Costa Rica is one of the top vacation destinations in the entire world. The small, Latin American country seems to truly have it all: lush rainforests full of life, incredible mountain ranges and national parks, and some of the most beautiful beaches on earth. But why aren’t there any overwater bungalows in Costa Rica?

Because Costa Rica’s coastline simply doesn’t offer calm and protected areas where they could be built. Thankfully though, the island archipelago of Bocas del Toro in Panama is just a 45-minute flight from Costa Rica – and Bocas del Toro has lots of overwater bungalows!

We may receive a small commission on purchases made through links on our blog, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

Does Costa Rica Have Overwater Bungalows?

No, Costa Rica does not have Overwater Bungalows, but you can still stay in an overwater bungalow when you visit Costa Rica by taking a short, 45-minute flight to neighboring Bocas del Toro, Panama!

Bocas del Toro is an island archipelago consisting of 9 main islands and hundreds of smaller islets and cays, located in the northwest corner of Panama on the Caribbean Sea and sharing a border with Costa Rica!

The Bocas del Toro island chain is famous for it’s incredible beaches, world-class surfing, scuba diving, biodiversity, and is becoming known as a top destination for overwater bungalow stays on this side of the world!

how can you stay in an overwater bungalow when you visit Costa Rica?

If you have the time during your vacation to add an extra travel day in between your stay, then it is definitely possible for you to stay in an overwater bungalow while you visit Costa Rica. 

All you have to do is book a 50 minute flight on Sansa from the SJO airport. SJO is the main airport for Costa Rica.

The flight only takes about 45 minutes and leaves at 11AM on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday each week.

Electronic Sim Card for Travel in Panama: Airalo is the world’s leading E-Sim brand and they offer a 30-day, 3GB plan for $18 that covers all of Panama. We use Airalo whenever we travel abroad!

Best Overwater Bungalows Close to Costa Rica

The closest overwater bungalows to Costa Rica are in Bocas del Toro, and these are the best ones to choose from:

Sol Bungalows – New and #1 Rated Overwater Bungalows in Panama

Nayara Bocas del Toro – New Balinese All-Inclusive Overwater Bungalow Resort.

Eclypse del Mar – One of the original overwater bungalow lodges in Panama.

Urraca Private Island – Rustic Bungalows on a Private Island

Azul Paradise – All-Inclusive Resort

Punta Caracol Aqua Lodge – Also one of the original overwater bungalow lodges in Bocas del Toro.

Bocas del Toro, Panama, is home to over 10 overwater bungalow hotels. While most fall into the eco-luxury range, like the #1 rated Sol Bungalows (us!), there is also one high-end, all-inclusive resort called Nayara Bocas del Toro. 

Some other good choices for overwater bungalows near Costa Rica are Eclypse del Mar, Punta Caracol, or Uracca Private Island. There are even entire overwater houses you can rent or even entirely over-the-water hotels. As you can see, Bocas del Toro is an overwater paradise, and being so close to Costa Rica, it makes having an overwater experience that much easier!

Related Read: 7 Best Cheap Overwater Bungalows in the Caribbean

How to get to Costa Rica

Getting to Costa Rica is easy, as they have two major international airports that receive direct flights from the USA and the rest of the world. The airports are called:

• San Jose (Juan Santamaria International Airport – SJO)
  • San Jose is the capital city of Costa Rica and where their primary international airport is located and where Sansa flies out of to Bocas del Toro.

• Liberia (Daniel Oduber International Airport – LIR).
  • Liberia is a city in the north of Costa Rica which is good to fly into if your plan is to hit some of the popular beach towns in the north of the country, like Tamarindo. 

• Both airports receive direct international flights with many options from USA-based airlines, but you can only fly to Bocas del Toro from the San Jose airport.

How to Get to Bocas del Toro from Costa Rica To Stay in an Overwater Bungalow

There are 3 ways to get to Bocas del Toro from Costa Rica:

1. Flying with Sansa (SYQ – BOC)
2. Taking a Shuttle from San Jose or Puerto Viejo (with Caribe Shuttle)
3. Taking the Public Bus/ Private Taxi, and doing the border crossing yourself.

1. Flying from Costa Rica to Bocas del Toro with Sansa

• Step 1: Fly from your home country to SJO in San Jose, Costa Rica
• Step 3: Fly from SJO to BOC with Sansa

Once you have your international flights to SJO in Costa Rica, you can either head straight over to Bocas del Toro, or spend some time enjoying Costa Rica before heading over to Bocas del Toro.

For either case, you will need to book flights from SJO to BOC with Sansa. There are no other flight options from Costa Rica to Bocas del Toro aside from private charters.

You can also take the bus/ private shuttle from Costa Rica to Bocas del Toro:

This ride takes about 10 hours from San Jose or about 4 hours from Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. 

Taking the bus or shuttle is the cheaper, but a longer, option. However, it is very doable, and many people do this every day to get from Costa Rica to Bocas del Toro. 

Caribe Shuttle is the best private shuttle company to use for this journey, although many can be found right in Puerto Viejo.

Leaving Bocas del Toro to Go Home

After your stay in Costa Rica and an overwater bungalow in Bocas del Toro, you’ll sadly have to make your way back home to the “real world.” To get back home, you have two options:

1. Get to Panama City, Panama, and fly home from PTY (Panama Tocumen International Airport)
2. Get to San Jose (or Liberia) and fly home through SJO or LIR airports. 

To get to Panama City from Bocas del Toro you have two options:

1. Fly to Panama City with Air Panama on their daily 50-minute flights
   1. These flights land at a domestic airport in Panama City with code PAC (Albrook International). This is a different airport from the larger Tocumen International Airport with code PTY.
   2. Be sure you are selecting the correct airports when making your reservations on AirPanama.com.
   3. Air Panama recommends arriving in Panama City 1 day before your international flights to account for delays due to bad weather.
2. Take the Bus or a shuttle (10 hours) for around $40. This is very easy to arrange in Bocas Town.

Check out our full guide on how to get to Bocas del Toro, here

Bonus: Bocas del Toro has the Most affordable overwater bungalows in the Caribbean

Not only does Bocas del Toro have overwater bungalows close to Costa Rica, they are also the most affordable in the whole Caribbean (and Western Hemisphere, maybe even the world?) 

Prices for over-the-water bungalows in Bocas del Toro are around the $200-$300 per night range, with Bocas Bali at $1,000+ per night being an exception.

The overwater bungalows in Bocas del Toro are affordable because they are mostly just privately owned eco-resorts which do lack many of the amenities you might find at the Four Seasons in Bora Bora. But don’t let this deter you, because what Bocas del Toro offers instead is a more authentic travel experience.

So if you are looking for culture, adventure, good food and an affordable overwater bungalow experience, then Bocas del Toro is the place to be!

Read more about why Bocas del Toro is worth visiting, here

Read more from our Blog: