This quick list of the best things to do in Bocas del Toro is for adventure seekers who want a new and off-the-beaten-path experience.

Of course, with over 20 beaches that fall within the boundaries of the islands, you could sit on a new beach every day of your trip. There are also plenty of accommodations with pools and piña coladas if your idea is to really melt away in the Panamanian sun. 

This guide is for people who are looking for the best things to do in Bocas del Toro. These activities require that you put in some effort, energy, and cash. Bocas del Toro is an absolute playground for those who are willing to add these ingredients!

How do we know what we are talking about? We have lived and adventured in Bocas del Toro, full-time, since 2015!

TOP Activity: Spend an Afternoon at the Floating Bar

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• Cost: Cheap drinks and food
• Highlight: Live Music on Mondays, Taco Tues and Thursday: 2x$6 tacos (see daily schedule here)
• How to get there: Take a 2 minute/ $2 water taxi from Bocas Town or direct from your outer island accommodation.
• Open Every Day through High Season (December 1 – April 30)

We recommend our guests here and we go here on our days off, so that should say enough! And they were also just ranked the #1 floating bar in the world on Fodor’s!

If that’s not enough, I’ll explain some more: The Floating Bar is, well… a floating bar! How cool is that? They’ve got cold beers, margaritas, and other specialty cocktails, plus some yummy food like tacos, ceviches, and quesadillas. It’s the place to be for happy hour and sunset and is popular both with locals and tourists.

Also, the vibe is always awesome, the staff and owners make sure of it! It’s one of those classic vacation destination bars. A hole in the wall where you can let loose free of judgment. Do some backflips off the second story and snorkel around the nearby mangrove and shipwreck.

#2: Explore the Nivida Bat Cave with Rutilio Milton

• Cost: $45 per person plus $15 cave entrance and gear rental fee
• Where: Bahia Honda, Isla Bastimentos
• How to Get There: Call Rutilio Milton: +507-6726-0968 or visit the Tomorogo Website

Rutilio is a local legend who pioneered the bat cave tour back in 2002. He was the first of his local indigenous tribe to explore inside the cave and has been leading tours there ever since. 

The Nivida Bat Cave is located in the jungles of Bahia Honda on Isla Bastimentos, in an area that is home to an indigenous tribe called the Ngobe. The tour starts off in the village of Bahia Honda, at their community restaurant and school grounds.

From there, Rutilio will take you in his boat through the calm bay waters towards the entrance of a creek that leads to the cave. The journey down the creek is almost as exciting as the cave itself. There’s a big chance to see sloths, monkeys, cayman alligators, and all sorts of birds and spiders. 

The end of the creek brings you to another small indigenous village that is surrounded by rolling hills and thick jungle. You are most certainly not in kansas anymore. 

The entrance to the cave hides just 10 minutes from this point. The inside of the cave features 3 separate levels and going all the way to the end and back takes over an hour.

A small stream runs through the cave so you will be walking/ hiking through cool freshwater as well as climbing, cliff jumping, and swimming in some parts. There are no handrails or lights helping to illuminate your path, either. This is strictly Tarzan stuff and a truly one-of-a-kind experience.

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#3 Practice Yoga in the Rainforest Canopy

• Class Schedule: Vinyasa on Tuesdays at 9:30AM and Yin Yoga at 5:00PM on Thursdays.
• Classes cost $5 and are 75 minutes each.
• Yoga at Roam is located 5 minutes and $5 by water taxi from Bocas Town. Contact them for help getting there if you need it!

Roam Yoga and Wellness Center has the most amazing yoga shala in Bocas. It sits on a hill just back from the ocean and overlooks the rainforest, islands, and turquoise waters below. It’s the only screened-in Yoga Shala in the islands, which is important when you want to practice yoga in the rainforest without being a mosquito snack.

Follow them on Instagram for special events, retreats, and even single-day retreats! Their center is just a $5 water taxi ride from Bocas Town on Isla Solarte. Contact them for help arranging a taxi! Classes are open to all skill levels. Treat yourself to a healthy smoothie in their overwater restaurant after the class and converse with fellow yogis and travelers!

Stay up to date on Yoga Class Schedules, Retreats, and their Lodge: Instagram | Website

#4: Cayo Zapatilla and Bastimentos National Marine Park Island Hopping Boat Tour

• Time: 9:30 – 4:00
• Price: $180 for the private tour (depending on gas and group size)
• When to go: Good weather days!

The Cayo Zapatilla boat tour is the #1 boat tour that we recommend to our guests. You’ll definitely want the right weather conditions so this tour isn’t always a good idea, but when the conditions line up, it’s hard to beat!

This adventure starts between 9 and 9:30 AM (an earlier start to beat the crowds), and we always recommend a private tour. You’ll start off with a leisurely boat ride through the back bays of the archipelago in search of dolphins and sloths. The private guide is trained in responsible animal watching and will keep the boat at a safe distance from all wildlife, especially the dolphins.

The next stop is to head out to Cayo Zapatilla for a few hours exploring the island, snorkeling, swimming, and soaking up the sun. These are the most beautiful islands in Bocas del Toro, with white sands, turquoise water, and palm trees spilling out into the ocean.

Finish up the day with a stop at Coral Cay for some snorkeling, then grab a late lunch either a the local thatch roof restaurant at Coral Cay, or come back to the center of the islands and get dropped off at The Floating Bar.

Prices can vary with group size and gasoline prices, but $180 is more or less the going rate for 2-4 people! The guide has a cooler with ice, some waters, beers, sodas, and fruit! You should pack some snacks, sunscreen and long sleeve clothing for sun protection!

#5: Hike across Isla Bastimentos with Titi

• Cost: $65 PP
• Where: Starts in Old Bank on Isla Bastimentos and ends at Polo Beach
• How to Get There: Call Titi: +507-6788-1331

This is the best hiking tour in Bocas and one of the best ways to experience the tropical rainforests and beaches of Isla Bastimentos.

Titi is a local Afro-Caribbean man from Old Bank who is a passionate farmer and all-around highly skilled jungle man. Your best bet to find him is to go to Old Bank and ask for him at The Sea Monkey.

The tour starts in the town of Old Bank and first passes through a tropical fruits farm where you get to try some delicious and rare tropical fruits like Biriba, Jack Fruit, Star Fruit, and the Miracle Berry. 

After the fruit farm comes the real physical test of the rolling hills of the interior of Isla Bastimentos. Some of this trail is open farmland and some of it is dense jungle. Titi will lead you through to several beautiful viewpoints that have sweeping views of the Caribbean Sea.

You will eventually emerge out of the jungle and onto the western side of Red Frog Beach. From here you will stick to the beaches and make your way down Red Frog, across Turtle Beach, and then to Polo Beach.

Polo Beach is named after the legend, Polo, who has lived there for over 50 years. Polo is an old man with a youthful and free spirit. He loves cooking fresh seafood like lobster and fish for the handful of tourists that make it out to see him during the high season. Just beware… Polo loves his rum and he isn’t afraid to speak his mind!

The tour ends after you make your way back to Red Frog Beach and to the Palmar Beach Lodge bar for happy hour. Your legs will be sore after the 10 mile hike and having a rum punch in this moment might be just what the doctor ordered. 

Read our Ultimate Travel Guide to Bocas del Toro

#7: Take a Surf Lesson

Mono Loco Surf School // Promotional Video from Anna Chahuneau on Vimeo.

• Cost: 3 Hour Surf Lesson for $50, Board Rentals between $10-$25 per day
• Where: Escuela del Mar, MonoLoco Surf School, La Buga Dive & Surf

Bocas del Toro, above everything else, is a world-class destination for surfers. Similar to why Hawaii and Bali became famous tourist destinations; Bocas del Toro was first made popular by surfers. 

With warm, turquoise waters, breathtaking tropical landscapes, and more waves in a 2 mile stretch of coast than anywhere else in the world; it’s easy for surfers to fall in love with Bocas.

Bocas is also a great place to learn to surf. There’s a handful of really good surf schools that give lessons year-round. They have plenty of boards to choose from and many offer soft-top surfboards for beginners.

The most popular surf spot for beginners is a reef break called Black Rock. This break is great for longboarders because of the deepwater channel that you can use to paddle back to the take-off spot. The waves only break over the reef and not in the channel so it is very easy to paddle back to the top. 

There are also several other breaks nearby that can cater to young kids and have sandy shallow bottoms. Wizard Beach is also a popular spot for lessons when the waves are really small.

No matter what your skill level or ability, Bocas has a wave for you!

Check out our detailed Bocas del Toro Surf Guide

#8: Go Scuba Diving

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A post shared by Panama Dive School (@panamadiveschool)

• Cost: 2 Tank Dives for $85-$90
• Where: Panama Dive School, La Buga, Bocas Dive Center

Bocas del Toro is known internationally as a world-class surfing destination, but scuba diving is right up there in popularity in the islands.

You don’t even need to be certified to go on a dive in Bocas, as 2 tank discovery dives are very common. Many dive locations are also close to Bocas Town, and in not-so-deep water where you can still see cool stuff, like sunken boats and plenty of marine life.

Another reason to go scuba diving in Bocas is that it’s cheap! You can also dive year-round and in almost any weather and wave conditions, so it’s really a great activity any time of the year. Some months are better than others, though.

We basically live like this: if there are waves, we surf, and if it’s flat, we dive! (We do freediving, which is also a great thing to do in the islands).

#9: Visit a Permaculture Farm and have an organic lunch at Up in the Hill

• Cost: $40 per person, minimum 4 people
• Where: At Up in the Hill, 15 15-minute hike “up the hill” from the main dock in Old Bank in Isla Bastimentos
• How to Book: Contact them here

The permaculture farm tour and lunch at Up in the Hill has been a long-standing “Best Thing to Do” in Bocas del Toro. It’s an awesome way to see a local farm, learn about permaculture, and have a one-of-a-kind dining experience. As you tour their farm, which they grew over the last 20-plus years from what was just a cow pasture, you get to learn about all of the different food and trees they grow and live off of.

There is also a good chance to see some wildlife, like poison dart frogs, sloths, monkies, snakes, birds, and butterflies. The hosts, Javier and Jeannette, are extremely knowledgeable about the plants and animals and overall this is a great learning experience!

Check out the 13 Most Bucket List Things To Do in Panama

#10: Explore the jungle on an ATV with flying pirates

• Cost: $70 half day, $100 full day, but call for exact pricing.
• How to do it: Call Flying Pirates: +507-6689-5050

The Flying Pirates ATV experience is one of the top-rated things to do on Trip Advisor for Bocas del Toro and we can say from extensive experience that it is, indeed, one of the best things to do in the islands.

The best thing to do with the ATV’s is to take them on their jungle trails past Bluff Beach where you will encounter some seriously rugged terrain that is as beautiful as it is challenging. Our best advice is to take it slow for the most part, as speed is what will get you into trouble. You’ll also be able to see more wildlife this way, and we also recommend stopping to swim at La Piscina and the Blue Lagoon. We also recommend bringing a change of dry clothes for after you swim so you don’t have to finish the trail in a wet bathing suit.

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