Panama-Bocas del Toro travel advise
I want to assure anyone who thinks that this information is too lengthy, that it is a very condensed version of the
original. We have no financial gain by providing this information. This makes the information truly free.
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Index
Agents,I am a travel agent interested in Panama. What can you do for me?
Beaches, How and where are the beaches in Bocas del Toro?
Boats, why do you only habe 19 passenger boats?
Boat charter, Can we charter a boat for a day?
Boat private, We are a group of 14 people, do we get a private boat?
Boat Rental, Can we rent a boat without driver?
Car, We are coming by car, where can we park it safely?
Border, How is the border crossing into Panama?
Cave, Why are you promoting this tour so heavily?
Checks, Are Travellers Checks and Credit cards accepted?
Currency, What is the currency in Panama?
Discounts, Do you have discounts for groups?
Hotel, Our Hotel is over the water, can you drop us off?
Luggage, We have a lot of luggage do we get an extra boat?
Luggage, How do you handle extra or unusually sized cargo?
Miscellaneous, What else can I expect from Bocas del Toro?
Nightlife, Where is most of the action?
Price, Why is there a price difference between Changuinola and Amirante?
Rain, What can I do on rainy days in Bocas?
Refund,Do you give refunds?
Resevations, We are a large group can we reserve boats?
Safety, How safe is Panama?
Taxi Rates, As of May 2006
Taxi Warning!!!!!
Time, What time zone is Panama in?
Tourleader, I am a tour leader, are you paying commission?
Tours, Do you recommend any tour providers?
Weather, Do you have wet and dry seasons in Bocas del Toro?
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Before we go into any detail here I would like assure you that this place is not necessarily unsafer than any other places you visited. However, considering that the islands are so small and "tranquil" I have to admit that  there are possibly more "opportunists" per capita than I would have expected.  
These are just some common sense suggestions that you should follow everywhere you travel.  This should by no means discourage you from coming here, but should help you avoid unnecessary problems.
This place makes it easy to drop your guard and not all the friendly people are what they appear to be. Make sure you have all your belongings when you arrive in Bocas on a water taxi.  Things left behind are hard to get back.  Upon your arrival you will find many people who want to help you find a place to stay or who offer you boat trips on the street or anything else you might not want.  Although these people hang around the water taxi office they do not work for us and we are not responsible for any deals you make with them.  

If you are a woman travelling alone:
Some of the local machos are no strangers to rape.  However, almost all of the incidents we are aware of happened because some one partied to the point where they lost their ability to use common sense.  
If you go home with a guy at 3:00 am in the morning because his "grandmother would just love to meet you" don´t be surprised when you get into trouble.  Once something happened you basically have no recourse in the way of the courts, because you are a visitor and most likely not able to be present at any trial that may or may not come.  You are not here, so case dismissed. Don´t give anyone your room number.  A girl recently, very young and in tropical euphoria gave one of the machos the name of her hotel and the room number.  What a surprise she had when suddenly in the early morning hours she wok up having to guys standing over her.  In this case nothing happened because she had a friend staying with her who started making lots of noise.  If you appear to be looking for trouble, you will find them here just like anywhere else.  Violence is rare.  Most incidences are grab and run.  Avoid dark noisy places:  For example the area around 5th & 6th street close to the power generating plant.  Keep on the main roads after dark.  If you are with others stay together at night.  Be aware of your surroundings, look around and behind you frequently when you walk the streets after dark.  Be careful around the area called "Saigon".  Never take all your important documents (passport, airline tickets, travellers checks etc..) and all of your money on your day trips or when you are going out at night.  Just take what you absolutely need.  One of the first things after arriving in Bocas would be to make a copy of your passport.  The front page with your picture on it and the page that shows the immigration entry stamp into Panama.  Then you don't need to carry your passport around any longer.  By law every person on the street or in a bar or restaurant after 09:00pm (21:00) has to carry identification.

Currency:
The official currency of Panama is the Balboa (B/.).  In reality it is the US $.  Panama does not have their own paper money and only coins are produced here.  They are basically copies of the US coins, but will say Panama on it.  Anyway, the US$ is the only currency here.

Colones:
If you come from Costa Rica don't bring Colones. You can bring them, but no one will accept them and no one including the bank will exchange them.

$ 100.00 Bills:
A lot of businesses don't like to accept $ 100.00 bills. There is periodically counterfeit money going around and many have been stuck with bad money. We even got stuck with false $ 5.00 bills.  If you try to use a $ 100.00 bill be prepared to give your name and your passport number (show your passport or copy), if it is accepted at all.

The border crossing on the carribbean coast:
It happens in Sixaola (Costa Rica side of the border) and Guabito (Panama side of the border. The Sixaola river separates the two countries and you will have to cross the bridge on foot after you finished your exit paperwork in Sixaola.
The bridge is basically a railroad bridge, but some big trucks are crossing occasionally as well and it is quite an experience. On the Costa Rica side is an added walkway, but the Panama side lacks that luxury.
Immediately after crossing the bridge you arrive at the immigration office in Panama. This whole procedure should not take more than 30 minutes.
****NOTE**** There are scumbags on both sides of the border, calling themselfs "Tourist Guides", trying to assist you with your luggage and trying to sell you a "package transportation deal". Don`t accept any of these scams. They are ending up costing you more than if you go on by yourself. There are no "package deals". More inormation can be found under "Taxi Warning!!!!" on this page.
There are taxis and public buses right after your leave immigration and walk down the stairs. A taxi to Finca 60 (our dock in Changuinola) cotst $ 5.00 and it is about a 30-40 min. ride. You can also take a bus to Changuinola $ 1.50 and from there take another collective bus to Finca 60 for another $.
All in all I would recommend to take the $ 5.00 ride because there is no hassle changing buses and finding your way around. If you are on a shoestring budget take the buses.
******Another important note here:
If you arrive at the border on or after 05:00 pm Panama time, you might as well go on to Almirante, which is another 14 miles from Changuinola because our last Changuinola boat leaves at 05:30 pm. Our last Almirante boat leaves at 06:30 pm.

The border crossing on the pacific side is called Paso Canoas.
This crossing is on the interamerican highway. From there you will need to take a bus to David and then a bus to Almirante to get to Bocas.

Panama time:
Panama is in the EST (estern standard time) zone or GMT -6. However Panama has no daylight savings time like EST. There is no need here for daylight savings as daylight varies only about 1 hour throughout the whole year. Sunrise is on the average around 06:00 am and sunset around 07:00 pm. Give or take 30 minutes.
The time difference between Costa Rica and Panama is 1 hour. Panama is one hour ahead 02:00 pm Costa Rica is 03:00 pm Panama time.
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Do you have discounts for groups:
No, there are no discounts for groups. Group transport actually is less money for us than our normal scheduled trips. Our boats hold 19 passengers which is sufficient for normal operation. The boats are going back and forth between ports usually with passengers. If a group is to be transported we usually end up sending "empty boat(s)" to accomodate the group. By doing this we just have cut our profit in half. Extending a discount on top of that is impossible.
Please understand that in the six yers we have been in business our gasoline expense has tripled, but our ticket prices have stayed the same.
We are a large group can we make reservations:
Yes, we do require a 50% deposit for reserevd boats. This policy has become necessary because repeatedly we sent empty boats to the pickup location and there was a no show of the groups. Additionally we have experienced that larger groups take longer to cross the border, but the people in charge are always reserving the boats by at least 2 hours before their actual arrival. We on the other hand send our boats for the requested time and then they are sitting around, while they could have been utilized two more hours in the course of our regular business.
For this reason we are now charging $ 50.00 per boat per hour of waiting.
If you have established a relationship with us and have frequently shown up for your reserved boats we can talk about waiving the above requirements. Until then this policy stands firm.
We have a lot of luggage and can´t fit in one boat, do we get an extra boat:
You can get anything you pay for. ·The charges for a private boat are laid out below under there are 14 of us". If your extra boat has more than 10 passengers to go with you will not be charged for the extra boat (luggage), unless your luggage takes up seating room. In that case you would be charged for the number of seats being used.
Can you drop us off at the Hotel:
Yes, we are offering this service.
If your hotel is located within Bocas town or Carenero, the charge for this service $ 1.00 per person, but no less than $ 5.00 per boat.
If your hotel is located in the town of Bastimentos or Solarte, the charge is $ 2.00 per person, but no less than $ 10.00.
is your hotel further away the price will be quoted upon request.
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There are 14 of us do we get a private boat:
A private boat is always available regardless of the amount of Passengers. If you buy all the seats of the boat you have a private boat.
The cost for a private 19 passenger boat from Almirante is $ 57.00.
The cost from Changuinola is $ 95.00.
Can we charter a boat for a day:
Yes, you can. The price per day is $ 250.00 for up to 19 passengers per boat.
This price includes the boat, driver, gasoline, snorkel euipment and ice chest with ice.
I am a tourleader, are you paying commission:
Absolutely not. Tour leaders are extended "the courtesy of riding for free" if they have a group of more than 10 people. This does not mean 1 courtesy for every 10 people. It simply means there have to be more than 10 to receive courtesy a ride.
I am a total opponent of commissions and Bocas Marine & Tour neither asks for nor accepts commisions.
I changed my mind and decided not to use your service after I have paid. Do you give refunds?
Generally we do not issue refunds. You get a receipt for travel at a later time. Once you get on the passenger list we consider to have started to provide the service. Of course we will consider special circumstances.
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I am a travel agent interested in Panama. What can you do for me?
Schoschana can arrange anything concerning Panama Packages. For detail you can send her an e mail to info@bocasmarinetours.com
I see that your boats can only hold 19 passengers.
Why don´t you have bigger boats?
We do have a 60 passenger boat as well and we are happy to sell it. It is too big to make the Changuinola run. The water there is much to shallow and we have to pass under a low bridge. And in general there is just not enough demand for it. Yes, passenger would like the big boat, but for the price of a small one. That just does not work at more than 50 gal per hour.
Bocas Weather:
There are really no defined seasons here in Bocas. When I came here six years ago I was told that September through December and April through June are the wet months. All of this has proven to be myth. I have never seen a defined weather pattern. Last year we had flooding on the main land when it was supposed to be dry. This year it was dry when it was supposed to be raining. I have experienced 3 weeks of non stop rain 4 years ago to the point where it became depressive. Anyway the weather is pot luck. After all we are in the tropical rain forest.
The closest beach to Town on Bocas Island is about 5 min. with taxi ($0.50 per person) and is not very desirable.
We are going there every day with our daughter because it is just across the street from us and we got accustomed to the trashy appearance over the years. Should our business ever make some serious money I am considering donating a tractor for beach cleaning. Problem is that these people can break anything in no time around here. Carenero Island 1 min. only by boat ($ 1.00 per person).  If you go to the beach for swimming don't take anything with you that you can't take in the water.  If you take money with you let it get wet.  Generally your clothing should be save on the beach, have not heard of any problems with that.
Of course there are many more beaches in Bocas and if you have used the interactive map at the start page you know that already
What else can I expect from Bocas del Toro?.
Let’s start with what you might not like:
To me the most annoying thing are the self proclaimed “Tour guides”. This typical 3rd. world nuisance of hustling people. They are working on commission to bring tourists to hotels, local Taxi boats, selling discount tours on the street without telling you that you also only receive less than a standard tour etc. They are running around with official looking badges, making badges is big business here, they love them. And they have an extremely hard time accepting the words “no thank you”. You are going to hear that they need to eat, they need to feed their children, their wife(s) is sick, the father died and god knows what else they come up with. I am frequently surprised by new lines, although I thought I knew most of them already. And of course there is the shoe shine boy, probably no older than 7 or 8, who comes in the restaurant and wants to mess with your feet while you are eating. If you tell him “no gracias” he wants to get paid anyway. That’s about it. I don’t want to sound too negative here, but I believe that if you are prepared and know what to expect you can have a better vacation. At the end it is not such a big deal.

What you might like:
Visiting vast beaches, watching birds, butterflies and dolphins, going snorkeling, going surfing, going scuba diving, renting a 4 wheeler, ride a bike from one end of the island to the other, island hopping, go horseback riding, go fishing, visit a chocolate farm (they actually make their natural chocolate right there). It is for sale in many places and has quite an interesting flavor.
Enjoy the variety of restaurants, room selection from $ 7.00 to $ 200.00, dancing, etc…

Why is there a price difference between Changuinola and Amirante?
The distance from Almirante to Bocas is about 11 miles (17.6 km).  The distance from Changuinola to Bocas is 21 miles (33. 6km).  If you come from Sixaola you save $ 10.00 in taxi fare compared to going through almirante.  The Changuinola route is a scienic route that would cost $ 30.00+ if using a local tour operator.  You can see the difference on our map on the main page.
Do you recommend any tour provider?
Everybody who has something that floats and has a motor attached to it is in the tour business. With these individuals your tour will start out with spending half an hout at the fuel dock because they have to get your money first before they can buy fuel. These people operate illegally und usually under cut the legitimate tour prices which are in my opinion too low anyway considering the expense a legitimte business has to endure. These illegal operators are causing a decline in tour quality over all and bargain hunting tourists are contributing to this decline.
Our Mothers day trip from hell back to Bocas.
We wanted to spend the day at Red Frog Beach and made the mistake of hiring one of these illegal water taxis. I keep preaching about not using these people and yet I made the same mistake.
We agreed to the outrageous price of $ 25.00 for a private 16 min. Round trip. Before we even left Bocas he loaded 3 more people in the boat to go to Carenero. Then we spent another 20 minutes at the gas dock in Carenero, because the guy had no fuel. 90% of the time you hire any of these self proclaimed water taxis your tour will start out at the gas dock. There is only one pump and depending how busy they are you might be sitting for up to an hour in the boat before the tour even gets started.
By the time we left the gas dock we should have been laying on the beach already. Anyway, the agreement was to be picked up at 04:30 pm. He was only 15 min. late which was not too bad. Immediately after leaving the dock he almost ran over a cayuco (dugout) we missed it by about 5 feet at full speed, then continuing at full throttle through openings in the mangrove that were not much bigger than the boat itself. When we reached open water the boat stopped without warning and we almost fell off the bench (our 2.5 year old was on the boat as well). The reason for the sudden stop was the driver’s craving for a cigarette. After he fiddled around with his matches for a few minutes we took off full speed again, not back towards Bocas but back towards Bastimentos in search for more passengers who were also found at Roots restaurant. Then off again on collision course with the banana dock. A last second hard left maneuver and we cleared that dock as well and on to Carenero. Several passengers waiting at the Buccaneer Resort, who waved us over first, butt waved us off again after the driver did a full speed 90 degree towards their dock. I don’t want to go into detail about what happened after we finally arrived at our dock in Bocas, but I had a lot off steam to let off.
There are several legitimate tourproviders with offices. Boteros Unidos (next to the Reef Restaurant), Transparente tours (next to the Pirate Restaurant) and the two dive shops Bocas Water Sports and Starfleet Scuba are offering tours as well. Their average price for a day of touring is abut $ 20.00. There is also Catamaran Adventures located at Boca Bills Restaurant, price $ 35.00 We offer tours on a limit basis mostly for groups at this time as we only sell on a per boat basis and not per person. This might change with the addition of more boats in the future.
Photo of drunk driver who
actually made us fear for
our lives.  I believe that
the empty beer case he is
sitting on was full earlier
in the day.
Where is most of the night time action?
Most of the action is in Bocas Town. There are individual events on other islands as well. For a while there was “blue Monday” going on in Bastimentos, but I believe that has been suspended for the time.
What you have for evening leisure in Bocas, listed alphabetical not in order of preference:

Bocas Bills Bar & Restaurant over the water, traditional American, sea food etc., very good breakfast, happy hour 5-7 pm

Bocas del Toro Hotel, Bar & Restaurant over the water. Mixed menu, outdoor bar on the street side, happy hour 5-7 pm.

Buena Vista Bar & Grill over the water. Typical American style restaurant and atmosphere, happy hour 5-7 pm

Cashba Restaurant located next to hotel Las Brisas. Frech chef.

El Limbo Hotel Bar & Restaurant over the water. Big variety menu, somewhat pricy.

El Pecado (the sin) Bar and Restaurant, located across from Hotel Las Brisas. French Canadian kitchen, somewhat pricy.

El Ultimo Refugio Restaurant over the water

Laguna Hotel Bar & Restaurant on main street. Italian kitchen, very good beakfast.

Le Pirate Bar & Restaurant over the water. Very limited but acceptable inexpensive menu, strong and inexpensive drinks (rum and coke $ 1.50), very good breakfast.

Lemon Grass Bar & Restaurant over the water above Starfleet. Good menu with a lot of Thai style food.

Mr. Roberts Steak House located inside Tropical Market on the water. Don´t know the menu.

Ohm Café located behind municipal building. Oriental kitchen

The Big Bamboo Sports Bar and restaurant located next to the Super Gourmet, good menu and food.

The Reef Bar & Restaurant over the water. Similar in pricing and quality to the Pirate, but larger menu.

Night Life:
Barco Hundido (formerly and in English still known as the Wreck Deck). On the water next and above an old ship wreck. Bar, Music and for a lot of people the final destination after an evening of bar and restaurant hopping.

El Templo, Tecno music over the water. Located next to the “local” hangout El Encanto. Visting El Encanto is by the way not recommended.

Iguana Bar. Self-proclaimed surfer hangout and supposedly pretty popular.

Mondo Taitu Bar. This is really a hostel, but because of their inexpensive drinks and the type of crowd that hangs out it is very popular with young people and surfers.

This is not a complete list and you can find the exact locations on our Bocas Town Map Link on the main page.
****A word of advise for those staying on neighboring islands. If you go to do some Bocas night life make sure you have transportation back to where you are staying. Otherwise you might be stuck in town over night.

I was looking at your page about the cave tour.
Why are you promoting this tour so heavily?
This is very simple. Everybody who comes to Bocas is doing whatever anybody else is doing. Mainly snorkel tours, island hopping etc.
The cave tour is something most visitors have and will not experience during their Central America trip. Most people don’t even know it exists. It is simply just a shame that this attractive tour is not taken advantage of.
I want to make it clear that we have absolutely no financial interest in promoting this tour or any other recommendations we have on our web site.
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What can I do on rainy days in Bocas?
Here you sort of got me. There are really not a lot of indoor activities in Bocas del Toro. Yet, a few things come to mind.
If you are here with your partner spend a day in bed, read a book or engage in “some personal activities” involving your partner. I know you could have guessed that yourself.

If you like you can get a massage. Several providers offer that on the island. You can go to their location or they will come to your room.

If it has not been raining for an extended period of time you can take the cave tour in Bastimentos. If it was raining for a long time the water level inside the cave rises too high.

If you are into video games there is a place on main street.

Go to the small gym in town.

Go to the internet and catch up with all your friends and family. Give them an extensive report of your experiences so far.

Rent a movie or DVD.

Get a manicure, pedicure and a hair cut if needed.

Hang out at one of the many Bar & Restaurants over the water and watch the rain poring down. It is quite incredible how it can rain here. Visibility can drop to several hundred yards.

Street Taxi Warning!!!!!
In Changuinola we have no competition, but in Almirante we do. The name of our competitor in Almirante is T - A - X - I 25. We are not paying commissions to taxi drivers, but our competitor does. We are not paying commissions to street hustlers nor do we have people out on the streets, but our competitor does. Our competitor will also pose as Bocas Marine & Tours, if that can make him a couple extra bucks. Chances are that if you arrive in Almirante you will not end up traveling with us, because the taxi drivers will sell you to the competition. There are no ethics or scruples in Panama business, that puts people like us at a large disadvantage and this is the only place we are able to explain this.p
If you have a problem with a taxi let us know but we need the number (1T125 just remember numbers after the T loke 125). We have the government tourist office (IPAT) right here in Bocas and can file a complaint. The government is eager to improve the reputation of Panama and we want to do everything we can to help this effort.
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Can we rent a boat without a driver?
Basically no. There were companies that tried this, but due to the many reefs around Bocas, a lot of them in unsuspected places the damage to rental boats was too frequent.
You might find one of the local Boteros who is willing to rent you a boat. However, there is a risk that you could be falsy accused of having done damage, to pay some extra money after you had negociated a "good deal". We are not making this up, it has happened.
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We are arriving by car, where can we park safely?
In Almirante there is secure parking just 50 yards from our water taxi.  The charge is $ 3.00 per day.
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Street Taxi Fares as of May 2006

"Private Taxi" means for you alone, the driver is not supposed to pick up additional passengers on the way.
"Collective Taxi" means the driver can pick up additional passengers on the way.

Guabito (Sixaola border crossing) to our dock in Changuinola:
Private Taxi $ 20.00
Collective Taxi $ 5.00

Guabito (Sixaola border crossing) to Almirante:
Private Taxi $ 30.00
Collective Taxi $ 6.00

Isla Colon, Town of bocas:
In Bocas town I would never ask for a private Taxi. If you use a collective taxi. This is quite fun and you might get to see most of the town, depending on the drop off order the driver choses.

Anywhere in town means until the Smithsonian Institute which is about 1.5 miles out of town $ 0.50 per person, except for the airport which is $1.00 per person.
Fom town to the "ygrega", this is where the road splits to go either to Boca del Drago or Bluff beach $ 1.00.
From Town to Boca del Drago $ 10.00 ($ 20.00 round trip)
From Town to Bluff beach $ 8.00 ($ 16.00 round trip).

From 12:00 am to 06:00 am all fares double.

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Travelers Checks:
Some businesses don`t like to accept travelers checks. It takes 21 days for travellers checks to clear.
We charge $ 5.00 to accept a travelers check without purchase, $ 0.50 for travellers checks if used to pay the ticket. The bank charges us a fee when we turn travelers checks in.

You might have to go to the bank to convert them into cash. The bank also has an ATM machine with 24 hr. access.

Credit Cards:
Some businesses charge an extra 5% if you pay with credit card.

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How do you handle extra or large cargo:
We charge extra for anything that is not considered regular luggage.
Bicycles, surfboards, etc
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Photo courtesy of
Dave and Kate Treadway