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The island archipelago of Bocas del Toro in Panama is a true slice of paradise that exceeded all our expectations!
Bocas has a reputation as a party destination, and we frequently heard backpackers talking about the infamous ‘Filthy Friday’ party. We were hesitant about visiting, thinking it wouldn’t be our vibe and we’d find nothing but a noisy, party-centric island.
How wrong we were!
I am SO glad we didn’t listen to the opinions that Bocas is just for partying.
I always knew deep down that we couldn’t go wrong with a group of islands in the Caribbean, with stunning beaches and lush jungles, and Bocas turned out to tick all our boxes for a tropical paradise.
Bocas del Toro is not one destination, it’s a collection of hundreds of islands, with something for everyone. Whether you’re into surfing, diving, snorkelling, partying or simply lazing on a beautiful beach, you can find your vibe in Bocas.
This guide will break down ‘Bocas del Toro’ and explain more about the islands, how to get there and around, where to stay, the best things to do, and handy travel tips for making the most of your time here.
About Bocas del Toro Panama
Bocas del Toro is a province, an archipelago and a town. Confusing, right?
Bocas del Toro is one of Panama’s 10 provinces, sitting in the country’s northeast corner on the glistening Caribbean Sea, adjacent to the border with Costa Rica.
The province of Bocas del Toro has two parts: the continental area and the archipelago.
The land-based, continental area of Bocas del Toro is largely covered in dense, green forest and is home to many Indigenous communities.
The archipelago of Bocas del Toro is made up of nine main islands, and hundreds of smaller cayes and islets, and is what most people think of when they think of ‘Bocas del Toro’. Ourselves included!
The main island is Isla Colón and that is where you will find the provincial capital, Bocas del Toro. To avoid inevitable confusion, the capital is most commonly referred to as ‘Bocas Town’.
Bocas del Toro has a diverse mix of cultures, with Indigenous Ngöbe-Buglé communities on the mainland and many of the islands, a strong population of Afro-Antilleans and a noticeable Chinese community in Bocas Town. There are also plenty of expats, including many American and Canadian retirees, which altogether makes for an interesting vibe that varies a lot from island to island and even town to town.
Map of Bocas del Toro
Main islands in Bocas del Toro
There are nine main islands in Bocas del Toro and hundreds more cayes and islets. Of those nine, five islands are more popular and well-known for tourism.
Isla Colón
Isla Colón is the largest and most populated island in the archipelago and is the tourist and commercial centre. This is most likely where your time in Bocas will start and end.
It’s home to Bocas Town, the capital of the entire province, and the largest settlement in the archipelago.
The town is a tidy grid of streets on the southern tip of the island, lined with typical Caribbean clapboard houses. You’re never too far away from the water though, and the eastern coastline of Bocas Town is a maze of rickety wooden buildings extending out into the bright waters of the Caribbean.
Isla Colón is a sensory overload, and Bocas Town is buzzing at all times of the day and night. It’s very tourist-orientated, with its grid-like streets jam-packed with hostels, hotels, souvenir shops, restaurants, cafes, and above all – bars! Being the nightlife hub, there’s always a party to be found here and sleeping can be noisy, to say the least!
There are other pockets of development around the island, with alternative (quieter) choices for accommodations, restaurants and activities, like Bluff Beach, Boca del Drago and Saigon Bay.
Isla Carenero
This tiny island is a stone’s throw from Bocas Town but feels like a world away! It doesn’t have the same lush, jungly feel as Bastimentos or Solarte, but Carenero delivers all the tropical vibes, without the hectic energy.
Palm trees line its sandy shoreline, a narrow trail circumnavigates the island and there are a handful of laidback beach bars with hammocks strung up, where we enjoyed a lazy afternoon pondering on the idea of paradise, being certain we’d found it.
In the surf season, there are a few popular breaks around the island, but outside of that, it’s a nice place for a swim with calm, shallow natural pools along the south of the island and sandy beaches to lay out your towel, unlike in Bocas Town.
We found solitude and peace on the southeast side of the island, but I should warn you that the western shore (closest to Bocas Town) can be just as noisy and party-centric, playing host to one of the most popular backpacker bars in Bocas, Aqua Lounge. Be aware!
Isla Bastimentos
Isla Bastimentos, or ‘Basti’ as it is commonly called, is a green, jungle-clad natural treasure. The Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos was Panama’s first marine park and protects a vast area of the island and surrounding cayes.
Basti is famous for Red Frog Beach, a stunning stretch of sand on the east of the island where you can spot the island’s resident strawberry poison dart frogs in the jungles around the beach. Red Frog and neighbouring beaches are also very popular surf breaks in the season.
Its main settlement is Old Bank, a 10-minute boat ride from Bocas Town, primarily populated by Afro-Antilleans (West Indian immigrant descendants who originally came to the area to work in the banana trade).
Accommodations are spread all over the island, with a handful of eco-focused lodges nestled into the jungle and only accessible by boat.
There is a small Ngöbe-Buglé community, Quebrada Sal (Salt Creek), in the east of the island, but otherwise, most development is isolated to the north at Old Bank and Red Frog Beach.
Isla Solarte
The main appeal of Isla Solarte is its collection of fantastic accommodation options spread out amongst this wild, jungly island. There isn’t really a central town or commercial area and visitors are mostly isolated to their accommodation.
It’s a great place to get away from it all without actually being that far from civilisation. It’s a short 10-minute water taxi ride from Bocas Town.
The most popular attraction on Isla Solarte is Hospital Point. Sitting at the northern tip of the island, this is one of the best snorkelling spots in Bocas with a deep sea wall teeming with life. It’s a popular spot on boat tours, but if you stay on the island, you can hike here.
Isla San Cristobal
Even more far-flung and wild than Isla Solarte, San Cristobal is a remote and peaceful island located 30 minutes by boat from Isla Colón. It has several Ngöbe-Buglé villages and is the best place in the archipelago to see dolphins, at the namesake Dolphin Bay.
It’s unlikely you’d visit unless you were staying here, but there are a few fantastic accommodation options on the island. Most have a sustainable focus and are inclusive of all your meals and activities, due to the remote location.
Getting to Bocas del Toro
BY AIR ✈️
The quickest and easiest way to get to Bocas del Toro is to fly to the tiny airport, BOC – Bocas del Toro Isla Colón José E. Hall International Airport.
The airport is located on Isla Colón, not too far from Bocas Town and receives direct daily flights from Panama City with Air Panama, and occasionally flights from San Jose in Costa Rica.
Note that the flights from Panama City do not depart from the city’s main international airport, PTY – Tocumen International Airport. They depart from the domestic airport, PAC – Albrook Gelabert Airport so factor that in if you are connecting directly from an international flight.
There are taxis waiting at the airport for arriving flights, to take you to your accommodation in Isla Colón or to the water taxi docks to connect by boat to another island.
BY LAND & BOAT 🚤
If you’re not flying to Bocas, you’ll need to first get yourself to the port town of Almirante. From here, regular boats run to Bocas Town on Isla Colón.
There is a ferry service that runs twice per day, but this is primarily for moving vehicles and larger cargo. Most visitors use water taxis, which depart every 30 minutes from 6:00 am – 6:00 pm.
There are a handful of companies that run the service from rickety docks around this location. It can be a bit stressful and hectic, with people hassling you to use their boat, some scammy pricing and a lot of pushing and shoving among passengers to board.
Expect to pay $6 USD for a one-way journey. The price should be the same no matter who you end up with. Don’t buy a return ticket as it locks you into one company.
The journey takes about 30 minutes. It’s pretty cramped on the lancha boats, with passengers squished into rows of wooden benches, with luggage stored in the bow. If you’ve got a backpack, put the waterproof cover on it to be safe, there can be some splashing.
If you book a shuttle to Bocas, it will include the water taxi, so you won’t have to fuss around with tickets or all the hassle.
Getting to Almirante
- 🇨🇷 From Costa Rica: Bocas del Toro is a common first stop in Panama if you’re travelling from Costa Rica. The closest jump-off point is Puerto Viejo and neighbouring beaches on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast, and this is how we arrived in Bocas.
The easy way is to book a shuttle from Puerto Viejo to Bocas del Toro. You’ll be collected from your accommodation, and driven to the border, the driver will help you out with the immigration stuff, and then you’ll change vans and drive onwards to Almirante and board a water taxi to Bocas Town. All the costs are included and it’s a very straightforward journey.
If you want to do it cheaper, you can take the bus (with hindsight, this would have been very straightforward, we were just lazy!). There are buses from Puerto Viejo and other beaches along the coast to the border at Sixaola. You’ll need to do immigration on both sides and then get a bus from the Panama side to Almirante. You’ll most likely need to take a quick taxi to get from the bus terminal to the water taxi docks, and then you can follow the instructions above to get a boat to Isla Colón.
- 🚌 By bus: if you’re already in Panama, you can get a bus to Almirante. There are night buses that run from Panama City (10 – 12 hours). You can’t book them online, but they depart from the Albrook Terminal. An alternative route is to get a bus to David and connect with a bus to Almirante. The David – Almirante route also works well if you’re coming from Boquete.
- 🚐 By shuttle: the easiest way to travel around Panama is via tourist shuttle, which goes directly from one destination to the other without stops. The shuttles to Bocas del Toro include the water taxi from Almirate to Bocas Town, so you really don’t have to think about or organise anything.
Shuttles most commonly depart from Boquete (book here) but it’s possible to organise a shuttle from The Lost & Found Hostel or from Santa Catalina, depending on your Panama itinerary.
Getting around in Bocas del Toro
- 🚤 By boat: water taxi is the most common form of transport between and around the islands in Bocas del Toro. The price depends on the length of the journey, and most trips range between $2 – $10 per person. The prices increase at night or if you need a private boat.
If you’re coming from Bocas Town, there is a collection of docks along the eastern shore of town and the locals can direct you to the right one for your destination, but most docks service most islands.
If you’re on a smaller island, you can simply wave down a passing boat from a dock, or get the Whatsapp number of a reliable water taxi from your accommodation, and organise a pick-up.
These are some examples of trips we paid for, which as far as I understand, are fixed prices:
⛵️ Bocas Town – Isla Bastimentos (Old Bank area): $5 per person one-way
⛵️ Bocas Town – Red Frog Beach (shortcut walk): $8 per person one-way
⛵️ Bocas Town – Isla Carenero (beach/southeast side): $2 per person one-way
⛵️ Bocas Town – Isla Solarte (western end): $6 per person one-way
- 👣 On foot: outside of Isla Colón, the only way to get around is by boat or foot. The other islands don’t have roads or cars, and you’ll rely on your own two feet to walk around the towns and islands, usually along some pretty scenic jungle trails!
- 🚕 Taxi: there are taxis plying around Isla Colón and Bocas Town and are great for trips to and from the airport and water taxi docks.
- 🚐 Colectivo: there are two colectivo (public van) routes from Bocas Town. One to Boca del Drago (access to Starfish Beach) and one to Bluff Beach. They both depart from the western side of Parque Simon Bolivar. They’re $2.50 per person each way.
- 🚲 By bike: Isla Colón and Bocas Town are the perfect places to rent a bike. The town is mostly flat, and having some wheels allows you to stay a little out of the centre (noise!), but still have easy access to restaurants and amenities. There are even some new bike lanes on the main road out of town. Look into Bicicletas Ixa for regular bikes. E-bikes have become super popular in Bocas and can get you even further around the island to sites like Boca del Drago and Bluff Beach. Check out Bocas Ebikes.
- 🛵 Rental vehicle: if you’re staying primarily on Isla Colón you can rent a car, ATV or motorcycle. This is the quickest and easiest way to get around the island and is a great option if you want to stay somewhere outside of town (e.g. Bluff Beach) but still be within easy reach of the restaurants, cafes, bars etc. Flying Pirates is the best place for ATVs and motos, car rentals are less common.
Where to stay in Bocas del Toro
Choosing where to stay in Bocas del Toro is a very tough decision! In addition to choosing your hotel or hostel, you also have to decide which island you’d like to base yourself on.
If you’ve got 4 + nights, I think the best way to experience Bocas is to stay on multiple islands. We split our time between Bastimentos and Colón, but with hindsight, I wish we had chosen Carenero for our second stay.
Bocas Town on Isla Colón has the largest choice of accommodations, with something for all budgets from party hostels to high-end hotels. However, it is very noisy, developed and busy and the furthest thing from a tropical paradise!
If you want a secluded, ‘destination’ type of stay, Solarte and San Cristobal are the best islands. Both these islands have some wonderful lodges that offer inclusive experiences or cooking facilities to cater for the lack of other restaurants and amenities.
Carenero and Bastimentos fall between these two categories. Both islands have a reasonable selection of accommodations from hostels to luxury lodges, with enough restaurants and amenities around the island that you’re not isolated, but nowhere near as busy as Bocas Town.
You can also find the same vibe in other parts of Isla Colón, like Saigon Bay, Big Creek and Paunch, Bluff Beach or Boca del Drago.
🛌 I’ve got a more detailed guide on where to stay in Bocas del Toro comparing the pros and cons of each island
Some of the best accommodation options around the archipelago for a range of budgets are:
BUDGET 💰
- Selina Bocas del Toro, Bocas Town, Isla Colón
- Bambuda Lodge, Isla Solarte
- Palmar Beach Lodge, Isla Bastimentos
- Skully’s House, Big Creek, Isla Colón
- Bambuda Bocas Town, Bocas Town, Isla Colón
MID-RANGE 💰💰
- Eclypse de Mar Acqua Lodge, Isla Bastimentos
- RIVA B&B, Isla Carenero
- Nowhere & Somewhere, Big Creek, Isla Colón
- CocoVivo, Isla San Cristobal
- Roam Yoga & Wellness Lodge, Isla Solarte
BOUTIQUE LUXURY 💰💰💰
- La Loma Jungle Lodge, Isla Bastimentos
- Sol Bungalows, Isla Solarte
- La Coralina Island House, Playa Bluff, Isla Colón
- Nayara Resort, Isla San Cristobal
- Casa Acuario Boutique Hotel, Isla Carenero
Things to do in Bocas del Toro
Beaches in Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro has a beach for everyone! Some with powdery white sand and calm waters, others with huge swell and pumping surf.
Some of the top beaches to visit around the islands are:
- ⭐️ Starfish Beach: located on the northwest corner of Isla Colón, Playa Estrella or Starfish Beach is a gorgeous, calm, bright blue bay full of starfish. It was one of my favourite beaches in Bocas.
- 🐸 Red Frog Beach: famous for the resident strawberry poison dart frogs hiding in the jungle around the beach, Red Frog Beach is a vast stretch of sand on the eastern side of Isla Bastimentos. At certain times of the year, it’s a calm, relaxing beach, while in other months it’s a pumping surf beach. You can hike from Old Bank via Wizard Beach, or take the boat to the Red Frog dock and walk through the shortcut trail.
- 🧙🏻♂️ Wizard Beach: if you hike to Red Frog Beach, you’ll pass Wizard Beach, a vast stretch of sand and sometimes wild ocean. Popular with surfers during the season, it’s otherwise empty and untouched. We saw more red frogs behind Wizard Beach than we did at the actual Red Frog Beach, it’s worth hiking through here at least one way.
- 🌊 Bluff Beach: one of the most popular surf breaks in Bocas, Bluff Beach is 10 km (6.2 mi) from Bocas Town and can be reached via colectivo, bike or car/ATV/motorbike. It’s not suitable for swimming, but there are a handful of accommodations and restaurants and the beach is gorgeous for a long walk.
- 🌴 Carenero Beach: not exactly a sweeping stretch of sand, but we loved the shallow, lagoon-style swimming areas on the southeast side of Isla Carenero. It’s one of the closest places to Bocas Town for a swim, and you can lay down your towel on the sand under a palm tree, or park up at a chilled-out beach bar for the afternoon.
🏖️ Read our guide to the best beaches in Bocas del Toro for more detailed information about these beaches, including how to get there and the amenities available
Surfing in Bocas del Toro
I ignorantly assumed that the Caribbean Sea was like a big calm, crystal-clear bath everywhere. Wrong!
There is a handful of surf spots around the Caribbean and Bocas del Toro is one of the best.
However, it’s important to get your timing right as there isn’t swell year-round. Some months of the year the ocean does revert to a calm, big bath and you couldn’t imagine there could ever be waves!
The surf season is usually December – February/March, with another mini-season in July.
There are various breaks all over Bocas del Toro, for all different experience levels. Some of the most popular are:
- 🏄🏽♀️ Bluff Beach, Isla Colón
- 🏄🏽♀️ Paunch Reef, Isla Colón
- 🏄🏽♀️ Carenero Point, Isla Carenero
- 🏄🏽♀️ Old Mans, Isla Carenero
- 🏄🏽♀️ Wizard Beach, Isla Bastimentos
- 🏄🏽♀️ Red Frog Beach, Isla Bastimentos
If you’re looking to organise lessons, hire a board or take a surf trip to more distant breaks, these are some of the best surf schools around:
- Mono Loco Surf School, Isla Colón
- Escuela del Mar, Isla Carenero
- Surf & Chill, Isla Bastimentos
Snorkelling and diving in Bocas del Toro
If surfing and rough swell aren’t your thing (they’re not mine!) you can get underwater instead and go snorkelling or diving in Bocas del Toro.
The Caribbean Sea around the islands is home to many different coral reef systems, lots of macro diving to see small critters and a rainbow of fish.
It is possible to see larger marine life like turtles, sharks and rays, but typically the Caribbean Coast is more about shallow, coral reefs vs larger animals and stronger ocean currents found on the Pacific Coast.
You can dive and snorkel year-round, but the best months with the calmest seas and best visibility are September and October.
Snorkelling
Snorkelling can be done from the beach in some places, or off docks. You can pretty much jump in anywhere for a look, just be wary of boats and riptides/swell. Snorkelling is also a key element of many of the boat tours on offer around the archipelago.
Some of the most popular snorkel sites are:
- 🏥 Hospital Point, Isla Solarte
- ⭐️ Starfish Beach, Isla Colón
- 🐠 Crawl Cay, near Isla Bastimentos
Scuba diving
Scuba diving allows you to get further and deeper than snorkelling but is very reliant on the ocean conditions, as many of the best sites are inaccessible when the swell is strong.
Some of the most popular dive sites are:
- 🏥 Hospital Point
- 🦈 Pandora
- ⛵️ The Old Wreck
- 🐢 Sashen (seasonal)
- 🐅 Tiger Rock (seasonal)
There are a handful of great dive schools in Bocas del Toro, most concentrated in Bocas Town. You can do all kinds of PADI courses, fun dives or night dives.
The most popular dive shops are:
- La Buga Dive & Surf, Isla Colón
- Bocas Dive Center, Isla Colón
- Panama Dive School, Isla Carenero
Personally, we didn’t find our brief snorkelling experiences that great here. Admittedly, we didn’t do that much of it, and I’m sure if we spent more time in the water we would have found some interesting creatures and corals.
We also didn’t scuba dive, as our funds were running pretty low at the tail-end of our 6-month trip, so maybe that would have been better.
There is heavy boat traffic around the islands, they’re highly populated in parts with poor visibility due to runoff and rivers draining into the ocean from the mainland. We found Coiba Island on the Pacific Coast to be a much more pristine marine environment with an abundance of wildlife.
Cayos Zapatillas
Just when you thought you were already in paradise, Cayos Zapatillas comes along and dials it up a notch!
Think powdery white sand, crystal clear waters made for floating, a grove of palm trees and virtually no one around – aka heaven on earth.
The Zapatilla Cayes are a collection of two remote islands off the east coast of Isla Bastimentos. They’re protected as part of the marine park and have remained untouched and uninhabited, but can be visited on a day tour or via private boat.
Regular tours depart from Bocas Town and usually combine the island with brief stops for wildlife watching at Dolphin Bay, Hollywood Island (starfish) and Sloth Island, as well as Crawl Cay for an optional lunch and (mediocre) snorkelling.
The other parts of the tour were nothing to rave about, but the beach at Zapatilla was absolutely incredible and worth the side trips!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any particularly great or ethical tour companies, but these are a few of the better-rated tour options:
- Zapatilla Island Hopping Tour
- Bastimentos Alive Zapatilla Experience
- Kawi Voyage Zapatilla Excursion
If you’ve got the budget or a bigger group, I’d highly recommend chartering a water taxi for the day to take you directly to and from Cayos Zapatillas so you can spend all day there enjoying the beach.
Kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding
One of our favourite things we did in Bocas del Toro was paddleboarding every morning from our accommodation in Old Bank on Isla Bastimentos.
With the exception of Bocas Town, which is very busy with boat traffic and any of the rougher surf beaches, you can go kayaking or paddleboarding from most of the islands.
Any accommodation that is right on the water (or over the water!) will usually have kayaks or paddleboards either included or for rent, and it’s a lovely and relaxing activity.
Morning is the best time before the winds pick up and the boats come out, but a sunset paddle is also a special way to end the day!
Land activities in Bocas del Toro
There are just as many adventures on land around Bocas as there are under the surface. Most of the islands are covered in dense rainforest, full of creatures of all shapes and sizes!
- 🦥 Wildlife spotting: more incidental than an actual activity, you should always keep your eyes out for wildlife around Bocas. There are lots of sloths on many of the islands, the famous poison dart frogs, plenty of monkeys and tropical birds. We spotted a lot of wildlife when we hiked to Red Frog Beach, and even on the short trail from Boca del Drago to Starfish Beach.
- 🍫 Tour a chocolate farm: cacao is a very popular crop in this part of Panama, and there are a handful of organic farms you can tour to learn more about the best sweet treat, chocolate. Up In The Hill on Isla Bastimentos and Green Acres Chocolate Farm on the mainland near Isla San Cristobal are the most popular options. It’s a really unique experience that gets you into the jungle with the chance to see more wildlife and diverse plant life.
- 🦇 Nivida Bat Cave: hidden in the Bahia Honda area of Isla Bastimentos, this deep cavern has a subterranean lake and is home to thousands of nectar bats. You can hike into the cave and wade through the lake on a guided tour, run by the local Ngöbe-Buglé community. Find their contact details on this website.
- 🏍️ ATV ride on Isla Colón: the east coast of Isla Colón around Playa Bluff has some fantastic off-road trails you can explore by ATV. The official road ends at Bluff Beach, but you can continue further along the coast and on private trails through the jungle, created by Flying Pirates. There are plenty of wildlife spotting opportunities, and you can swim in the hidden La Piscina and Blue Lagoon.
Nightlife in Bocas del Toro
It’s no secret Bocas del Toro has a reputation as a party destination. We’d heard plenty of whispers about ‘Filthy Friday’ along the Gringo Trail through Central America.
Filthy Friday is an island-hopping day party that happens every Friday. It kicks off in Bocas Town on Isla Colón at a bar called Barco Hundido, before boating over to The Blue Coconut on Isla Solarte and finishing up at Aqua Lounge on Isla Carenero.
This is definitely not our scene, but if you love to party, you’ll have some fun in Bocas! If you don’t, you can definitely avoid it. Just don’t hang around Bocas Town too long and familiarise yourself with the Filthy Friday itinerary to not be at those places!
In one way Bocas totally lived up to its party reputation, but it was also almost entirely confined to Bocas Town (plus a few other venues on Fridays), and we were surprised how little it affected us outside this area.
If you prefer your nightlife a bit more relaxed, there are plenty of fun and chilled-out bars around the islands. Any of the bars visited during Filthy Fridays are a great spot to go not on Friday for some drinks and swimming.
The Floating Bar, just off the coast of Isla Colón was also a fun spot for a few drinks and a meal! It had a bit of an American-old-expat vibe, but we enjoyed ourselves and loved jumping off the bar and swimming between drinks. They often have live music, and Taco Tuesdays are a great time to visit! Any water taxi can take you there.
Where to eat in Bocas del Toro
Eating in Bocas del Toro is entirely dependent on where you’re staying, and where you are at meal times.
Bocas Town has the biggest selection of cafes, restaurants and bars and there are some seriously good foodie options here.
The other villages around Isla Colón and other islands like Carenero and Bastimentos have enough food options to keep you fed, but Solarte and San Cristobal are extremely limited and you’ll either need to eat at your accommodation or have self-catering facilities, and carry all your groceries over from Colón.
These were some of our fave options around the islands:
Isla Colón
- 🍛 Restaurant Tom: affordable and tasty local spot in Bocas Town, free drink with mains and a breezy deck overlooking the water.
- ☕️ Amaranto Cafe: fantastic coffee in Bocas Town.
- 🍝 Pane y Vino: nice little Italian restaurant with tasty homemade pasta in Bocas Town.
Isla Carenero
- 🐠 Bibi’s: a Bocas icon, this overwater restaurant is famous for its piña coladas (even better during happy hour!), ceviche and other seafood options.
- 🍕 Coquitos: pizza, tacos and cocktails in the best beachfront location with hammocks.
- 🌿 Leaf Eaters Cafe: a mostly vegetarian cafe with light and healthy options and a gorgeous waterfront area with a dock to swim off.
Isla Bastimentos
- 🍗 Mami’s: I’m including Mami’s as it was our favourite spot to eat in Basti, with hearty local dishes homecooked by a very warm and friendly family. However, about a month before publishing this post, the restaurant burned down. It says permanently closed on Google Maps, but I wanted to mention it in case it reopens, it’s worth checking if you’re on Basti.
- 🔥 The Firefly: a gourmet, gastronomic experience on Basti with a focus on fresh, local ingredients and good quality homemade food. Make a reservation.
- 🍹 The Point at Red Frog Beach: the best of a bad bunch on Red Frog Beach. Still pricey but an excellent location in the sand with happy hour cocktails and good seafood.
Bocas del Toro travel tips
- 🌤️ Best time to visit: Bocas del Toro is a very tropical destination that experiences rain year-round. You really do need to expect and prepare for rain in any month, it’s a very wet place and it doesn’t necessarily follow the region’s standard wet/dry season.
That said, there are some drier months that experience less rain which is the best time to visit. January – April and September – October are generally the drier months.
If you want to surf in Bocas, plan your visit for December – March or July.
- 🗓️ How long to stay: Bocas del Toro is a very spread-out destination, and to get the most out of it, I think you should stay on at least two different islands. That said, you wouldn’t want any less than 5 nights here and you could easily stay a week or more, especially if you wanted some relaxing downtime amongst your activities.
- 🫶🏼 Safety: is Bocas del Toro safe? Yes, it’s generally a safe destination that experiences very little crime. Petty theft is the only thing to be aware of, which can be avoided by keeping your accommodation locked, leaving unnecessary valuables in your hotel, and not leaving your things unattended on beaches for lengthy periods of time. We did find Bocas Town a bit seedy due to its heavy nightlife scene, and you will definitely be offered drugs, but it wasn’t unsafe.
- 🗣️ Language: Spanish is the official language in Panama and is, of course, widely spoken in Bocas del Toro. However, given the region’s popularity with international tourists and expats, we found many people spoke English. You will hear a variety of other languages too, from Chinese to Guaymí, the Indigenous Ngöbe-Buglé language, and Guari Guari, a blend of English, Creole, Spanish and Guaymí spoken by the Afro-Panamians on Basti.
- 💰 Currency: the official currency of Panama is the Panamanian Balboa. However, the Balboa is tied at a fixed rate of 1:1 with the US Dollar, and they use US Dollar notes. There are no Balboa bills but you will see Balboa coins and should expect to be given change in a mix of both currencies.
- 🏧 ATMs: the bank and ATM situation is a nightmare in Bocas del Toro. There is only one bank in the entire archipelago in Bocas Town, the Banco Nacional de Panama, which has three ATMs. There are a couple of other non-bank ATMs in the main area of town, but I’d opt for the official bank ones to reduce the risk of skimming.
The problem is that these ATMs only allow you to withdraw $250 USD at a time and the fee is a hefty $6.50 USD. If you can, come to the island with plenty of cash.
Businesses in Bocas Town accept payments via credit card, but this isn’t necessarily the case as you get to some of the smaller islands.
- 📱 Phone & SIM Cards: pre-paid phone plans in Panama are excellent, with unlimited data included in 7 or 10 day plans, for around $6 – $7. Tigo and Más Movil are the most common providers, and they both have a shopfront in Bocas Town if you need to buy a SIM card or top-up. If they’re closed, you can also get SIM cards from most supermarkets. We used Celular Chen and she was super helpful and set up our plans for us.
- 🦟 Sandflies: like many islands in the Caribbean, sandflies, no-see-ums, chitras, whatever you want to call them, are rife around Bocas del Toro. Come dusk, you can be eaten alive by these tiny, itchy, infuriating creatures. Come stocked with repellent, or buy a local remedy when you arrive. Mixes with coconut oil work well, and are much nicer on your skin than chemical repellents. Covering up at dusk with long linen pants and a shirt is also helpful, but not bulletproof!
- 🥑 Groceries: being an island, where everything needs to be shipped in from the mainland, groceries can be pricey in Bocas del Toro and availability is limited for certain items.
If you have self-catering facilities and want to do a big grocery shop, you definitely need to do it in Bocas Town. Some of the other islands have small minimarts, but the selection is very limited and expensive.
There are several supermarkets on Calle 3A, and you may need to go to a few of them to get exactly what you need. They are locally called ‘chinos’ as they are all owned by Chinese immigrants.
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Final thoughts: Bocas del Toro Travel Guide
Bocas del Toro was SO much better than we expected. I can’t believe we almost decided to skip these amazing islands, purely on the opinion of others.
Sure, Bocas Town is noisy and very party-focused, but there is so much more to these stunning islands than just one town.
I hope this travel guide has given you a better picture of the archipelago and helped you decide where you can find your vibe, to get the most out of your time in Bocas del Toro Panama.
Depending on your Panama itinerary, your next destination will most likely be the cool highlands town of Boquete. Alternatively, Bocas is a great jump-off point for crossing the border to the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica.
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