Discover the best of Bocas del Toro in 3 days!

The island of Bastimentos

Those going to Bocas del Toro really shouldn’t skip the island of Bastimentos! Bastimentos is the largest island in the archipelago and consists mainly of unspoiled nature and beautiful beaches. You will also find the colorful, Caribbean village of Old Bank.

The most famous beach on Bastimentos? That’s Red Frog Beach, and we also start this blog with a walk to this gem.

Take the shortcut to Red Frog Beach

At Red Frog Beach itself, there are no boats. The fastest way to get to this beach is via the shortcut on the other side of the island. That may sound long, but the walk only takes 15 minutes. For a few dollars, the water cab will drop you off at the dock of the shortcut.

Take a look around as you stand on the wooden dock, because in the water you can see all the jellyfish, very special to see. Then you go to a small cot where you get access to the shortcut for $5 per person.

Good news: this route is totally worth its money. The trail is super beautiful and easily accessible. Full of beautiful, tropical plants and, not unimportantly, poison frogs. Because everyone wants to have seen the famous, red frogs of Red Frog Beach, right? There are plenty of them here! You are obviously not going to see these frogs of (maximum?) 2.5 centimeters when you are walking 10 kilometers per hour. So walk slowly and listen to the sounds. Do you hear frogs? Then step up to the sound and look carefully into the bush-bush. Don’t give up, if you can hear them, you can see them too!

At some point you will come across a small pool, be aware that there may be a caiman in it (see photo above). I did find it special to see, but if you find it scary, I understand too, just walk on!

Basically, you can do this hike on flip-flops. I myself was wearing hiking boots and I was very happy with that, because of the rain it was a bit muddy and the hiking boots made it possible for me to get closer to the frogs. The choice is yours!

📍 Location Red Frog shortcut

Walk from Red Frog beach to Polo beach

So, you got to Red Frog Beach via the shortcut? Congratulations, you are on one of the most beautiful beaches in Bocas del Toro! Is it a little too busy for you here? Don’t feel like chilling on the beach? Or maybe it’s raining, as was the case with us? (That’s why you see dark photos here 😉 )

In all cases, it is fun to walk from Red Frog Beach to Polo beach. Polo beach is often called the most beautiful beach in Bastimentos. Do install the app Maps.me, if you don’t already have it, on that you can see the exact route. In fact, there are several beaches and trails, so the app is very useful for navigating and not getting lost.

The hike first passes the hotel that has taken up much of Red Frog, but then you hike through beautiful jungle. Don’t forget to look up because chances are you’ll spot monkeys and sloths here. And if you hear frogs, go after your hearing!

There are no places to eat or drink along the way, so bring plenty of water. On Red Frog Beach, however, you will find several restaurants.

Don’t be put off by my photos in terms of the beach, because with us it was storming pretty hard, so it was all a little less idyllic. But even in the pouring rain, it was very nice to do this hike! That is also the best thing about Bocas del Toro as far as I am concerned, jungle and sea come together. If it’s not weather to lie on the beach, then head into the jungle!

Go through Old Bank to Wizard beach

Is the weather good and you’re an avid hiker? Then you could hike from Red Frog to Wizard beach. But if you don’t fancy long hikes through dense jungle, it’s better to take a water cab again, then dock at Old Bank.

Old Bank is the most atmospheric and colorful village in Bocas del Toro. Here you will be completely immersed in the Afro-Caribbean atmosphere. The people here have an incredible knack for language, as they have their own language and most also speak Spanish and English. And then they are also super friendly. What more could you want?

Buy something to eat or drink in the village, as there are no drinking or eating establishments on Wizard beach either.

Here at this point begins the path to Wizard beach. The trail used to have a bad reputation due to several robberies, and you also had to pass through dense jungle. All that is in the past, the path has been completely renewed and opened up. So it is safe there now. The hike takes about 20 minutes and is beautiful. Look up carefully here, too, as there are a few sloths.

Once you arrive at Wizard beach you will enjoy miles of pristine beach! Even though we had pretty bad weather both times, it has become one of our favorite beaches. Wonderful how the sea and jungle come together. It is so pristine here.

Be careful when entering the water though, there are no life guards and you may encounter “rip currents” here – in Dutch this is called a “mui (current). It involves a strong current going into the sea. Should you find yourself in this, try not to swim against the current, but escape to the sides. As soon as you enter the beach, you will see signs with detailed instructions.

Even though it is safe here, you still have to be careful with your belongings, like everywhere else. Don’t leave your belongings unattended on the beach when you go swimming. Robberies have not been recorded here for years, but theft of unattended items sometimes still is. Nothing to be afraid of, just don’t be naive with your stuff.

📍 Location Wizard Beach

Rent a quad bike and tear through the jungle

A super fun way to explore part of Isla Colon is by quad / ATV that you rent from Flying Pirates. Our tip? Rent the quad for a full day, you will not be bored, as you will have access to a piece of private jungle. By the way, this activity is also ideal when the weather is worse.

On the map below, you can see all the trails in the upper right corner where you can enter the jungle. It’s really great to drive through the rainforest this way! Along the way, you will pass by the gigantically long, beautiful and quiet surf beach Bluff. At the end of the road you come to a beautiful beach, a blue lagoon and a “natural pool” (“la piscina”). You also have a good chance of spotting sloths and howler monkeys, among others.

And for those who like to see a piece of history; you will come across ruins of a former drug factory of Panama’s ex-dictator, Manuel Noriega. Did you see that again!

After you return your quad, rinse off all the mud on the spot. Afterwards, enjoy a nice cocktail and the sunset at Skully’s, the cocktail bar located on the Flying Pirates property.

Good to know: you can take two people on one ATV, the driver does need a valid driver’s license. Also, put on clothes and shoes that are allowed to get dirty. Action footage of our adventure can be seen here on Instagram!

Prefer to rent an electric bike or scooter? You can too!

🌎 Website Flying Pirates

Visit Playa Estrella and Boca del Drago

See beautiful starfish? You can do so on Playa Estrella or Cayo Zapatilla. I recommend you choose one of these two. Are you skipping San Blas? Then choose Zapatilla. Cayo Zapatilla is a bounty island that you can only visit through an organized excursion. For us, San Blas was on the schedule and since we would already be doing so many excursions during this trip, we skipped Zapatilla. To do see the beautiful, large starfish, we went to Playa Estrella on our own. This beach is located all the way to the northwest of Colon.

To get to Playa Estrella, take a cab or collectivo (shared minibus) on Colon Island to Boca del Drago. From there, walk to Starfish beach (Playa Estrella). This is a nice walk of about 20 minutes, where you go through a patch of rainforest and walk past small beaches. You don’t need hiking boots for it, flip-flops are good enough!

Once on the beach, it’s all a bit busier than you might like. You can lie on one of the beach beds, or go further back and lay down your towel there. Jump into the water and admire the many starfish! Certainly don’t expect dozens of them side by side, but there were many more than I expected (anno 2024). We arrived by 11:00, but chances are you’ll see more of them if you go early in the morning. The starfish vary in size and color, they are truly beautiful!

Seen enough starfish and want to lie down a little more quietly? Go back to Boca del Drago and find a nice place to lie down! Boca del Drago you see above in the drone photo, nice and quiet, right?

Are you traveling with children? Then Starfish beach can actually be fun because you can go on the banana boat here, for example.

Good to know: at both Boca del Drago and Starfish beach there are plenty of places to eat. But they are a little more expensive than you are used to. We can recommend Yarisnori on Boca del Drago, you eat here with a beautiful view of the clear blue water.

Eat tacos and drink cocktails at The floating bar

Bocas del Toro is full of super fun bars and The Floating Bar is one of them! I don’t have to tell much about it, because as the name gives it away, it is a floating bar.

Lovely to spend a few hours relaxing with a cocktail or pint, swimming or sunbathing, … it’s all possible. On some days, a live band also plays. Not insignificantly, you can get delicious tacos here at very decent prices.

By the way, there are two floating bars: The Floating Bar & Boya de Vida. That last one also seemed very nice, but unfortunately we didn’t get to it.

Bocas del Toro in 3 days: daily schedule

Day 1: The best of Bastimentos

Cruise a cab boat in the morning to Red Frog’s shortcut (and don’t forget to arrange a pickup time). Next, hike to Red Frog Beach and then continue through the rainforest to Polo beach.

🌮 Lunchtip: Nachyo Momma’s Taco Bar (Red Frog beach)

After lunch, return to the rendezvous point and sail to the Caribbean village of Oldbank. Be sure to stroll through the cheerful village and then get some drinks at a local store(this one, for example).

Then take the path to Wizard Beach and plop down somewhere on the beach to enjoy the view of the jungle and sea, while enjoying a drink.

🥘 Dinner tip: Restaurante Guari Guary by Nayda (Old Bank)

🛏️ Accommodation Tip: El Pelicano on Isla Bastimentos