The 10 Best Things To Do In Bocas del Toro, Panama
by Rebecca Hollman
updated Feb 26, 2019
Bocas del Toro, Panama
You could easily spend weeks exploring all of Bocas and trying to do all of the things there are to do. But if you only have a couple of days in Bocas, then you’re going to need to pick and choose what you do with your time. Below we’ve made a list of the best (and most accessible) things to do while spending a couple of days or weeks in Bocas.
1. Island Tour of Cayos Zapatillas
ABOUT: The islands of Zapatillas are the most beautiful things in all of Bocas. You need to spend at least one of your days in Bocas going to these two pristine white sand islands. The easiest way to get to Zapatillas is to go on an organized tour. These tours usually have a handful of spots they stop besides just Zapatillas. From Bocas Town, you will head out towards Zapatillas and first stop at Sloth Island. You don’t get off the boat here, they just drive you right up to the mangrove trees where you can see sloths right there at the edge of the island. From there, you will head to Cayo Coral for snorkeling. They first take you to a restaurant where you can order food for lunch to eat after you get back from Zapatillas but I suggest bringing your own lunch (the food here is very pricey and you won’t eat lunch until 3:30 PM). From there, they bring you to a snorkel spot for about 30-45 minutes where you can snorkel over very beautiful coral beds. There are tropical fish here but not bigger marine life so expect to just look at amazing corals and small fish. The tours provide snorkel gear. From there, you will finally go to Zapatilla 1. They drop you off in about waist deep of water and you have to walk onto the island so keep this in mind when thinking about what you will bring onto the island. The tour usually includes 2-3 hours on Zapatilla. You can swim, lay on the beach, and walk around the entire island in this time comfortably. Lastly, they take you back to Cayo Coral to eat food if you ordered it. On the way back to Bocas Town, they will make a quick stop at Starfish Island where you can see a good amount of starfish sitting in the seagrass in the shallow waters around this mangrove island.
GETTING THERE: Any of the tour companies in town will take you on the Zapatillas tour. I would make sure to book/arrange the tour at least the day before. Tours leave around 9 or 10 AM. Each tour company has their own place to meet so make sure to get all the information when you book the tour. You can also get to Zapatillas without a tour if you hire your own water taxi for the entire day. Hiring your own water taxi for the day is a great way to get to explore more of Bocas on your own time. You get to essentially make up your own tour as long as long as it fits within a half (or full) day. It’s a little bit more expensive as it would probably be $30-50 to have the boat to yourself for a day, but you get to do and see a ton of stuff. I would suggest hitting up snorkeling spots (Hospital Point, Coral Gardens, Cayo Coral) and then either going to Zapatillas and hanging out or to Starfish Beach/Isla Pajaros. If you have a full day, you could go to all of these places and maybe more depending on how long you spend in each place. Have your hotel/hostel recommend a boat driver so you know you are getting a decent price.
Learn more about Cayos Zapatillas here.
2. Starfish Beach
ABOUT: Starfish Beach is on the other side of the island from most of the things to do on Colón, but it is worth the trip to the other side. Colón only has one major road that splits just outside of Bocas Town - one leading up to Paunch and Bluff and the other split leading Starfish and Boca del Drago. Most everyone stays to the Bluff side of Colón, but the crystal blue waters of Starfish draw people to the other side of this relatively large island.
GETTING THERE: To get to Starfish, you can take a colectivo from the park at the center of town. There are small 20 person white vans labeled Playa Boca del Drago across the windshield that will take you to Starfish Beach for $2.50 each way. If you have a group of people, you could also take a taxi from town but it will be more expensive. The colectivos leave pretty much every 30 minutes and also come back from Starfish every 30 minutes (up until the last colectivo at 6 PM). The colectivo will drop you off at a restaurant called Yarisnori which is on Playa Boca del Drago. You could sit on the beach chairs here at Boca del Drago and enjoy some time, but if you want to reach Starfish you are going to have to walk 15 minutes along a trail from Boca del Drago.
The trail goes from the restaurant along the beach past a few private homes (and across someones dock that says private property but just keep going over the dock and past it along the trail). Soon, the trail will go out of people’s yards and into the trees, where you will follow it 15 minutes to Starfish. All along the path are areas to stop and get in the water which are arguably better than Starfish itself. The beach along this area is just as nice, has more starfish and WAY less people. Starfish Beach is nice but it is generally very crowded. Once you follow the path to the end, you will reach a handful of restaurants along the beach and lots of sitting areas.
OTHER INFO TO KNOW: Although it is called Starfish Beach and there are some starfish there in the water, don’t expect there to be thousands of starfish around. However, the water is insanely blue here and also perfectly calm (versus the aggressive waves of Bluff and Paunch on the other side of the island). Because of that, this is the nicest swimming beach on Colón. Going to Starfish Beach, Playa Boca del Drago and the Bat Caves (La Gruta) would make a great day on Bocas. You can also additionally take a boat tour from Bocas Town that will bring you to Starfish Beach and also Isla Pájaros.
Learn more about Starfish Beach here.
3. Playa Bluff
ABOUT: Playa Bluff is the biggest beach on Colón and probably the most accessible. The beach itself is over 5 miles in length and it feels like you could keep walking on it forever. Bluff has easily the best sand because of its big beach area to lay on and because of the vibrant orange color of the sand. The contrast of the green palm trees right along the edge, the orange of the sand, and the bright blue of the water really is something to see. However, Playa Bluff is NOT a swimming beach. The waves crash in only 3 feet of water - so extremely close to the shore. These waves are heavy and powerful and the buffer zone is generally right where people get in to just wade around or play in the water. The rip tides and currents here are also very aggressive and so it is easy to get swept out to sea. A handful of tourists drown here each year. If you want to go to a beach to swim, either go to Starfish Beach or Sand Dollar Beach. Playa Bluff and Paunch are not swimming beaches. However, Bluff is a great beach to lay out on and spend the day in the sun or walking up and down the long stretch of coast.
Bluff can also be a surf spot depending on the swell. If you are a good surfer and the swell is smaller, then you could go for a surf at Bluff. However, Bluff is known as a board breaker since the waves are crashing pretty much directly onto the sand of the sea floor. I would only surf at Bluff is you are at least an intermediate level surfer.
GETTING THERE: To get to Bluff, you can take a colectivo from the park at the center of town. There are small 20 person white vans labeled Playa Bluff across the windshield that will take you to Bluff for $1.50 each way. You can also bike to Bluff if you have a rental bike. It would probably take 45 minutes to an hour to bike from town. Taking a taxi is another option but it would probably be $6-8 one way per person.
Learn more about Playa Bluff here.
4. Night Snorkeling/Diving Tour with Diving Pirates
ABOUT: Diving Pirates is a dive shop known for their open water PADI certification courses. Besides wreck diving, reef diving, and night diving, Flying Pirates also offers a night time snorkeling tour of the bioluminescent water of Bocas. The tour is $25 per person and includes a boat ride to a few different stops with bioluminescence. At the last stop, people are encouraged to get in the water and snorkel. The movement in the water will create more light since the phytoplankton respond to touch. The water is generally still warm even at night time, but bring a sweater or towel for the boat ride back to town.
GETTING THERE: Diving Pirates is the only place in town that offers the bioluminescence tour. Diving Pirates is located farther back in town where the road leads towards Paunch and Bluff, next to Bookstore Bar and Sweet Love Bocas. The tour leaves from the Diving Pirates store.
5. The Floating Bar
ABOUT: The name says it all. It’s a bar, and it’s floating. This cute little bar is located just outside the Bocas Marina on it’s own platform. They serve up delicious tacos and drinks all day and into night time. They have an upper deck, chairs to chill on, noodles to swim with, a platform for jumping off of, and plenty of sun. Bring a snorkel mask and you can swim to the nearby mangroves and shipwreck of The Southern Wind. You will probably see more starfish here than at Starfish Beach. This is a great place to hang out with friends and get some sun during the day, and then watch the sunset over some beer and tacos.
GETTING THERE: To get there, you need to take a water taxi from Bocas Town. Get a boat from any of the water taxi spots and tell them you want to go to the Floating Bar. Most taxi drivers should know where it is. If not, tell them the bar past Bocas Marina. An important thing to note is that The Floating Bar is only open during Bocas high season - which is from January to April or May. The rest of the year the bar is not there.
Learn more about the Floating Bar here.
6. Wizard Beach
ABOUT: Wizard Beach is a remote and beautiful beach on the eastern side of Bastimentos. It has no infrastructure and very few visitors per day and so is a great way to really feel like you are on a remote tropical island. The walk to Wizard Beach is about 40 minutes through the jungle from the dock where a water taxi would drop you off. The walk is mildly steep and extremely hot during the peak of the day but gives you a nice view of the interior jungle of Bastimentos. Make sure to bring plenty of water with you, and maybe also food depending on how long you will be there.
GETTING THERE: You will need to take a water taxi from Bocas Town to Old Bank on Bastimentos. Old Bank only has one sidewalk as the main “road” so follow this sidewalk to the right from where the boat drops you off until you reach a sign that says Wizard Beach with an arrow to the left. This sign is about 15-20 minutes from the dock and the sidewalk goes underneath the sign. If you follow the trail to the left where the sign is, it will wind through people’s yards and can be a little bit confusing. Try to stick to the bigger trail if it splits. There is one split where they look the same size - stick to the left and go up the concrete block stairs. Eventually you will go out of Old Bank and the rest of the trail is obviously marked and through the jungle. You can come back on this same route, or you can take an alternate route to stop at Up in the Hill - an organic coffee and cacao farm. If you want to reach Up in the Hill, start walking back on the same trail and split off to the right when you see a painted flower made out of plastic nailed onto a tree. These flowers are the trail markers for Up in the Hill and will be on trees every so often on the way. The split off doesn’t seem like a well-traversed trail, but if you see the first flower then this is the right way. Eventually you will step over a root and go through a tiny break in a barbed wire fence and the trail will continue through rolling pastures. You will reach the jungle again and the trail will start to incline until you reach a wooden fence with a Up in the Hill sign. Pass through the fence and take the last steps up to the cafe. To get back to Old Bank from Up in the Hill, leave out to the right (the different entrance than where you came in) and follow the big trail all the way down the hill past some other homes and businesses until you come out directly in the heart of Old Bank. Boats from Bocas Town to Old Bank cost $4 per person each way.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFO TO KNOW: A tourist was murdered walking on the trail to Wizard Beach in 2016. Because of this, the Panamanian government brought in a military presence to Bocas and enlisted police to always be present along the trail. This event was truly a one-off situation and nothing has happened along the trail since. However, I would strongly advise not to walk on the trail alone (especially as a solo female) and to not walk along the trail after dark. I would not let this fact discourage you from visiting Wizard Beach because it is safe, but it is good to know to be aware of your surroundings and to also not bring valuables.
Learn more about Wizard Beach here.
7. Red Frog Beach
ABOUT: Red Frog is technically the same beach as Wizard Beach, just farther down along the same side of Bastimentos. It’s not possible to walk to Red Frog from Wizard, you would have to take a boat from either Bocas Town or Old Bank to Red Frog. However, this beach has all the same beauty as Wizard but much more amenities. There are many hotels, hostels and restaurants scattered along Red Frog Beach. Many people spend a couple of nights at a hotel on Red Frog while they are in Bocas. The waves and currents here are still pretty aggressive, like most places in Bocas, but you can swim at this beach if you are aware of your surroundings and careful. There is also a chance to surf at Red Frog depending on the swell. This is a great beach to spend the day in the sun and water, with the opportunity to walk to a restaurant and grab a smoothie or a bite to eat.
GETTING THERE: To get there you will need to take a water taxi from either Bocas Town or Old Bank to Red Frog. Depending on where you are going, you can either go to Red Frog Marina or “the shortcut to Red Frog.” If you are just spending the day on Red Frog, the driver will most likely drop you off at the shortcut. You will follow the trail from the dock about 15 minutes to the other side of the island where i will open up into a big expanse of beach. Right when you get off the dock, you will need to pass by a stand where they charge you $5 to enter Red Frog for the day. Alternatively, if you are staying at a hotel on Red Frog, they will likely drop you directly at the Red Frog Marina. Boats from Bocas Town cost $5 per person to Red Frog each way.
Learn more about Red Frog Beach here.
8. Up in the Hill Cacao and Coffee Farm
ABOUT: This organic cacao farm is nestled up in the jungle in the middle of Bastimentos. It is a super cute cafe that serves coffee, cacao drinks, wraps, veggie burgers, and amazing banana cake. They also sell coconut oil, coconut oil products, cacao products, and beeswax products for all sorts of uses - moisturizer, shampoo, bug spray, etc. Besides being a cute cafe to hang out at, they also do tours of the farm and explain the process of growing cacao and turning it into cocoa powder and other products. Tours only go at certain times of the day. You also have a very high chance of seeing strawberry poison dart frogs around the gardens of the cafe. This type of poison dart frog is only found on Bastimentos, out of the entire world. The lady who owns Up in the Hill will most likely help you find a frog to take photos of.
GETTING THERE: If you are going to just Up in the Hill and not Wizard Beach, then you will take the first direct route to Up in the Hill. When you get off the water taxi at Old Bank, you will walk a little bit along the sidewalk to the right but will almost immediately see a sign pointing to the left that says Up in the Hill. Follow this sign along the marked trail all the way to the cafe. If you are going to Wizard Beach, you can either go to Up in the Hill first and then go to the beach or go to the beach first and then to the cafe. If you go to Up in the Hill first, follow the same path as mentioned before and then leave Up in the Hill out the back entrance, down a path lined with pink hibiscus and other flowers. From there the path will descend out of the jungle and into more open pastures. The trail is always marked with painted flowers made out of plastic that are nailed to trees. These trail markers will be every so often so make sure to look out for these and stay on the path with these markers. Eventually this trail will run into the Wizard Beach trail and you will walk along the normal Wizard Beach trail for 5 minutes before reaching the beach. If you want to go to Wizard Beach first and then Up in the Hill, read the directions under the Getting There section of Wizard Beach above. Water taxis from Bocas Town to Old Bank cost $4 per person each way.
Learn more about Up in the Hill here.
9. Carenero Island Trail
ABOUT: Carenero is the smallest island (that is not a cayo) in Bocas and has a trail that goes all the way around the island. You can walk around the whole island in about 2 hours if you don’t stop along the way. This is a nice way to see the whole island and to get to more remote beaches and swimming spots. Part of the walk will be going by the popular area of Carenero - along all the restaurants - other parts will be totally remote and other spots will be going through residential areas, both expat and local. The trail is hard to see in some spots but this is the only trail and/or walking path on the island so it’s pretty easy to find your way back on. I would make sure to have decent shoes, a bathing suit and some water before starting your walk.
GETTING THERE: Start by taking a water taxi from Bocas Town to Carenero. You can start along the trail at any spot on the island so it doesn’t really matter where you start or in which direction you walk it. I usually have the driver drop me at the Bibi’s dock and then start to the right of Bibi’s. No matter where you start, a boat ride from Bocas Town to Carenero should only be $2. From there, just follow the trail to either the right or left. If you can’t obviously see the trail, just keep walking along the water’s edge until you find it again.
Learn more about the Carenero Island Trail here
10. Lay on the Carenero Beach
ABOUT: Carenero has a perfect little strip of beach to the left of Bibi’s which has white sand and is great for relaxing on. The ocean in front of it is a sand bar until almost 100 meters away from the shore. This is a perfect spot for swimming because the waves are dissipated by rocks and the deepest it gets is about shoulder deep.
GETTING THERE: Take a water taxi from Bocas Town to Carenero for $2. Have the taxi driver drop you off at Bibi’s dock. The beach will be directly in front of and to the right of the dock that they drop you off at.