4 Best Sights in Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama

As the best beach on the island, Boca del Drago is part of a tiny fishing community in the northwest corner that overlooks the mainland. The water at the coconut palm–lined beach is usually calm, which makes for good swimming and snorkeling. It's a popular destination for boat tours and makes for the quintessential photo of orange starfish beaming beneath clear, shallow waters. There are several food vendors and the small Yarisnori restaurant on the beach serves decent seafood with plenty of cold beer. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; walking.

The nicest and biggest beach on Isla Colón is Bluff Beach, a 7-km (4½-mile) stretch of soft golden sand backed by tropical vegetation and washed by aquamarine waters. It's a great place to spend a day, or even an hour, but it has virtually no facilities, so pack water and snacks. When the waves are big, Playa Bluff has a beach break right on shore, but it can also develop rip currents, so swimmers beware. When the sea is calm it's a decent swimming beach—always exercise caution—and the rocky points at either end have decent snorkeling. Leatherback turtles nest here from April to September, when night tours are led by members of the Grupo Ecológico Bluff, a local Ngöbe group. If you're lucky, you may find baby turtles on the beach between June and December. A taxi will charge about $20 for the trip from Bocas to Playa Bluff, but be sure to arrange return transportation since this area is rather isolated. Amenities: none. Best for: surfing; walking.

Referred to by several names including Playa Bocas, Playa La Cabaña, and Bahia Sand Fly, this beach is the closest one to Bocas Town. It stretches along the narrow isthmus that connects the town to Isla Colón, overlooking tranquil Bahia Chitre (Sand Flea Bay). Just north of the beach is Playa Tortuga Hotel. Due to the proximity to town, this stretch of sand is popular with locals that come for an afternoon swim or cheap beers at nearby food shacks. Biting sand fleas, the sound of passing cars, occasional litter, and dark sand make this a mediocre beach, but it will do in a pinch. If you have the time and energy, rent a bike and make the rough 40-minute ride out to Bluff Beach (4 km [2½ miles] north of Bocas Town, on Isla Colón), which is gorgeous. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: walking; swimming.

Remarkable natural beauty and relative accessibility (a five-minute walk from a dock) combine to make Red Frog Beach one of the most popular spots in Bocas del Toro. The beach is almost a mile long, with golden sand backed by coconut palms, Indian almond trees, and other tropical greenery. It's the perfect spot for lounging on the sand, playing in the sea, and admiring the amazing scenery. Red Frog has unfortunately become a victim of its own popularity with a 170-acre condo development, a 150-boat marina, a jungle zip line, and an all-villas resort and spa. Although development dominates the eastern corner of Red Frog Beach, there are still plenty of unspoiled areas where expat-owned businesses provide small-scale tourism and a pleasant alternative to mass expansion. At the end of the public trail near Palmar Tent Lodge are a few relaxing spots to grab lunch and nap in the sun. Red Frog is usually a good swimming beach, but when the surf's up, rip currents can make it dangerous, so don't go beyond waist-deep if the waves are big. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: swimming; surfing; walking.