Bocas del Toro Islands

typical scene at Bocas del Toro Islands – Panama

The Fabulous Bocas del Toro Islands – Panama

Bocas del Toro is an archipelago of a dozen or so fairly undeveloped ‘au naturale’ densely-forested, tropical islands situated just off the Caribbean coast of far northwestern Panama, close to the border of Costa Rica. They are inhabited by indigenous islanders who live in small isolated villages, many with wooden houses built on stilts on top of the shallow sea.

Bocas del Toro turned out to be my favorite place in all of Panama, aside from Panama City which is, obviously, a completely different sort of destination.

However, before visiting I actually had my doubts about their appeal. You see, the islands are one of the most famous and popular destinations among international travelers, not only in Panama, but in all of Central America!

As I was traveling through Central America for many months, I repeatedly heard travelers talking about going there. I knew it was a huge travelers’ magnet with a well-developed main town and a big party scene.

central Bocas del Toro town – Isla Colon

I also heard and read stories about rising crime problems due to the growing tourist developments. None of that sounded very appealing to me.

I thought the main town might be ultra touristy, possibly somewhat seedy, crowded, noisy and obnoxious. I also worried that the leading music might be that horrid Reggaeton, Latino pop or rap/hip-hop, all of which would drive me right up the wall. And I certainly didn’t want to end up in the midst of a heavy drug and drinking scene.

On the other hand, I’d also met many travelers who had already been to Bocas del Toro, who ranted and raved about the place. Depending on who’s talking, that could be either a good or a bad sign.

In any event, I definitely wanted to go and see for myself what the islands were like. After all, ‘remote’ – ‘undeveloped’ – ’empty beaches’ and – ‘pristine jungle’ all sounded wonderful to me! I figured that if the main town was too touristy for me I could head over to one of the other islands or to a more remote place on the main island.

I also had been assigned to visit three upscale resorts in Bocas del Toro , so despite any hesitations or misgivings, I had to go!

Cabana Beach near Bocas del Toro town

More about Bocas del Toro Islands

As usual, I did quite a bit of research to learn more about the archipelago before I went.

The main island, called Isla Colon, not surprisingly, is the most developed in the archipelago. In fact, Bocas del Toro and neighboring Carenero Island are really the only developed islands.

Colon is also the only island with an airport, paved roads and a bus system. Besides the main town, around the island there are are few other towns & villages, scattered houses and several pristine beaches situated on the north and far western end of the island.

Buses and taxis go out to all the main points, taking about one hour to reach the furthest beaches and towns. There are also small hotels, guest houses and other type of accommodations at other spots around the island. Travelers who prefer being outside Bocas town can easily find more remote places, surrounded entirely by nature.

The other islands in the archipelago consist almost entirely of dense, pristine tropical jungles with one or two, maybe a handful of, tiny indigenous villages, and perhaps a couple small Eco-conscious boutique resorts set in dense jungle on the edge of the sea.

taking the ferry boat from Almirante to Bocas del Toro

Getting to Bocas del Toro

To reach Bocas del Toro islands, nearly all visitors take the regular boat ferry service from the closest mainland village, called Almirante. A handful of wealthier visitors fly into Bocas’ tiny airfield from Panama City or David, en route to various small luxury resorts situated around the archipelago.

I, of course, opted for the overland and boat ferry option. Arriving in Almirante on a bus from David, I got my first introduction to the islanders. They were so down to Earth, relaxed and unobtrusive that I quickly began feeling very relaxed myself.

I was particularly surprised and impressed at how non-pushy they were with all the travelers coming and going. It seemed as if dealing with hundreds of visitors per day, day in and day out, for years on end, was no burden to them at all. They certainly didn’t seem jaded about tourism, as happens in so many over-visited destinations in the world.

The smooth boat ride took us through a wide mangrove river maze and then past several densely forested low-lying islands before we reached the main island of Colon and Bocas del Toro town. It was a 30-minute trip.

Colorful wooden restaurant & dive shop in Bocas del Toro town

Bocas del Toro town

As soon as we pulled into the colorful all-wooden town, I already knew I was going to love Bocas del Toro. In all colors of the rainbow, trimmed in white wood window frames, doors and railings, the town’s shops, restaurants, bars, hotels and private homes were just cute as the dickens!

And being a huge fan of historic architecture, I was already in love.

The people in Bocas, including the many touts for boats and hotels, were all very calm, friendly and non-pushy. They were just genuinely friendly, welcoming and down to Earth.

I settled into a wonderful, big airy 2-story house that had been converted into a hostel. It had a huge front lawn, plenty of open sitting areas, a huge kitchen and several dorm & private rooms.

Since I was visiting way off season in June, I got a whole dorm room to myself for an entire week! In fact, there were only a handful of guests, along with the friendly, helpful staff and two lovely cats. I was a happy camper.

typical shop in town

Enjoying the Main Island

Luckily, most of the week was my ‘vacation’ time at the islands, since I only had to visit three hotels. I explored the cute, colorful boutique shops and water-side open-air restaurants & bars. In June they all had just a handful of visitors, so it was very relaxed.

I luxuriated on a white sand beach one day, enjoyed watching sunsets while sipping cocktails at a popular water-side hostel, hung out with my hostel cats, cooked healthy meals in the well-equipped kitchen and dodged the daily rain showers.

Carenero Island – Bocas del Toro

Visiting Carenero Island

I made a day trip to neighboring Carenero Island, where I walked around the entire island. I passed through an extremely grubby wooden village ‘ghetto’ then walked past several huge private wooden homes, all the while enjoying the ever-changing sea views of neighboring islands and passing boats.

The far side of the island turned wild and I ended up following narrow jungle trails, climbing up and down headlands, strolling along empty palm-lined beaches until I suddenly arrived at a wide beach filled with travelers, much to my surprise. Seems they’d all come over by speed boat directly to the beach.

From there, the island was more inhabited and I wandered past several small restaurants, hotels and guest houses before arriving back where I’d started. I caught a boat back across to Bocas del Toro town and headed back ‘home’ to lounge with the cats.

charming Punta Caracol Acqua Lodge – Bocas del Toro

Visiting Luxury Resorts

My work inspecting luxury hotels took me to a few really cool resorts, each quite different. Most unique was Punta Caracol Acqua Lodge, an all-wooden boutique resort with just nine wooden cabins built entirely on top of the shallow sea!

And a huge highlight, not only of my visit in Bocas del Toro, but of my entire trip through Panama & Central America, was an invitation to stay at the more luxurious Red Frog Island Beach Resort. It’s a collection of 3-6 bedroom luxury homes that are rented out as vacation accommodations, all set on huge Bastimente Island.

They gave me an entire 3-bedroom luxury house set on a hillside with phenomenal views, a private pool and a spacious outdoor veranda. I luxuriated in my private Villa and hung out poolside at the main open-air restaurant, which overlooks a long, wild beach. I drank cocktails, soaked in the Jacuzzi and strolled the beach.

The resort stay was a great ending to my 1 year of travels through Central America! Two days later, I left Panama by crossing overland into Costa Rica, and flew out of San Jose two days after that. End of my Central American sojourn.

relaxing at my private Villa pool at Red Frog Island Resort – Bastimente Island

Summary

I certainly wished I could have stayed longer at Bocas del Toro! I could easily stay there one or two months, no problem… at least in low season, when the town is pretty quiet and the hostels fairly empty.

And Bocas del Toro is the first place, in all of Central America, that I most want to return to. I’d even consider it as a potential retirement location – once I finish traveling the world 10 or 15 years from now. Lol

Have you visited Bocas del Toro? If so, what did you think of the islands?

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You might also find the following posts useful:

25 Highlights of 1 Year of Travels through Central America

8 Things Distinctive of Panama

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