Travel Guide > Central America > Panama > Bocas Del Toro
Bocas Del Toro is the main place to go in Panama for relaxing on the beach, snorkelling, diving and many other marine activities. It's a popular place amongst travellers.
From San Jose, Costa Rica:
The bus departs the Coca Cola bus station at 9:00am for Changuinola in Panama. It takes about 7 hours to arrive at the border. From the border you have to go to the control booth on the right hand side before the bridge. From here you have to show your passport and hand in your Panama visa form. Be careful: the border here closes at 5:00pm. Once this is done you walk accross the bridge into Panama to another control booth on the left hand side after the bridge. You must then show your passport, after which, you head next door to again show your passport and you may or may not have to pay for a tourist card (depends on your nationality, USA cost is $5). Once you recieve this card you go back next door where you just were, and then they will stamp your passport. Welcome to Panama. Re-board your bus and head to Changuinola.
From the Changuinola bus station take a taxi to the boat (takes aobut 10 minutes, about $5). Last boat leaves at 5:30pm and takes about 45 minutes to Bocas town. If you miss this boat or you are cutting it close, take a taxi to Almirante instead. The last boat leaves here at 6:30pm and costs $3. If arriving in Bocas late, it is recommend to make an accomodation reservation prior to arrival.
Day Trip:
You can take a boat to the Red Frog Beach (Playa Pristina), go snorkeling and dolphin watching. You should pay no more than $15 for the whole day and you grab a boat leaving from the docks around 9:00am. Take plenty of water, some snacks, and a few dollars for lunch (be patient because lunch takes a while).
There are plenty of accomodations in the Bocas but a few recommended ones are as follows:
| Property | Address | Type | Popularity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar e Iguana | Calle principale, Saigon | Guesthouse | 67 |
This is version 9. Last edited at 14:11 on Aug 21, 09 by Utrecht (-5). 5 articles link to this page.

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