Best Hotels in Bocas del Toro (2023)

Best hotels in Bocas del Toro

Bocas del Toro is a Panamanian archipelago, which is next to the border with Costa Rica. And as an archipelago, there are several islands where you can stay.

Depending on the island where you decide to stay, your experience in Bocas del Toro will be completely different. Each island has its own atmosphere, day or night. And even their own activities, you can’t miss Zapatilla Cay.

Best Hotels in Bocas del Toro : Isla Colón

The main island is Isla Colón, which is, let’s say, the nerve center of Bocas del Toro, and the first place where you will set foot in the archipelago.

Bocas Town concentrates most of the lodgings, hotels, restaurants and services of the entire archipelago, including the airport that serves this Caribbean paradise.

Also here you can find the most economical accommodations, and the biggest nightlife in Bocas del Toro. So, depending on your budget and what you like to do for peace and quiet or nightlife, Bocas Town may be your choice.

You can take a look at the different options, price, pictures and availability at this link, Accommodation in Bocas Town.

But there are also a few more quiet places within Colon Island, such as Bluff Beach, located north of Bocas Town, about 45 minutes away by local bus.

In the following link you will see the accommodation options you have, their price, photos and availability on the dates you want to go, Accommodation in Playa Bluff.

Best Hotels in Bocas del Toro : Carenero Island

Carenero Island is another island where you can stay, it is located in front of Colon Island, but it is much quieter than this one.

Here, renting a kayak, enjoying the beach and the relaxed atmosphere is a good alternative.

If you want to know the accommodation options that exist on this island, take a look at Accommodation in Carenero. You will be able to see the location of the places, their prices, photos and availability.

Best Hotels in Bocas del Toro : Bastimentos Island

Bastimentos Island is the one we chose, among other reasons because, besides being quiet, there is a town, Old Bank, which embodies the spirit of Bocas de Toro. This town is Jamaican Antillean, and you can enjoy the most local atmosphere. Here they speak a mix of English, Spanish and French, a prize for those who understand them! But don’t worry, some of them speak Spanish, especially those who work in the few restaurants here.

This island is a little further away from Isla Colón, but only fifteen minutes away by boat.

As we were going to stay a few days on a quiet island, we also wanted to find a quiet accommodation, and we found it. We stayed at the Ataraxia Guest House. This accommodation is run by a Belgian couple who are recovering this old cocoa farm.

The house is in colonial style, with the typical huge terraces, where you can enjoy the sunset and sunrise. And of the spectacle that every day offers the hummingbirds fluttering while you have breakfast.

They are also working on recovering the land the farm has, to become self-sufficient, both in food and energy, as far as possible. We thought it was a nice idea to recover a past, and face a future respecting the natural environment.

We loved the place, and this nice Belgian couple helped us with any doubts or questions we had, as well as giving us very useful information about the island.

We recommend them 100%. If you want to see more pictures of the place, prices and availability, you can take a look at the following link, Ataraxia Guest House.

Or if you prefer to see other options on the island, you can see this link, Accommodation in Bastimentos Island.

Don’t forget to get a travel insurance if you travel to Panama. We tell you how to find the best travel insurance to travel to Panama, and for being our reader, you can take advantage of a 5% discount by clicking here.

Best Hotels in Bocas del Toro : Solarte Island

Another island, Solarte, is located south of Bastimento Island, it is much quieter. Unlike Bastimentos, where you can go to the Old Bank and hang out with the Jamaican Antilleans, Solarte only has some accommodation and no town.

If you feel like such an experience, you can take a look at the different options this little corner of nature has to offer, Accommodation on Solarte Island.

Best Hotels in Bocas del Toro : Cristobal Island

Cristobal Island is one of those you will see from a boat, since whoever goes to Bocas del Toro, has to go to the Dolphin Bay and enjoy its presence.

Best Hotels in Bocas del Toro : Zapatilla Cay

Well, this island is very quiet, and in addition to accommodation, there is also an indigenous community that can be visited. Therefore, another good option to enjoy Bocas del Toro.

If you think that this can be a good option, and you want to see what accommodations there are, their prices, availability and some pictures, take a look at this link, Accommodation in Cristobal Island.