thinking of a bocas/ contadoras combo to see different beaches. i know that contadora has hotels and great beaches, but does it have a central town with shopping and restaurants? is it set-up for tourists? would anyone recommend (or not recommend)....

It is great more upacale than Bocas

www.enjoypanama.com/contadora.htm ·

closer to PC...weather better

thank you, qwovadis! i hear that there are only a handful of restaurants. do you have any idea how many? 5? 20?

I was there for three days in May.

There were only four restaurants I was aware of. One at our hotel, the Punta Galleon (expensive, not very good), one at the Villa Romantica (decent, beautiful view), one that seemed to be primarily a locals bar, and Gerards. We ate nearly every meal at Gerards. Fresh fish daily--prepared several different ways and happy hour from 4-7...2 for 1 drinks. Easily the best place on the island.

this may be a little late to help you out. Contadora is a beautiful place with amazing, and often empty beaches. We went in August, and had many of the beaches to ourselves during the week. The island is small, you can walk or rent a golf cart to get around. I agree with sarozena, Punta Galleon is not very good. Many of the b&bs sit back from the main area of the island, and involve walking. We stayed at the Contadora Island Inn. I highly recommend it. As for the shopping, not so good. I got the impression most locals live on a neighboring island and come in to work. There is a few small markets but that's about it.