How's the hiking and camping in and around Bocas Del Toro, Panama?
Anne-Michelle Wand - United Country Bocas del Toro
Isla Colon, Isla Bastimentos, and Isla Cristobal are three large islands in what people call Bocas del Toro that have jungle trails across them that you could hike and explore. Sometimes it is best to take a guide with you because the trails are not necessarily well marked and you could get lost, but definitely, you can hike here. If you live here, you would know where you could go by yourself and where you could not.
You will also see a lot of rivers. You can follow the...
Isla Colon, Isla Bastimentos, and Isla Cristobal are three large islands in what people call Bocas del Toro that have jungle trails across them that you could hike and explore. Sometimes it is best to take a guide with you because the trails are not necessarily well marked and you could get lost, but definitely, you can hike here. If you live here, you would know where you could go by yourself and where you could not.
You will also see a lot of rivers. You can follow the riverbeds up on the bigger islands and on the mainland for some very interesting hiking, see waterfalls, and things like that.
Another option for hiking would be to go to the mainland of Bocas del Toro and find some areas there that would be good for jungle hiking.
Hiking in Isla colon, Isla Bastimentos, and Isla Cristobal may have similar foliage, as far as the rain forest and lush trees. Different islands would have different animals. Some islands have monkeys and some do not. Some have sloths and some do not. You will see different birds and different wildlife on different islands. You will probably be more able to find a virgin forest on the islands.
Isla Bastimentos has a national marine park off the coast so when you go snorkeling there, you will see a lot of fish and most of them are bigger than the ones you would commonly see on a snorkeling trip. This is because the wildlife there is protected.
To go to the other islands, such as Bastimentos or Cristobal, you have to get in a boat to find those trails. In Isla Colon, you could probably walk through some jungle hiking or at least just take a bike since Bocas is a town in Isla Colon
There is actually no law here in Bocas Del Toro against camping, so you will see people camping even on the beach. There is even a tent lodge in Bastimentos, where you can rent a tent on a platform and stay right in front of the beach. I think a private tent is around US $50 a night. They have dormitory tents where you could stay, too. They are like hostels and are cheaper.
I think these islands attract fit, young at heart expats because you have to be very healthy to live this lifestyle. Getting in and out of boats all the time is not for the faint of heart. Being caught in a tropical storm while you are out on the boat might be challenging if you were not healthy.
Posted September 30, 2014
JB Seligman - BUENA VISTA REALTY located in BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA
The hiking and camping in Bocas del Toro is excellent. Hiking and biking is a major part of tourism in Bocas del Toro. We have lots of rain forests and miles of interesting trails. There are bat caves, tours, people camping out on the beach, people camping out on the rainforest. There are lots of tourists who do that. Tourists are the ones who do that because residents live in regular houses, so they don’t see the need to camp, since they are already in a place where they can...The hiking and camping in Bocas del Toro is excellent. Hiking and biking is a major part of tourism in Bocas del Toro. We have lots of rain forests and miles of interesting trails. There are bat caves, tours, people camping out on the beach, people camping out on the rainforest. There are lots of tourists who do that. Tourists are the ones who do that because residents live in regular houses, so they don’t see the need to camp, since they are already in a place where they can easily go camping; the camping area is right in their backyard. Hiking is popular in Bocas del Toro. There’s so much to see in the jungle. You can comb the beach and climb the hills. It is a very interesting form of recreation in Bocas del Toro that not only tourists, but also residents do.
Our island of Carenero is still a nice little hike, about 45 minutes, all the way around it. We’ve done it on a pretty regular basis for exercise. There are plenty of neighbors and tourists who walk the entire island because it is a unique experience.
If you are on smaller islands like Carenero, you can get on your boat and hike somewhere else on another island, if you want to. I do that all the time. Our boat is our car in Bocas del Toro and there have been many times when we’d get on the boat on weekends and anchor out over to a nice beach and hike. Boats are cars and also recreational vehicles in Bocas del Toro.
Posted April 11, 2015