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Visiting Panama? Tips For Maximizing Your Bocas Del Toro Vacation

Ten Bocas Del Toro Panama Vacation Tips

If you’re reading this article, odds are good that you’ve decided to visit Bocas Del Toro, Panama. Congratulations! Not only is Bocas beautiful, but it’s quite possibly the perfect vacation destination in Central America. Do you like the beach? Bocas has some of the most magnificent beaches you’ll find in the Caribbean, including world-famous Red Frog beach (named for the tiny Red Frogs that are found there). What about adventure tourism? Mountain biking, scuba and snorkeling, sea kayaking, zip-line jungle canopy tours, and all types of water sports are readily available in Bocas. If you like night life, you’ll find that Bocas Town has dozens of bars with great dining, dancing, and drink specials.

Put another way, Bocas offers everything you would expect to find on an Aruban beach vacation as well as everything you would expect to see at a Costa Rican jungle resort. The best part? Bocas is surprisingly inexpensive. Standard rooms are available for less than $50 a night at quite a few places in Bocas Town, and you’ll have to work hard to spend more than $20 on dinner for two.

Anyways, there’s a good chance you already know all of that. Bocas is great – that’s why you’ve decided to visit. Here’s a list of tips and advice for anyone new to Bocas Del Toro:

1) Bring an underwater camera. Disposable waterproof cameras are sometimes hard to locate in Bocas, and when you do find one the price is higher than you would pay at home. Go ahead and pack a couple in your bag and bring them to the beach. Bocas beaches are so pristine and the water is so clear that you’ll have plenty of opportunities to snap some photos of tropical fish and corals underwater and up-close.

2) Pack shorts and a good pair of sandals. The main island in Bocas is just a little too small for taxi service, so you can expect to walk quite a bit in and around Bocas Town. North Americans should also remember to bring shorts – the temperature in Bocas hovers around 90 degrees Farenheit year round with a fair amount of humidity. The sea breeze keeps things cool at night, but during the day long pants are uncomfortable.

3) U.S. Dollars are just fine. Most tourist destinations in Central America will readily accept U.S. dollars, but many of these places will give you a less-than-favorable exchange rate. What makes Bocas different is that the U.S. dollar is essentially the national currency, so there’s no need to worry about currency exchange. The Panamanian national currency is technically known as the “Balboa,” but since the Balboa is tied to the value of the U.S. dollar (one Balboa equals exactly one U.S. dollar), US currency is used across the country.

4) The water is safe to drink, but bottled water never hurts. Much of the water served in Bocas del Toro is collected rainwater (Bocas is in the tropics after all), so there are few concerns about water safety. However, if your system is sensitive or if you’re interested in preventing any digestive problems, bottled water is incredibly inexpensive and available everywhere.

5) All you need is a passport. Anyone visiting Panama from the USA or Canada is automatically granted a 30 day visa upon entering the country with a valid passport. Panama does require that visitors purchase a tourist stamp, which costs $8 to $12 depending on your port of entry. If you’re interested in staying more than 30 days, extensions are very easy to come by. Your driver’s license is required if you rent a car, but there’s little need to do so in Bocas.

6) Get some supplies when you arrive. Once you’ve had a chance to check in to your hotel or bed and breakfast, visit one of the many grocery stores in Bocas and buy some snacks and water for the beach. Most of the beaches in Bocas can only be reached by the water (this is a good thing, by the way), so there aren’t a lot of beach shops, restaurants, or convenience stores. Be sure to buy lots of bottled water and sunscreen (just in case you forgot to pack some). This is also a good excuse to try Balboa, Panama’s favorite national beer.

7) Don’t worry about knowing how to speak Spanish. Visitors to Bocas Del Toro will find that English is spoken almost everywhere, from tour guides to hotel staff to restaurant waiters. There are rare occasions where a smattering of Spanish is helpful, but it’s certainly not necessary. In fact, many of the hotel and restaurant staff are native English speakers from the USA and Canada.

Staying in contact with home is easy. Bocas has multiple internet cafes where computers can be rented for less than $3 per hour. Many of these internet cafes offer free VOIP calls to the USA or Canada, so staying in touch with friends and family is simple. For anyone considering an extended stay, pre-paid cell phones are easy to find.

9) Pop over to Costa Rica when you visit. Bocas del Toro is less than 1 hours drive from Costa Rica, and many tour operators offer a package that includes a visit to Costa Rica along with a jungle tour. You won’t see much that’s different in Costa Rica (not unless you venture farther anyways), but you can say you visited two countries on your vacation. Not bad.

10) Pack some extra patience. There’s nothing fast-paced about Bocas. No one is in a rush, and everything takes just a little bit longer than it should. Understand that when your waitress ignores you for 5 minutes it’s nothing personal or mean-spirited – it’s just a different way of living. If you’re in a rush you might be disappointed, so be sure to plan for delays. Besides, you’re on vacation! Enjoy the island life.

These 10 tips are based on my personal experiences in Panama – I hope you find them useful.

About the Author

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