our apartment as everyone appears to be home sleeping off last night. In fact it seems no one goes out on New Year’s Day and most places are closed. The sky is clear with a few puffy clouds, it’s about 28C (with 84% humidity) and we are assured this is how it will stay until May.
As we had been out every evening for the past two weeks during our stay in Bocas we opted to eat in for New Year’s Eve. After a couple of Mohitos and a shared bottle of Chilean Cabernet we never actually made it to midnight! We vaguely heard the joyfull hooting of horns and exploding of fireworks as they entered our dreams through our bedroom window.
It was nice to eat a big plate of vegetables alongside our roast chicken cooked in beer and lemon grass. Panamanians don’t seem to eat many vegetables, particularly green ones, just large amounts of meat served with coconut rice and beans and perhaps a friend yam or a plantain. The best source of vitamin C here seems to be the fresh pineapple or passion fruit juice in the rum cocktails.
While we were in Bocas all the shops ran out of fresh vegetables and fruit entirely for three days as there was a mudslide over the road from David. This road had already been reduced to one new lane carved out after the road was washed away in the unusually heavy rains of a month ago. Had we been in Panama City of course a quick trip to El Rey’s supermarket at any time of night and day would have filled our super-duper double-doored ice-making, ice-crushing, cold filtered water dispensing, instant freezing, American fridge with all kinds of fruit and veg in a jiffy. I think we just get a fridge that keeps things cool in Bocas!
Anyway with the lack of supplies in town we were forced to eat jumbo prawn Thai curry and rice and slabs of beef and quarters of grilled marinated chicken with more fragrant coconut rice. It was terrible!:) When the supplies finally arrived though we did buy a huge pineapple and ate the whole thing in one go, feeling like scurvy may have been just round the corner.
It made me think about Christopher Columbus and his men who sailed to these beautiful islands all those years ago. They must have been delighted to restock their galleys with tropical fruits and fresh food brought by the friendly Indians after months of salted meat and rotting pickled cabbage.
The island San Cristobal, just 15 minutes from Bocas Town is named after him and he sailed all round these islands. Today the Indians still come by your dock on dug out canoes and offer fish, lobsters, limes and home-made ‘tomales’ wrapped in banana leaves. The only difference now I suppose is they are wearing shorts and a Yankees baseball cap and they have a mobile phone in their back pocket.
Anyway, differences are good, nothing ever stays still and cities are still getting bigger (particularly this one). We, however, have opted for the slower pace of life and more intimate life style of Bocas over the noisy more material world of the capital. A couple of weeks here to sort out a few things and we will be back ‘home’ on the islands of Bocas.
We wish everyone a wonderful year and encourage you all to go for what makes you happy!
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