bocas del toro information
INFORMATION ON HISTORY OF BOCAS DEL TORO
At the beginning of the century, there was a Caribbean archipelago that had 25,000 residents, many foreign consulates and myriad tropically colored houses under a clear blue sky. This wonderful place was blessed by its protected bay, lucid Caribbean blue waters rich with lobster, tropical fish and abundant greenery on shore and of course, bananas. Lots and lots of bananas.
Bocas del Toro at the turn of the 20th century was a modern community where residents enjoyed multi-lingual education, a modern hospital, and some of the first phones in Panamá. The economy thrived from Bocas del Toro’s cultural diversity, new opportunities afforded by the Age of Bananas, a cosmopolitan infrastructure and a long history beginning prior to the arrival of the itinerant Columbus (Colón in Spanish). After the banana business failed and moved inland, Bocas del Toro lay forgotten for decades.
Today Bocas is recapturing some of it former glory. Houses are being restored and businesses are once again coming to main street: new hotels in Bocas del Toro are being built all the time; the Smithsonian Institute has just established a university/research facility here, having relocated from Honduras. And foreign investors are arriving to Bocas del Toro in droves… Bocas del Toro is being discovered for the first time again.
INFORMATION ON PRESENT DAY BOCAS DEL TORO
Bocas del Toro Population: approximately 4,000
Isla Bocas del Toro, the main island has city sewage, water and mains electricity. It is the seat of government for the entire province. The Governor has his office here, as do the local representatives.
Bocas del Toro Area: 9 major islands, 5 islets, and more than 200 rocky islet points. The main island of Isla Bocas del Toro has a mean width of 5.5 miles, and a length of approximately 14.5 miles.
Bocas del Toro also has a modern aiport which can accommodate small jets, and supports some international traffic.
There is also a hospital on Bocas del Toro’s main island; more clinics are to be found in David, a 20 minute flight away.
INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES IN BOCAS DEL TORO
Many local operators provide water taxis to Isla Bastimentos and it’s huge, empty beaches, while dive shops and tour services can take you to any of the natural wonders of the archipelago - coral reef diving and snorkelling, dolphin watching, sailing adventures and hiking tours through some pristine tropical jungle.
click here for a map of the Bocas del Toro islands region
click here for aerial views of the town of Bocas del Toro
INFORMATION ON GETTING TO BOCAS DEL TORO
Two ways to get to Bocas del Toro: thru Panama City or thru San Jose, Costa Rica.
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA
There are daily international flights into Panama City’s airport (PTY) and from there you need to go downtown and book a regional flight to Bocas at the Marcos A. Gelabert Airport (aka Albrook) near the Albrook Mall outside downtown. Plan on staying over one night as same day connections are unlikely.
Aeroperlas (507-315-7500, http://www.aeroperlas.com/ ) and Air Panama ( http://www.flyairpanama.com/ ) both offer two daily flights each to Bocas for about $68.00 one way. Flying time is about 45 minutes.
There is also a bus that leaves Panama City every day at 8pm arriving Almirante at 6am. From where it drops you off you take a taxi into town ($0.50) to the Taxi25 office and from there get a watertaxi to Bocas del Toro($3).
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA
Daily flights into San Jose, Costa Rica’s international airport, then either a taxi ride downtown ($12) right outside the terminal or one of the big red or orange modern highway type buess ($0.55) that are located 1.5 minutes past the taxi hordes on the street behind the terminal parking garage. Follow the street to the left where the taxis enter from. You then need to get aboard the bus that leaves for Changuinola, Panama every morning at 9am ($9). It departs from the triangular corner of Calle 16 & Avenida 5. Six hours later you have crossed the border into Panama and will soon be dropped off at Changuinola Bus Terminal. From there you need to get on one of the little microbuses that reads finca 60 or finca sesenta on the front ($0.40) for about a 7 minute ride. They will get you to the watertaxi ($5) that will then take you to Bocas del Toro in about 45 minutes.
GENERAL INFORMATION ON BOCAS DEL TORO
CURRENCY: US Dollar or Balboa (B/.)
The US Dollar is the official currency in all of Panama, including Bocas del Toro. The national Balboa (B/.) coins are pegged to the US Dollar and are identical in size, metal, shape, and weight. There are no Balboa bills, only coins.
LANGUAGE
The official language in Panama is Spanish, but English is widely spoken in Bocas del Toro. Bocas del Toro has a long history of American influence with the US banana companies such as Chiquita Banana operating out of the Bocas del Toro region for so many years, so English is easy to encounter.
BANKS
There is only one bank on the main island of Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro, which is a branch of the National Bank of Panama (Banco Nacional de Panama), located on the road from the airport. The bank is open Mondays thru Friday from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. There is an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) located at the Banco Nacional de Panama, on Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro.
On the mainland, in Almirante, a 20 minute boat ride from Bocas del Toro, there is also Global Bank(www.globalbank.com.pa ) with a Banistmo branch(www.banistmo.com ) in Changuinola. Please note that Panama’s banking services are top quality, so having a bank account with a different bank in Panama City is not a problem as finances can be managed through the internet, and by using a checkbook and debit card.
CREDIT CARDS & TRAVELLER CHEQUES
Some shops and service stores don’t accept credit cards. Travellers cheques can be cashed only at the Banco Nacional de Panama. Cash advances on credit cards can be processed at the ATM at Banco Nacional de Panama.
ELECTRICITY
Electricity on Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro is offered by a local utility company. The normal outlets at hotels are 110 VAC/50 cycles. Some hotels also offer 220 VAC/60 cycles.
GOVERNMENT AND COMMERCE HOURS
Many stores in Bocas del Toro open Monday thru Saturday, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, and 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm and 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Sundays most stores close. Most of the restaurants serve dinner only up to 10:00 pm, however, the bars stay open until the wee hours of the night. Government offices open Monday thru Friday from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. The local island Post Office also opens Monday thru Friday from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm and on Saturdays from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon.
POPULATION
9,883 inhabitants (2000 census) is the population of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago.
IMMIGRATION
The Immigration office is in the Government House, in town at Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro. All foreigner visitors must have a valid passport and visa to enter or leave Bocas del Toro by airplane. The main Immigration office is in the town of Changuinola, on the mainland.
PUBLIC TELEPHONES
There are many public telephones in the island town of Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro that accept coins or phone cards. The local telephone company is Cable and Wireless, who have their offices at 1st Street. You can purchase phone cards at most of the stores on the island, but please take note that public telephone cards and cellular pre-pay phone cards are different, so don’t make the mistake of purchasing the wrong one!
CELL PHONES
Cellular telephone reception is very clear in town at Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro, as well as in town at the mainland towns of Changuinola, and Almirante. However, in some remote areas of the Bocas del Toro archipelago, cellular reception is intermittent or not available. Obtaining a cellular phone is easy, and you can rent them in Panama City at the Tocumen International airport, or you can purchase a pre-pay cellular phone for as little as US$30. Pre-pay cellular service is offered by both Cable & Wireless, as well as Movistar.
TOURISM INFORMATION (TOURISM BOARD)
The office of IPAT (Panamanian Tourism Institute) is also at the Tourism Visitors Center, at 1st. street, next to the Police station in town at Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro. Phone/fax: 011 (507) 757-9642.
IMPORTANT PHONES
Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro - Police Department: 104
Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro - Fire Department: 103
Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro - Hospital: 011-(507) 757-9201
Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro - Information: 011-(507) 757-9257;
Cable & Wireless phone company national operator: 101
International operator: 106
Bocas del Toro - Airport: 011-(507) 757-9341.
LOCAL EVENTS
New Year: january 1; Carnival: february or march; Eastern: march or april; Sea Fair: last week of September; Independence from Columbia: November 3; National Flag Day: November 4; Bocas del Toro Day: November 16; Independence from Spain: November 28; Mothers day: December 8; Christmas: December 25.
The island of San Cristobal occupies an important sector of the Admiral Bay. This island, when talking of tourism, is ignored most of the times, lacking of valuable forests, except in the south, but it is very rich in marine environments.
Bocatorito is an important tourist spot, in the northern part of the island. A labyrinth of mangrove islets create a lagoon scenery that fascinates the tourist due to the calm waters. Once the boat abandon this labytinth, arrive to big sea water lagoon surrounded by mangroves and islands.
There is also the site most visited by dolphins in the entire Bay. Many tours come to this place, also known as Dolphin Bay, to show the tourists the playfull marine mammals, most of the times with their babies.
Bocatorito is also one of the ngobe indian communities of the island. Their houses are located in two different sectors: one, with better conditions, around an excellent touristic restaurant managed by locales, and the other, poor, to the left of the first one.
The community counts with a little more than 150 inhabitants that live in 30 houses, most of them made by wood with palm leaves roof. They don’t have electricity or health center, but they have water that comes from a creek and it is carried to the touristic sector by means of an aqueduct.
The primary school, with multigrade system, counts with 2 classrooms and 2 teaches, attended by 35 students. Most of the villagers fishermen, activity complemented with agriculture and cattle of subsistence. Some women do handicrafts to sell to the tourists.
INFORMATION ON THE ECOLOGY OF BOCAS DEL TORO
Located in the north-western corner of Panama, Bocas del Toro is the most biodiverse region in Panama and one of the most ecologically pristine and diverse areas in Central America. The Smithsonian Institute is so interested in the islands of Bocas del Toro, that it set up a Research Centre on Isla Colon. Sea turtle nesting beaches, dolphin mating areas (in the bay adjacent to the Retreat), rare birds and untouched coral reefs all add up to some incredible opportunities for environmental education, exploration and experience here in Bocas del Toro. Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park protects large tracts of coral reef, shoreline and old growth jungle.
INFORMATION ON SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN BOCAS DEL TORO
Bocas is a laid back Caribbean town with a number of small hotels, bars and restaurants for the developing tourist trade. The government built an international airport here a few years ago and there is money earmarked for major improvements to the town’s infrastrucutre, including power lines from the mainland (the town now runs on a generator), sewage and water projects, as well as more financing for promotion of the Bocas del Toro area as a tourism destination. A regular ferry service connects Bocas del Toro to the mainland at Almirante, a city of 15,000. From there major roads can take you north-west to the Costa Rican border and south-east to the city of Chiriqui Grande, Panama and on to David, Panama over the mountains.
Get Our RSS Feed