On Island Time: Bocas del Toro, Panama

On Island Time: Bocas del Toro, Panama

Booking flights, planning your trip, enjoying the process

Bocas del Toro wasn’t even on my radar 6 months ago, but through a random lining up of situations, I found myself booking a last-minute flight there.

I’ve been on sabbatical for about 6 months and counting, so when my digital nomad friend said “I’m gonna go housesit in Bocas…” I had no good reason to turn her down.

I’ll breakdown my booking in a moment, but first, what you should know before you decide to put a stop in Bocas on your itinerary:

• Bocas del Toro is an archipelago on the Caribbean coast of Panama, closes to the Costa Rican boarder
• Everything is slower here, including the perezosos (sloths) in the trees
• If you’re a foodie, this is not the town for you, HOWEVER there are a few real gems
• Development on the islands didn’t begin until about a decade ago and the roads in Bocas Town have only been paved for about 2-3 years
• It feels like a tiny village where everyone knows each other, but is also somehow over run with tourists
• The locals are often transplants; expats who were traveling through and never left
• The dollar is king on the islands – this is not a cheap Latin American destination
• Come to enjoy the clear beaches, stay for the connection to the nature

The Booking Details:

First off, this was a very last minute booking during high season, which I do not recommend, but for once-in-a-lifetime situations I do recommend making exceptions to the rule. 

I used my typical search engines to find a reasonable plane ticket: 

• Skyscanner and Google flights to play around with dates and pricing 
• Skiplagged to see if there were deals I might have missed
• and finally, Chase’s Travel portal to make sure I maximize my point earning ability
  • Side note about credit cards: A credit card with travel rewards is a MUST if you go on multiple trips every year. I have a Sapphire Preferred (temporarily downgraded from the Reserve due to Sabbatical but highly recommend if you’re a bougie traveler at least 4-5 times a year) and Freedom Unlimited Credit Card which work really well together to maximize my point earning!

I booked my roundtrip flight from SNA to PTY 4 weeks before travel for $905 through Chase Travel (this was approximately the same cost to travel out of LAX saving me an 80-mile round trip, gave me more points than booking directly though United, and insured my purchase through my Chase Sapphire card).

Most of the time for air travel over 5-6 hours, I’d advocate for a direct flight (i.e. how I ended up in London in 2024 despite having sworn I’d never go again – spoiler alert: LOVED IT!), however if you have to have a layover when you’re moving through time zones, do it during the day! Nighttime layovers mess up your internal clock more than the time difference. Landing at your destination in the late afternoon/early evening is ideal so you have a few hours to explore and get physically tired, before going to bed at a timezone appropriate time.

Anyway – I had a short layover in HOU on the flight out, and a 5 hour layover on the way back. 5 hours sounds like a lot but it’s more like 3 once you factor in border control, customs, TSA, and boarding. That time was perfect for an unrushed meal and a bit of writing.

Bocas del Toro is an hour flight from Panama City so you’ll need to book a flight out separately, and be warned this one leaves from a DIFFERENT airport (PAC) about 30 minutes from the main airport (PTY). Flights to Bocas are through AirPanama or FlyJet, (but that’s a tiny plane…) and the price is fixed. I opted for AirPanama which has flights out as early 7am and as late as 5:30pm, depending on the day. Because my flight into Panama landed after 7pm, I stayed overnight at Albrook Inn, a beautiful, quiet hotel just down the street from PAC airport.

When I arrived at PAC airport the morning of my flight, the atmosphere among the crew was light and flexible, but it seems like the departure and arrival times are more suggestions than hard deadlines. If my experience was anything to base it off, be prepared for a delay of 30 minutes to 2 hours. Another thing to note is the weather in Bocas. I was there during the dry (or high) season but almost every morning we had rain. This contributed to flight delays and cancellations. I was lucky and my flights still took off. To stay up to date on flights, you’ll need to check a site like flightaware.com and manually search for your airport and flight route.

My best advice for this: adopt island time as soon as you set out on your travels! As long as you get there safely, the timing doesn’t really matter. Also, eat before you head to the airport, there and back, and maybe take a snack if you have room in your carry-on. The airports are tiny and offer very little beyond a seat in the waiting areas and a restroom.

One more thing about the flight to Bocas: they weigh EVERYTHING. Your checked bag and your personal bag, and YOU! Stick to the weight limits posed on the website 🙂

Arrival and Stay: 

I confess I didn’t do a ton of research. Mostly because I was meeting a friend who had already been living on the island for 5 weeks, but also because I wanted to experience the space authentically. For me that looks like exploring the town area on foot and the area near my stay before I do anything else. Just absorbing the energy in the air and the visuals can help guide your plans. Talking to locals whenever you can will give you a more enriching experience too. Trust me.

That being said, this isn’t the kind of blog where I’m always going to give you a step-by-step itinerary. This is the kind of blog where we focus on a conscious approach to travel. Below I linked my favorite places to get you started, but the fun is in discovering it for yourself!

Remember, Bocas is a small town on sparsely populated islands. Its real draw is its beauty and nature, not its destinations. Enjoy it for what it is.

MINI GUIDE

Restaurants:

• Dal Siciliano (a MUST: best Italian I’ve had outside of Italy; Italian Chef/Owner)
• Cafe del Mar (cute cafe with solid breakfast in town)
• Dosha (cafe along the road up the island, great pancakes and GF bread)
• Panis (French bakery with fresh bread daily, including V & GF bread, go early)

Places:

• Cayo Zapatilla (clear water and if you can book a tour that leaves later than the standard 10am, you’ll get an hour or two to yourselves)
• La Coralina Spa (indonesian inspired space in the middle of the jungle, expensive but peaceful)

Hotels/Hostels:

I didn’t need to figure this one out, but the best experience would probably be to stay in an airbnb on Isla Colon (or a housesitting opportunity if that comes around). This will keep you centralized with easy access to transportation and food.

Outside of that option, I’d personally stay at Bambuda Lodge – a beautiful hostel on Isla Solarte (cons include needing a water taxi to get to Bocas town). 

In town, I’d suggest Bocas Paradise Hotel for its location and overall convenience. 

Happy Travels!