Bocas Del Toro

Bocas del Toro is a province made up of 9 islands, more than 50 keys, and some 200 islets on the northeast coast of Panama. Its main island is Isla Colon where the main city (Bocas del Toro Town) is located. It can be defined as a true tropical paradise with numerous treasures, with crystal clear waters, coral reefs, starfish and warm water beaches.

Definitely if you visit the southern Caribbean of Costa Rica you could easily take the opportunity to visit the beautiful tourist destination of Bocas del toro. Since Puerto Viejo is relatively close and the transport services for tourists is quite good, Bocas del Toro is a great option. It will only take 3-4 hours to extend your trip and you will have a new stamp on your passport. 

If you are in the South Caribbean, the easiest way to make this trip is through a shuttle that provide you with a very complete service from Puerto Viejo, taking care of the logistics and coordination of land-water transport, guiding you even with the border procedures, to leave you in the safest way in the Colon island. You can coordinate the return the same way or get a discount by purchasing a two way ticket and not having to worry about anything else. This can be done by pre-booking your pick-up and simply getting ready to enjoy the wonders that you will find there. 

However this is not the only way to enjoy this magical place, you can do it completely on your own using public transport, for this you must take a bus from Puerto Viejo to the Sixaola border post, carry out the procedures and pay taxes departure corresponding to 9 dollars, once on the other side you should look for the public transport buses in the City of Guabito that go to the town of Changuinola which will take approximately 30 minutes, after here you will have to look for the public transport that It will take you to the Port of Almirante where you can take a collective boat that will take you to Isla Colon. this will take around 1 hour which has an approximate cost of $10 and also has a fairly good service every half hour.

Puerto Viejo – Sixaola bus timetable                  /           Sixaola – Puerto Viejo

Another option that you can take once you pass the border post in Sixaola is to take a transport service that leads from the city of Guabito directly to the Port of Almirante, where you can board the collective boat that takes you to Isla Colón in Bocas del Toro. .

Take into account that when you enter Panama you have a different time zone, so you must move your clock forward one hour.

Finally, if you travel in a private vehicle, a temporary permit is required to enter Panama and you must obtain it in advance, the vehicle ferry (FERRYBOCAS) from the Port of Almirante to Bocas del Toro works every day except Monday, which does not provide the service do to maintenance. The schedule is Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., and the other days of the week, the first trip is at 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. On Sundays it only offers the service at 7:00 a.m.

The return times are: Tuesday 9:30 am and 5:00 pm, and the other days of the week at 10:00 am and 5:00 p.m. with the exception of Sunday, which only offers the return service at 3: 00 p.m.

If you consider the option above a little complicated, many people choose to leave their vehicle in a fairly safe and locally recommended place for a price of around 4500 colones per night at the border town of Sixaola. 

Bocas del Toro is a great option to include in your travel plans. For more info or to book your trip contact us we are here to help.