2 ON EARTH

Feb 18, 2023

Best of Panama in 5 days

Updated: Dec 1

If you would have asked us what we knew about Panama before travelling there, we would have answered the Panama Canal. Spoiler alert: we didn't actually go and see it.

What else does Panama have to offer? Tropical islands, mangroves, rainforests, mountains, and lots of wildlife to name a few things. It's one of the most biodiverse places in the world!

Day 1 & 2: Panama City

Explore the Central American hub on the Pacific Ocean at your own pace.

Top sites to visit:

Casco Viejo also referred to as Casco Antiguo and is Panama City's historic district.
Cinta Costera is a 7km public recreation area that runs along Panama Bay. In particular we enjoyed the view from Cinta Costera 3, where the Monument of the Flag of Panama is located. Also, the outdoor gym right by the Panama Yacht & Fishing Club.

How to get around:

Uber - Works very well in Panama City and is reliable.
Walk - Just make sure you Google the areas to avoid (especially at night).

Where to stay:

Hotel Canova was well located for the purposes of our trip. It was close to Cinta Costera, and in the middle between Casco Viejo and the Albrook Bus Terminal. With a budget of approx. 50 euros a night, we got a room with a desk, private bathroom facilities and A/C. The only downside was that there were no windows in our room.

For the foodies:

Breakfast/coffee

La Boqueria Coffee and Market (it's open from 6:30am, located in a supermarket and has great coffee and empanadas!)
Super Gourmet Coffee Shop Restaurant (not so much for the coffee but the breakfast arepa and empanadas were good)

Lunch/snacks

Misawa Bakery (we went to the El Dorado branch, we love a good Japanese bakery and this place was awesome)
Keene's Ice Creams (great ice cream but a little pricey, approx. 5 dollars for one large scoop)

Dinner

Mahalo Cocina y Jardin (we actually wanted to go to Mahalo Snack Shack but it was closed for construction so we ended up at their sister restaurant and it was delicious!)
Tacos Le Neta (located on the 6th floor of the Selina hotel, it is a cute rooftop restaurant and food comes out quick. Not the best tacos you'll ever have but very convenient if you come off a long haul flight and want something easy to eat)

Recommendations from friends

Vista Corona Panama
Lazotea Restaurant & Rooftop
Casa Casco

Day 3-5: Bocas del Toro, Colón Island

For a tropical island getaway, we decided to stay in Bocas town on Colón Island. Located on the Caribbean Sea, the water was a warm and comfortable temperature and just what we needed to kickstart our sabbatical!

Bocas town has something to offer for everyone, we have seen families, couples, groups of friends, surfers - people from all walks of life!

How to get to Bocas del Toro:

By plane - This is by far the fastest and most convenient option if you're short on time and if you're not on a budget. You can fly from Panama City and if you're flexible with the dates you can get tickets from about 70 euros one way (per person). When we were looking at this for our dates tickets were 130 euros one way (per person).
By bus & boat - This is the cheapest option and requires you to take an overnight bus which leaves from Bus Terminal Albrook at 18:00, 19:00 and 20:00. We took the 19:00 one which would get us to Almirante at around 5:00 (in the morning). Then from Almirante you take a boat to Bocas Town. The bus tickets were approx. 25 euros per person (27.8 USD).

8 important things to know before you take the bus to Bocas del Toro:

Bring your passport when you buy your tickets from the ticket desk!
You need to get a rapi pass (transport card) before boarding the bus. Showing the tickets you got from the ticket desk will not be sufficient. When you arrive to the gate, you will need to tap a pass to get through the turnstile. You can purchase the pass from machine in the terminal near to the gate. The pass itself is 2 USD and then you need to charge the card with 1 USD. The machine is only in Spanish, so it's a great moment to brush up on some Spanish :)
One rapi pass is sufficient for two or more travellers. It only deducts 10 cents per person.
The bus will have two stops for a comfort break. The first stop was one hour and for us was at a restaurant called Los Tucanes. The second stop was about 20 minutes.
The bus has USB charging ports.
The bus will be blasting their A/C, so wear long pants and layers so you can regulate your own temperature.
You will have assigned seating.
The final bus stop for Bocas del Toro is in Almirante, about 1km from where you can take a boat to Bocas Town. You can decide to walk this distance or take one of the taxis that will be waiting at the stop. The taxi charges 1 USD per person. Our taxi dropped us off at Transporte Valencia. The boat charges about 6 USD one way per person and runs from 6:00 to 18:00.

Day 3: Cycling to Playa Bluff

After a long travel day which included a bumpy overnight bus ride and arriving to Bocas town at 6:30am, we didn't want to spend anymore time sitting on a bus or boat. We decided to do a leisurely 11km (22km round trip) bike ride to Playa Bluff. The road eventually takes you along the coast and it's really scenic.

We highly recommend this but it's good to know that the roads can be tricky as it gets sandy, muddy and rocky along the way. We rented cruiser bikes because they were significantly cheaper than mountain bikes but be aware that they have back pedal brakes and no gears.

After passing by multiple beach bars and restaurants, you will eventually pass the Playa Bluff sign. You can get to the beach easily by a restaurant called Oasis B&B and The View Restaurant. Locals warned us that Playa Bluff isn't for swimming year round, so it's a great spot for sunbathing, dipping your toes in the water and admiring the surfers catching some big waves.

Day 4: Island hopping and snorkelling

The easiest way to see a lot in a day is to book an island hopping and snorkelling tour. If this is not your thing, we would encourage you to do some research on how to get to the uninhabited islands around Bocas del Toro.

The streets of Bocas Town are dotted with 'information centres' and various boat companies offering pretty much exactly the same tour at the same price. Whichever tour option you choose, just make sure it goes to Zapatilla island. That was the highlight of the tour.

Honest review of the island hopping and snorkelling tour. Our package included: Dolphin Bay, Zapatilla Island, snorkelling around the coral reefs and seeing the starfish at one of the mangroves called Isla Estrella. The tour started at 10:00 and it cost us 30 USD per person.

We didn't see any dolphins but that doesn't mean you won't see any. A couple that stayed at the same accommodation as us went on the same tour and did see them a day later. We really enjoyed Zapatilla island, when you get there most people will stay on the side where the boats drop you off. If you're feeling a bit more adventurous, there is a route through the jungle that will take you to the other side of the island. It took us about 10-15 minutes and it is worth it. You will see huge palm trees on the way, and the beach is just as gorgeous and much quieter. Especially as more tour boats start coming in, it will only get busier.

If you've been on island hopping tours before this is almost no different. The only difference for us was that lunch wasn't included and we were dropped off at an overpriced restaurant that served ok(ish) food. All of the tours seem to do this in Bocas del Toro.

Having snorkelled in places like the Maldives and Galapagos before meant that we have seen a fair share of the underwater world and beautiful coral reefs. Unfortunately, on this particular trip the reef did not look in good shape and it wasn't the best snorkelling. We would recommend bringing your own snorkelling gear as the stuff they lend out looked a bit tired.

Day 5: Boca del Drago and Starfish Beach

These two beaches come highly recommended by the locals to visit because there is a public bus that runs frequently (they say every 30 mins but we noticed sometimes more often) and you can swim and snorkel there (don't forget to bring your snorkelling gear!). There are lots of roadworks on this route because they're working on improving the road between Bocas Town and Boca del Drago. So be ready for a bumpy ride. This is also why for now, until the road is done, we don't recommend cycling or even taking a scooter as some bits can get a bit sketchy. The bus will drop you off outside a restaurant in Boca del Drago called Yarisnori and from there, it's a leisurely 10 minute walk to Starfish beach. We suggest opening up Google maps and just following the route roughly towards Starfish beach, soon enough you will see signs pointing you in the right direction.

The walk to Starfish beach was beautiful and felt like you were walking through a palmtree paradise. Once you get to Starfish beach, walk past all the restaurants at the start to find a good spot under the shade of the palmtrees. Always exercise a bit of caution when you're in public beaches and don't leave your belongings unattended!

The highlight for us was, seeing two sloths hanging out at the beach! So make sure when you're walking underneath a bunch of trees, you always look up. Not only to make sure you're not walking under a coconut palmtree (you don't want one of those to fall on you) but also to spot wildlife! One sloth was awake and we caught him during his snack time. After that he found some good shade underneath the leaves and fell asleep. A perfect day at the beach if you ask us, we should all channel a bit more inner sloth! If you go out snorkelling, you will see quite some bright orange coloured starfish dotted along the shallow waters. There were also plenty of fish to see and we were told some people also saw a stingray.

Want to know how we got to Costa Rica by land border crossing? We will cover this in our next blog about Costa Rica!