Bocas del Toro Transportation

Hi,

Have yet to make our trip - we are leaving on the 20th of June for the states (Newark NJ) - I spent 3 or 4 months watching airfares go up - (foolish I know), originally we were going to fly Spirit to Costa Rica but got priced out of that trip, so turned our attention to Spirit flights to Panama - but were unable to get a cheap one for our family (mom/dad - 6 kids) - So with perserverance and constant checking found that Continental had the best fares - even better than Spirit and the flights are non-stop from Newark. 313/ RT including taxes and fees. I was unable to find that fare on the regular internet travel sites (Expedia, Orbitz, etc - I went right to the airlines website - however Kayak did have the fare listed, so they are a good option).

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

When are you going? We are going from the 20th of June until 4th of July. We will let you know how it goes. We are ending our trip in Bocas as well.

Noel and Susan

One of the best places to visit in Isla de Colón definitely is the beach at Boca del Drago. Here you have a great white beach with cristal-blue water, corals just a few metres out of the coastline and the best thing: you have a good chance of having the beach (almost) all for yourself alone!

The reason why this beach is so quiet is because it is pretty far from Bocas del Toro: it is exactly at the other side of the island. And since a lot of people tend to walk to one of the nearest beaches from there, they forget about Boca del Drago. Getting there by taxi also is no option: that would be too expensive and there are no taxi's to take you back.

A good way to get there anyway is by taking a local bus. This bus is mainly used by the local people and it is definitely to cheapest way to cross the island. It departs every two hours right in front of the Parque Central and takes you to Boca del Drago in about 45 minutes. 15 minutes later it departs from there again to drive back to Bocas del Toro. The price for a one way trip is 3 dollars, for a return it is 5 dollars/

The trip takes you through the inland of the island: very different from what you see at the coast. Here you see the thick forests that cover the biggest part of Isla Colón, the local villages where the people live completely different from the people in the tourists centres, and everywhere you see huge hotels being built at some great locations.

4 more images

Because Bocas del Toro is a group of islands there are only two ways to get there: by airplane or by boat. By far the cheapest way is going there by boat. There are two places from where boats departs to the islands: Almirante and Changuinola. The first has a faster connection to the islands and a slightly cheaper one, but when you come from the north (like I did) Changuinola is closer and therefore the best option.

When you are in the harbour of Changuinola, you can buy your ticket there at the ticketoffice. For the 60 minutes trip to Isla Colón (where the town Bocas del Toro is located on) you pay 5 dollars. The boat is a semi-open one and it takes about 20 people at a time. Make sure that you are there an hour on forehand to make sure you'll get a seat. Departures are there every two hours between 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM.

The trip TO the islands for me was one of the highlights of my stay ON the islands. The first part of the trip goes through the Río Changuinola: a river in between green forests and with some small wooden houses at the banks every once in a while. And after this you enter the Caribbean Sea towards the islands and all of a sudden you see the water changing from brownish in the river into beautiful blue: the way you see it on the TV and in the magazines! Close to the islands you can see the corals from above the water already and the view of the islands is breathtaking as well.

Even if you have the money to fly to Bocas del Toro, I would always recommend: take the boat and enjoy the 60 minutes "trip trhough paradise".

2 more images

To get to Bocas del Toro, it is the easiest to get a boat departing in the bordertown Changuinola in Panama. This is the fastest connection to the islands when you come from Costa Rica. When you come from more southern parts of Panama, Almirante also has connections to "Bocas" and it might be worth considering this option.

But since we came from Costa Rica, we had to take the boat from Changuinola. After crossing the border coming from Costa Rica we had to find transportation to the small harbour where you can catch the boat. More information about getting to the border coming from Costa Rica can be found on my Cahuita-pages. When you arrive in Panama you have two options of getting to the harbour: look for a minibus getting there and be lucky that is will get full fast enough, or take the easy (but more expensive) option: take a regular taxi.

We took the second option. Directly after crossing the bridge and passing customs the taxi-drivers will already offer you the transportation to the harbour. After a little bit of bargaining we agreed on a price of $ 10,- for two persons for the 30 minutes trip from the border to the harbour. Too much, I know, but we just wanted to get there asap.

The ride to the boat is a beautiful one. You pass through the gigantic banana-plantation of the Chiquita company which makes the trip a very green (and light blue because of the plastic bags) one. And then, all of a sudden, right in the middle of the plantations, there is the tiny harbour at the Changuinola River.

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.

If you are traveling by land to Bocas from Costa Rica you will cross the border at Sixoala. There you will need a taxi to take you to Changuinola, about 45 minutes southeast. Some of the road is paved (if you want to call it that) but it is in really bad condition with enormous potholes and ruts and so most taxis are 4x4 pickups, cost is negotiable and about $4/person for 4 people.
The water taxis to Bocas del Toro leave from Changuinola about four times daily. The dock is actually located about ten minutes from town. The cost is about $5/person. Trip is about one hour, arriving in Bocas Town on Isla Colon. It may take a few minutes longer if it stops to drop off passengers further north on the Isle.
There is also a water taxi and a vehicle ferry that leave from the town of Almirante, south of Changuinola. At times in the pass the vehicle ferry only ran on certain days but may be running daily I've heard, due to all the construction taking place on Bocas.

It is common to get to Bocas del Toro via the Sixaola/Guabito border crossing in Costa Rica and many people come down after staying a while in the Puerto Viejo area.

Buses leave Puerto Limon at 5 am and go all day long leaving every hour arriving in Sixaola just after 8 am or so. The bus stops in Cahuita, Puerto Viejo and Bribri. Then you get off and walk up to the border. Sign out of Costa Rica, cross the bridge into Panama on foot and then sign into immigration.

Many nationalities, including Canadian and American, have to pay $5 for a tourist visa. Many Europeans, such as French, do not have to pay the fee.

For both countries, make sure to have proof of funds (Credit card will suffice usually) and a copy of your onward/return ticket to show them if asked.

From Guabito, you can take a bus into Changuinola and then catch a taxi to Finca 60 where the water taxis are OR you can save yourself the hassle and pay $5 (each person; a bit pricey) for a taxi straight to the water taxis. This was a good option for us as it was safe and comfortable and the driver called ahead to hold the boat for us. On the way back, we thought we were going to die since the driver was going SO fast and driving so reckless on very bad roads. YIKES!

There are two main water taxi ports from mainland Panama to Bocas. Almirante is further from the Costa Rican border and less scenic but travels more frequently (every 40 minutes or so between 6am-6pm) and is cheaper ($1).

The Changuinola water taxi costs $5 and takes about 1 hour. From the boat you go through canals and then into the ocean on the way to the islands and you may see wildlife, banana plantations, small canoes and little houses along the way. It is only about a 30-45 minute taxi ride from the border. If you take a taxi, ask if he can call ahead to see when the next launch leaves. Our taxi driver kindly asked them to hold the boat and we were able to leave right away once we arrived at the dock (Finca 60).