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Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (49) Well, we had to go snorkeling since we were surrounded by water. ;)
Booked a tour (have to find his business card) that took us to these places: dolphins, old point, a beach at isla bastimentos, and hospital point. Full day tour, not bad at all.
The funny thing is, that in the morning of the tour, we were getting some breakfast, when this guy comes up to us saying that we are supposed to get on the boat for the snorkeling tour at a different place. Puzzled, we asked him: how do you know that we were going on a snorkeling tour? Then he tells us that his friend (the guy that booked the tour for us), had asked him to pass the message to us. Instantly, we thought: ok, this guy is so shady!!
So, we tell the shady guy, umm, thanks but we're going to stop by the tour place just to confirm... and the guy insists, saying, oh you don't have to walk all the way there, you can just get on the boat from over there which is much closer...
Then, strolling down the street, we see our snorkel tour guy! He comes toward us, smiling, and says: ah, I see that my friend has found you guys! So, we started to laugh because the poor guy was really telling us the truth, then we asked him: how in the world did you find us, though? We know Bocas is small, but, how did you know it was us? He smiles and says: ah, three beautiful girls, not hard to find! So, we started to laugh, and asked him: and the fact that we are the only "chinitas" on the island didn't give you a hint, right? =D
hehehhehehehee
The people at Bocas were really great; I felt super comfortable as a woman traveller. =) Leave a Comment
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Various travel agencies in town offer day long snorkelling/beach/boat tour trips to the outlying islands, coral reefs and beaches. Prices are fairly standardized and quality is about the same.
A standard tour is 9:30-5pm: Out to Dolphin bay for dolphin watching, snorkelling and lunch at Cayo Coral, beach afternoon at Red Frog Beach (big waves, surfing and boogie boarding is possible) and a last minute snorkel at Punta Hospital or Garden Caye. Includes boat transportation and snorkel equipment. Bring your own water and lunch or buy it. Trip should cost no more than $15 plus $2 entrance fee to Rana Roja.
We went with Transparente Tours right next to the water taxi launch. They were $2 more expensive than the abovementioned price but gave us a $2 student discount when we told them about the price discrepancy between them and other tour operators.
Other tours can take you to Boca del Drago or Cayos Zapatillos (for a whopping $22 plus $10 park entrance fee; people say it is gorgeous though).
Check out the travelogues for more pictures. We saw lots of dolphins (though ask them to turn off the motor so as not to disturb them) and the coral was interesting but not THAT great. We DID have a shark encounter- see WARNINGS section. Leave a Comment Address: Transparente Tours, next to water taxi launch
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Take a water taxi to Red Frog Beach on Bastimentos, where there are little red spotted frogs everywhere! Don't worry, if you don't see one, a local girl or boy will come show you one in a cup in exchange for a quarter. Also grab a drink from the local bar.
You get dropped off at one side of the island and have to walk across (10 minute walk or so...). Also, you have to pay $1 at the entrance to walk through it. The walk is gorgeous though - wildlife, swamps, even some agriculture! Address: Bastimentos
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The best beach on Isla Colon is Bocas del Drago. It's on the other side of the island and you can get there by bus ($1.50 each way) or by collectivo van ($2.00 each way) and both are caught near the bocas town square. the buses go several times in the morning and several times in the late afternoon. Sometimes they do not run as scheduled. When the bus missed a time, i just caught a collectivo. you can rent a bike if you want a decent hump. There is some topography.
There is not much to do beside beach-stuff but it's gorgeous. There is a restaurant and a few places that rent rooms. The restaurant was really good. The highlight is walking down the beach. Start out past the pier and just keep going to find lots of empty, beautiful beach. Near the end you will find Starfish point. See separate tip.
I saw a local with a boat take a few people around the area. But personally i liked the walk . Leave a Comment Directions: Isla Colon - exact opposite side of the island from Bocas town.
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See my "Bocas del Drago" tip on how to get here. From the restaurant walk down the beach (past the pier - that would be to your left) and keep walking down at least a km. Then you'll start to see them: BIG, RED STARFISH. very cool.
while walking on this part of the beach i kept feeling little slivers in my feet. Upon inspection later i could see tiny, glass-like slivers that eventually worked themself out. a local told me they call them sand pickles. pickles being what they call slivers. When i asked where they came from my source helpfully told me "the sand!". hehe.
Along the way there are streams that slow out to the beach and have mangroves around them. When i walked into the sand near here my leg sunk up to my thigh. It looked just like regular sand but sucked me in. something to look out for near the streams. Leave a Comment Directions: Isla colon - north end.
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All tour operators in Bocas offer standardised tours to the outlying islands. This is one of the most popular ones. It goes to Dolphin Bay where they attract the dolphins by making big circles with the boat so the dolphins follow them on the wake of the circles. Snorkeling and lunch at Coral Cay follow, which is built above unbelievably clear water with large colourful fish swimming underneath. But as for snorkeling, the bottom is absolutely bare with no corals at all.
Food prices are not too high. Mains are at about 10$, shrimps at 12$ and my delicious lobster was at 13$. After a pleasant short walk through the jungle path of Bastimentos island the Red Frog beach is there for a refreshening swim with the waves. Punta Hospital is the last stop where snorkeling is possible although the corals are completely destroyed and colourless, there are very few fishes, and visibility is not very good.
The price of this tour is 22$ including only snorkel and mask. Bring your own food if you are on a low budget because the food is at least 10$ more.
A more expensive tour includes Cayos Zapatillas with a great beach but with strong currents which makes snorkeling difficult.
The tour lasted from 9:30 until 5:00 and all in all it was satisfactory.
The tour operator was 'J & J Transparente Boat Tours' on Calle 3rd. Phone: (507) 757 9915Other Contact: cel:(507) 67480121 / 66011648
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If you get into www.bocas.com you can read all about Bocas. There is bird watching / fishing / surfing / snorkeling / horse back riding / cave exploration / indian village tour / Dolphin Bay tour / beaches / jungle tour / Bird island / Bastimentos National Park / Zapatilla island / Bocas del Drago / Carenero island / Hospital point / Bocas Town day and night entertainment / Bastimentos town / Naso community
I could add good restaurants and night parties.
All these are advertised in tourist leaflets, too.
In fact if you have been around the world for a while you will not be amazed at anything in Bocas. Beaches are not easily accessible, surfing is not so safe, the corals are not healthy except in places reached only by private means, there are strong currents, fishes are not so abundant or colourful, the tap water is not drinkable, upmarket hotels on the waterfront hinder all the view from town, the tourists are overflowing...
What is worthwhile though is that it combines a lot in small doses together with a friendly attitude, a laid back atmosphere and the option to get lazy as most of the action takes place in the town and tours can take care of most of your expeditions. So you can do a little bit of everything or a lot of ...nothing. Just relax!
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Don't miss it. It's probably the best beach close to the town. Get a water taxi to go to Bastimentos island. Then after a short walk through the island wonderful scenery you will reach the beach. Local kids will show you some tiny frogs of all colours. The guide picked some strange fruit that was purple outside and white inside, and gave us to taste. It tasted like a very juicy exotic apple. I saw such trees in Bocas town, too.
You will pay 1$ at the entrance. The beach is beautiful with big waves to play with. There is an overpriced beach bar with basics.
Click for more photos
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Northwest of island Colon is the beautiful Bocas de Drago beach. When Colombus first came to the island Colon he named it Isla del Drago. So the name remained. To get there you should get on the public bus or collectivo from the main square ( 2$- 1 hour). If you prefer to keep your privacy and comfort take a taxi – or water taxi – and get there in 30 minutes. Mid way you will pass Beach Bluff suitable for surfers.
When the bus drops you off you should walk on along the beach. First thing you meet is the restaurant Yarisnori. Breakfast or late lunch when you come back from the beach here is not a bad idea. Then walking along the fine beach shaded by mangroves and palm trees takes you around to the far end where Drago beach is, and the Starfish point. As you have already guessed it is full of big orange-red starfish. Please don't be tempted to take one home. Each one is important to keep the natural balance. It was not created for the decoration of your room...
It is a wonderful beach with excellent crystal clear water and a lot of vegetation. They say snorkeling is good here...I haven't tried.
An upmarket resort was being constructed near the pier and some rooms are available around the area but they are usually booked up.
Careful with shoes! There are small slivers that get into your foot skin and you can't walk anymore. I had to take them out later one by one. They are not very painful but really annoying. So don't walk barefoot!
Click on photo
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Frogs have bright colours because that's how nature indicates threat . So they may be bright orange, yellow, green, purple or red with spots or without. Colour differs according to the location the frogs live in. In fact these tiny creatures carry toxins so strong that have attracted scientists from all over the world to try to find out if they can be of any use to Medicine. Recently their research gave fruit as they manage to manipulate one toxin and produce a pain killer that is a hundred times more powerful than morphine!
After the eggs have hatched the mother frogs take their tadpoles one by one and puts them in small pools of water on big leafs. But they don't abandon their offspring yet . They come periodically and nurture each little tadpole with an infertile egg they deposit into the pool. The tiny tadpole are begging for food every time a frog comes to their leaf by waving its tail...But mothers feed only their own offspring as they can memorize the location of their own 'children'!!!
(information from Kyle Summers an eminent professor and researcher in the fields of Evolution, Behavioural Ecology and Genetics)
Red frogs gave their name to the famous beach on Bastimentos.
They say they are not a threat to humans because the poison has to be injected into the blood as it cannot penetrate the skin. So don't worry. Local children capture some of them and show them to tourists for a minimal tip.
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