Bocas del Toro, Panama

This is a province of Panama comprising an archipelago off the Caribbean coast, plus adjacent mainland with biodiverse rainforest. Located in the northwest part of Panama, up against the Costa Rican border. This is one of the few areas of Panama on the Carribean coast accessible via roads and also has an international airport located on the main island (Isla Colon). The archipelago consists of nine main islands, although there are hundreds of smaller islands as part of this providence.

Getting to Bocas can be achieved by either car or bus to Almirante, then taking a ferry over to Bocas town on the Isla Colon, or flying directly to Bocas town from locations like Panama City and others. Flying in from Panama City takes about 45 minutes.

The airport is located as part of the town and a quick taxi ride gets you to your hotel / motel / hostel in just a few minutes. For resorts that are located on one of the many islands or located on the far side of Isla Colon, the best mode of transportation is via water taxis that are located everywhere in town.

The town of Bocas has many hotels, restaurants, souvenir, dive & surf shops, activity centers, bars, and is a local gathering place at night in the town center. You can see spectacular sunsets from many of the restaurants along the waterfront of the town.

 

The first thing that strikes you about Bocas del Toro region are the multi-colored buildings located on or over the water throughout the region. Most are either restaurants or hotels.

The waters throughout the inside of the archipelago are calm and the water is warm, and turquoise in color. There is good diving both inside and outside of the archipelago depending on the wind direction. Also, surfing is very popular along the Caribbean facing side of all the main islands.

Bocas town,including the airport, are located on the southern tip of Isla Colon. This section of the Island is connected by a thin strip of land to the rest of the Island, which is sparsely habited and mostly consists of natural reserves. Various Hotels, beaches, and resorts are located along the coast of this island and accessible mostly via water taxis. There is a road that connects the town to the northern side of the Island, where you can access Starfish Beach and a secluded fishing village of Playa Boca de Drago.

Starfish beach is quite remote and accessible only by either water taxi or via walking (20-minute hike along the coast from Playa Boca de Drago). Either way, the views are beautiful.

While in Bocas, make sure you not only explore the main island but sign-up for a tour of the surrounding islands. Spend the day on Isla Bastimentos, this is the island that has some great beaches like Read Frog beach and Wizard beach. Both of these face out into the Caribbean, so good for surfing. The Island also has one of the best marinas in the Bocas del Toro area. Red Frog Resort is a very special place and is worth a look. There are many trails and things to do and see while on this island.

Other places to visit outside of Bocas town, are just cruising around the archipelago, and visiting any of the great little islands that all seem to have great beaches, and some with surprising little restaurants, hotels, and other surprises. Found the below new building for The Smithsonian Institute on one of the remote little islands. The main Institute is located on Isla Colon, just north of town.

There is good diving and lots of wildlife located throughout the archipelago. Note the dolphins, parrots, butterflies, monkeys, critters, and even found some three-toed sloths located on a remote island called sloth island.

This Turtle used Total Adventures, Inc. for all his outdoor activities in Bocas del Toro. There are many dive shops and adventure shops throughout Bocas town, it is hard to find one that will give you personal service and allow you to tailor your adventure to what you want to do. Yader Ibarra, who owns and runs Total Adventure Inc., came highly recommended from people we met in Panama City, while staying at the Hilton Hotel. Yader went out of his way to ensure that we got connected to the right people to do all the sightseeing and tours that I wanted to get done while visiting the region. He took the time to personally show us places and sights that the average person would not get to see while visiting the Bocas del Toro region.

While in Bocas town, This Turtle stayed at a great Bed & Breakfast hotel called Lula’s, which has a great location, just north of downtown, and about 3 blocks to the west of main street (Calle 3a). This place is run by Chad Sorrow & Josh Acree. Since Bocas town is a party town, it’s good to get off of the main street and someplace where you can relax and is quite, and yet is comfortable and close enough that you can walk to all the activities and downtown.

This Turtle found this part of Panama to be the best fit for all of my needs, but with the diving still requiring a 30+ minute ride to the dive sites, and the town still does not have the required food infrastructure that I am looking for (fresh, non-GMO, vegetables and meat). There is plenty of fresh fish, but finding fresh vegetables and meat on an island is tough. Most vegetables look like they are a few weeks old, and non-appetizing, and the meat that I had is very tough and not worth the  price you pay. Remember, all foods, except some fruits are shipped in from the mainland of Panama.

This Turtle will keep looking for the right place to move to.

Coming up next will be, Turtles trip back to his current home in Huntington Beach, CA – USA.