LA_FadeAway

Here is an excerpt from my Costa Rica trip report, regarding our trip down to Bocas del Toro.

Bocas del Toro, Panama

Getting There - We were a bit nervous about the journey down to Panama, but it went much smoother and easier than we anticipated. We condensed our stuff into 1 bag plus a small backpack for the trip and left the rest of our stuff at the B&B in Puerto Viejo. We walked to the bus stop in Puerto Viejo to catch the 8:15 AM bus (which arrived around 8:40) and quickly met many other travelers heading to Panama. The bus ride to the boarder (Sixaola) took a little under two hours, including many stops along the way. The bus was comfortable and not crowded. At the boarder, several men are waiting for the bus, ready to "help" us all across the boarder. They offered to carry our bags, which we all declined swiftly! First you check out of Costa Rica at a small office and then cross the "bridge" to Panama. This bridge is long and looks about as safe, if not worse, than the ones heading south toward Quepos. There is a pedestrian walkway until the middle, which is the actual boarder. Then you have to walk across these boards VERY CAREFULLY until you reach the other side. Try to time this between the trucks and busses or else it could get pretty hairy. Over all, the bridge was less scary than I was expecting given everything I had heard in advance. You have to stop by their immigration office to get your passport stamp. Travelers from the USA and several other countries have to buy a $5 tourist card. A man walked me down to a small store where I could exchange some Colones to U.S. money, since nobody in Panama accepts Colones. He asked for a dollar tip, no big deal. We did get slightly jacked on the exchange rate. It ended up costing us about $7 or $8 to exchange about $100 U.S. Our "friends" then helped us into their buddy's cab for the ride to Finca 60 to catch the water taxi. Our cab driver was one of the most helpful people I've ever met! There were six of us in his extended cab truck (2 riding in the truck bed) heading for the water taxi. We were running late to catch the 12:30 boat, so he stopped and called Bocas Marine Tours and asked them to hold the boat for us. They did and that saved us from having to wait until 2:00. He also made arrangements with them to drop us off directly at our hotel, Punta Caracol, on the way to Bocas, so we wouldn't have to go to town first and then take another water taxi. Bocas Marine Tours runs a smooth boat ride between Finca 60 (just beyond Changuinola) and Bocas Del Toro, for $5 per person. The ride is also quite scenic.

Getting Back - Note that Costa Rica requires you to show proof of onward travel (plane or bus ticket) when you come back in. They could also want you to prove financial solvency, but they didn't ask us about that. On the way back we decided to take a cab from Sixaola to Puerto Viejo since it would be over an hour wait for the bus. The first cab driver quoted us $25,000 colones and then the second quoted us $5,000 colones. We went with the cheaper cab and the first guy got really mad and was screaming at our cab driver! Just outside of town, we got stopped at a police checkpoint. They checked our passports and then asked to see our cab drivers paperwork. They didn't like something, so they detained him in an office for about twenty minutes. Meanwhile, the angry cab driver was hanging around like a vulture, hoping that our cab driver wouldn't be able to take us. We talked him down to 12,000 colones, but then the cops let our guys go, so we were back on the road again with him. The ride took about 45 minutes. When we got out of the cab, he demanded $20 rather than the 5,000 colones. We were planning on tipping him $5 anyway, so we gave him the 5,000 colones, plus the $5 and he was happy with that.

Hotels
Punta Caracol Aqualodge - http://www.puntacaracol.com/index.htm
This place is located on a dock over an amazing, crystal clear, lagoon, complete with large schools of small, bright green, flying fish. The atmosphere is really serine and this would be a great place to get away from it all; however, they are currently under really load construction. I was really looking forward to the snorkeling from the little deck on our room, but after a few minutes we started seeing a lot of jellyfish in the water, so I was a bit nervous about swimming. That really bummed me out, because the water was so warm, clear, and beautiful. We tried again the next day and did a little more until I saw another jellyfish after about half-an-hour. I also got some sort of rash on my upper arm while we were there. I'm not sure if it was "sea-scratch" from the jellyfish or a heat rash from not having air-conditioning. The room was a really cute bungalow right over the water. The downstairs is very comfortable with a nice sun deck. The bed is upstairs, which could use some better cross-ventilation. They are currently building three new bungalows and the construction was intrusively load during the day. The nights are very peaceful though. I would recommend visiting here when the construction is complete and preferably when it's not jellyfish season (whenever that may be). Breakfast, dinner, and a welcome drink are included in the room rate, which is pretty high. They offer many day tours by boat, although we decided to just relax during the full day that we were there. They will also pick you up and drop you off in Bocas del Toro for your arrival and departure. Trips into town on their boats are expensive. Note: they have no change on premises, so bring your own if you want to tip. Also, they accept credit cards, but you have to go to town for them to run the card upon departure.

Hotel Bocas del Toro - http://www.bocas.com/hbocas.htm
After our two nights at Punta Caracol, they brought to town to settle our tab and then paid for our cab to the Hotel Bocas del Toro. The small hotel is located right in town, over the water. Our room had air conditioning, cable TV., and a nice little balcony overlooking the water. We could sit there and watch all the little boats coming and going every which way. We had originally planned on taking a boat or snorkeling tour this day, but do the heat, jellyfish, and late time of day, we opted to forgo the tour. There was an Internet cafe near by for $2 per hour, where we could check our e-mail. The hotel also has a restaurant, but it was out of lobster that night so we didn't eat there. I believe they provide continental breakfast, but we didn't wake up early enough to check it out.

Restaurants
There was a small restaurant to the left of the hotel where we ate lunch, but I can't remember its name. We had delicious food and even tastier drinks for really cheap! Many of the restaurants also have happy hours.

El Limbo On-The-Sea restaurant
This was to the right of our hotel. I had lobster and my husband had fish. Both meals were delicious and very reasonably priced. This restaurant was very busy!

Overall, we really loved Bocas and wish we had spent another couple days there so we could have explored Bastimentos and the other islands.

cmcfong

Thanks for the report LA FadeAway. Although I grew up in Panama, I have never visited Bocas and it is on the target list. Your report was helpful.

JeanH

Thanks so much for the report. We head to Panama and Bocas del Toro in January. We decided to save some money and took Punta Caracol off our list of places to stay. So, we'll be staying at Cocomo by the Sea during our time in Bocas. Jean

SusanInToronto

Thanks for posting your report .... definitely a place I would like to visit.

LA_FadeAway

ttt for cmcfong

cmcfong

Thanks, LAFadeAway, I passed your report on to my brother.