What To Do In Bocas del Toro: A Travel & Relaxation Guide

Bocas del Toro is one of the most popular destinations in Panama for travellers. And for good reason.

The beautiful coast, crystal clear waters and the variety of accommodation options available make Bocas a great place for people on all sorts of budgets from backpackers to those looking for remote luxury.

If you’re wanting to find out what to do in Bocas del Toro, I’ve got a guide for you or where to go and where to relax.

I’ve already written a guide on how to get to Bocas del Toro but when you get to one of Panama’s best tourist destinations, what should you be getting up to?

What to do in Bocas del Toro

Visit Bocas town

Bocas town is a great place to recharge your batteries if you’ve been travelling for a long time and need some home comforts. The great restaurants with western style and local dishes will leave your belly full. I had a very tasty lunch at El Patio and would recommend.

The main town is also the place to go if you want to book any one of the numerous tours that are available in and around the islands from fishing, to scuba diving to boat trips.

It is also the place you will have to go through to get to or from the mainland to the islands as it has the small airport and the boat terminals that run to Almirante.

Relax on Bastimentos Island

Bastimentos Island is one of the larger islands in the archipelago and has some of the bigger resorts and best beaches. One of the highlights is Red Frog Beach (mentioned below), Polo Beach or Wizard Beach.

Surrounding these beaches are beautiful resorts such as Red Frog Island Resort, the eco resort of Ataraxia or the more budget resort of Socialtel Red Frog, (formerly Selina).

Sitting on the beach and doing nothing is definitely one of the best things to do in Bocas!

See the white beaches on Red Frog beach

Red Frog beach is probably the most famous and picturesque of all the beaches in Bocas del Toro. Close to the resort of the same name, it has some of the most stunning beaches in Panama.

The beach gets its name from the small red poison dart frogs that are found in the jungle close by to the beach. I was shocked at how small they are compared to what I was expecting. They aren’t that much bigger than the end of your thumb, but the bright red colour against the forest floor makes them easy to spot.

If the frogs aren’t your thing, the beach offers white sand and a beautiful spot to spend your day.

View this post on Instagram

Surf the waves

Surfing is popular in Bocas del Toro but only at certain times of the year. Those looking at catching some waves are best to stay on the islands in the high season of December to March. You may find it busy with other tourists, but you may get lucky with a mini season of good waves between June and August.

For more info on surfing in Bocas del Toro you can click here.

Island hop with water taxi’s

There are many water taxi’s criss crossing the many islands in Bocas del Toro. From Bocas town they are can be found on Google maps here and here. I always found the ones from Taxi 25 had a fairer price than any of the others, but I think it depends on your Spanish and negotiating skills.

From the outer islands, you can either take a phone number of a water taxi driver to pick you up, or arrange a pick up from one of the hotels. Getting back from the outer islands is normally more expensive and late at night, the price increases significantly.

Hike in the jungle

There are a number of hiking trails in Bocas del Toro on a number of the islands. When I stayed at Bambuda Lodge, there was an option to hike through the very muddy jungle to a remote beach on the other side of Solarte Island.

Bastimientos and Colon Island also have hiking in the interior if you decide to stay on those.

Experience the nightlife

Bocas del Toro isn’t just about relaxing. Some of the parties on the islands are some of the best in the country. With bars floating in the middle of the sea (conveniently named Floating Bar). If you’re really looking for a big party, Filthy Friday is the place to be as the biggest bar crawl on Bocas goes from bar to bar across three different islands.

Where is Bocas del Toro?

Bocas del Toro is located on the northern coast of Panama, close to the border with Costa Rica in the Caribbean Sea.

Because of this is has a much more Caribbean feel than the Latin vibe that I felt in Panama City.

Is Bocas del Toro safe?

On the whole Bocas del Toro is a safe destination for tourists. However, there have been a lot of reports of petty crime from locals towards tourists on the islands including phone thefts.

On one tour through the jungle, the tour guide said just a few weeks previously, a girl had left her phone and clothes on the beach whilst going for a swim which weren’t there when she got back.

A $1000 phone looks mighty tempting to a local that may only earn $10 per day.

There have also been reports or tourists getting into trouble for using and abusing drugs and buying from the wrong people.

Whilst most people (including myself) have a perfectly fun and safe time on Bocas del Toro, be sensible with your surroundings and realise that you are on some remote islands so don’t take any risks.

How to get to Bocas del Toro?

There are a number of ways to get to Bocas del Toro depending on where you are starting from.

If you’re coming from Panama City, there are two main ways to get to Bocas del Toro. The fastest way is to fly from Albrook International Airport (the second airport in Panama City and not the main one which is Tocumen International Airport). Allbrook airport is close to the centre of Panama City and easy to get to by bus or taxi.

From there, Air Panama flies a few times per day to Bocas del Toro on a 45 minute flight. You can actually walk from Bocas del Toro airport to Bocas town. You can book tickets on their website here. Prices start from $80USD one way.

Alternatively, you can fly to David and take a bus from David to Bocas del Toro which I have already written a guide for.

There is also the option of taking an overnight bus from Allbrook bus terminal in Panama City to Bocas del Toro. This takes about 10 hours and includes the bus to Almirante and then the boat journey to Bocas town.

There are also a number of minibuses running from Costa Rica to Almirante where you can then get a speedboat to Bocas town. Most of these are sold as tourist shuttles from Puerto Viejo like much of buses in Costa Rica. Buses from Bocas del Toro to Costa Rica can be purchased from many of the hotels and hostels on the islands.

Where to stay on Bocas del Toro?

I stayed at Bambuda Lodge (full review here) which I found to be great value. Far enough away from Bocas Town to be peaceful, but still had a young backpacker crowd even though it had upmarket private lodges. Being on the island of Solarte meant it was close to everything.

Those wanting to be in the centre of the action might prefer to stay in Bocas Town which has a variety of hotels to suit all budgets.

Sol Bungalows is often one of the highest rated resorts in Bocas del Toro, but for those that aren’t on any kind of budget can find extremely secluded resorts on many of the remote islands.

Summing up what to do in Bocas del Toro

Bocas del Toro is one of the highlights in Panama and a great place to visit to experience beautiful beaches, warm weather, jungle, nature and outdoor activities. Basically the best that Panama has to offer.

With so much to do, it may seem daunting what to plan, but with this guide your relaxation will be easily earned!

Dan

Dan is an avid traveller from London. His first big adventure was in 2010 living in Malaysia for 3 months. He has been on the road almost constantly since 2015 travelling to destinations that aren’t on the mainstream tourist trail and working full time and travelling since 2021.