Hello. My brother and a girlfriend will be visiting Panama in Feb. They would like to go from Panama City to Boquete for two days then on to visit Bocas Del Toros. Should they buy tickets before travel to Panama or wait till they get there? Can you estimate the fare from Panama City to David and from David to Bocas?

What is your favorite high end hotel in Bocas? And your favorite restaurant?

ttt

The most up scale places I know of in the Bocas area are http://www.puntacaracol.com and http://www.bocas.com/alnatura.htm. There isn't anything really upscale in Bocas town proper, but there are some fairly nice properties. You can go to www.bocas.com for a list of the main ones. We stayed at Hotel Bocas del Toro. It was clean with A.C. and a balcony overlooking all the activity on the water, for a reasonable price. I posted a trip report last summer including restaurants, etc. I'll see if I can top it for you.

Think I answered you on Thorntree...
Flights do get booked up as there's limited space so try to book either directly with www.aeroperlas.com or www.turismoaereo.com or through a tour operator in Panama...
Feb 4 to 8 is Carnaval so everything will be booked...
Airfares and times are on the airlines websites...
previous poster had it right on for high end.... otherwise look at Cocomo-on-the-Sea, Hotel Bocas del Toro, Limbo on the Sea, or Hotel Bahia in town or Solarte Inn across the water...

Cheers,
Andrew

LAFadeAway and Andrew, thank you. You are great resources.

cmcfong , what a coincidence to find your post today. I just discovered Bocas Del Toros today on the web , and am excited about visiting there soon, so I did a search here, and who do I find but cmcfong. We just returned recently to Whistler after 5 weeks on Maui/Kauai, and planned to sit tight this winter and ski, but my wife broke her ankle last week, so end of ski season. We were looking at Mexico, when I stumbled on Bocas, so I think we will give it a try. I would be interested to hear what your brother thinks about it. I hope you are having a good holiday season. Cheers, Al

Hi Al,
I will definitely post a trip report when my brother returns. We lived in Panama as teenagers, but never visited Bocas. It does sound great.

Hi--

We just returned from 2 weeks in Panama and a stay in Bocas. I didn't see anything that I would call high end in Bocas Town. We did stay in a wonderful inexpensive (full breakfast included)little hotel on the water with a very helpful and caring proprietor named Claudio (the Hotel Angela--just make sure you stay upstairs for a quieter room). Also, there is a house you can rent off by itself over the water, that comes with a cook, maid and boatman called Sweet Bocas.com You might want to check it out. Also have heard the A Natural is a very upscale nich beach place to stay on Bastimentos Island.

Keep in mind you travel in small prop planes and they are very strict with the weight requirements. You're allowed 25lbs./person (they don't count your carry-on, but carry-on is no larger than a normal backpack or large purse because there is no overhead storage bins and carry-on means carry in your lap in a really small seat).

Thanks for the great trip report. Loved the Sweet Bocas site, it may work for one of my trips.

Welcome to Panama
Aeroperlas flights 1-way abt $50, bus is $15 and you get to see a lot more. get tickets in PMA.
Can fly only early AM M-F David-Bocas.
Another option, we offer service via hired van to Chiriqui Grande, our Jungle Rio tour and take you to Bocas.
Hotel Angela is our favorite; but can also reomnd Bahia, Laguna, Tropic Suites. Rest. are Pirate, El Refugio, Ballena, and couple others.
ck our web at: www.panamajetboatexplorer.com
hope to see you here.
Louis