Green Tips for Travelers – Travel Responsibly!

1. Despite the huge amount of rainfall in this region, fresh water is in very short supply. Be aware of your usage when traveling – take short showers, re-use towels and linen at hotels, and team up with other travelers to wash a full laundry load.
2. Trash is often dumped or burned, so recycle as much as you possibly can. BSTA’s Tourist Information Center has containers for recycling plastic bottles, drink cans and plastic bags, and Wongsa on the waterfront at the northern end of Calle 5 takes cleaned drinks cans and plastic bottles to Panama City for recycling.
3. Don’t keep buying plastic water bottles – refill your old one at the BSTA Tourist Information Center. It’s cheaper, too!
4. Do not touch coral or other sea life when diving or snorkeling. It could be harmful to you as well as to the coral! You can report any boat drivers who drop anchor on the coral or chase dolphins to BSTA, as well as any guides who act irresponsibly towards the environment.
5. Do not purchase souvenirs made from coral or turtle shell, and avoid restaurants serving turtle meat or eggs. Lobsters are also overfished, so you may want to avoid ordering them too.
6. Where possible, buy handicrafts directly from the communities or artisans to ensure your money reaches the craftspeople. If you don’t manage to visit a local community, a small selection of handicrafts are on sale at the BSTA Tourist Information Center, and all profits are returned to the craftspeople. Additionally, on the first and third Saturday of every month, local communities sell their own crafts, oils, coconut and cacao products at the Bocas Farmer’s Market in the park.
7. Give something back! Contact BSTA for information about volunteer opportunities in the region – from installing rainwater catchment systems to working in schools.
8. Include a visit to a local community tourism project. You can stay in a cabin or with a family; enjoy a home-cooked meal; learn how medicinal plants are used; see how local crafts are made; and watch traditional dance performances.
9. Look for low-impact tour options – hiking, biking, kayaking and snorkeling rather than motorized boats, cars or scooters.
10. Do your research! BSTA offers information about the sustainability of local businesses so that you can be sure your hotel or tour provider is doing its best to minimize its environmental impact and support the local community.

Bocas del Toro´s Geotourism Information Center is now closed. Please contact us by e-mail with your enquiries and we'll be happy to help. Thank you.

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Getting Around

The small boats that dart around the archipelago are Bocas’s single most important form of transportation. Most of the archipelago’s popular destinations are only accessible by water taxi, and unless visitors fly into Bocas airport, Bocas town itself can only be reached by boat from Almirante.

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Travel Resources & FAQs

In this section you will find important information about Bocas del Toro: Weather, water, important phone numbers, language, banking, medical and more.

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Getting Here

How to get to Bocas del Toro from Panama City, David, and San Jose, Costa Rica.

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Volunteer Opportunities

Help the Environment and Local People- Give Back on Your Next Vacation!

Volunteer tourism is is a great way to add an extra dimension to your holiday, and Bocas del Toro has some fantastic volunteer opportunities. Whether its picking up plastic bags on the beach so sea turtles don't choke to death or helping paint a local school, vacations in the tropical setting help you unwind from your life back home while doing something meaningful for this emerging sustainable tourism destination.

E-mail us @ info (at) discoverbocasdeltoro.com

Here are some of the available options:

Operation Safe Drinking Water

This fabulous organization installs rain catchment tanks for indigenous schools and villages that are low-cost, low-tech, last for years — and refill every time it rains. Volunteers can help with the installation, and discover far-flung islands and villages at the same time.

Year-round, throughout the province of Bocas del Toro              

Contact: Joe Bass

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 Website:  www.operationsafedrinkingwater.org/blog/

Phone: 6817-5081

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AAMVECONA

Monitoring and conservation of sea turtles

February – July, Mainland San San Pond Sak Wetlands

Contact: Kherson Ruíz and BSTA

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Phone: 6494-5001

Website: www.eco-index.org/ong/aamvecona-pa-eng.html

Information: Tours cost $17 per day, which includes the cost of transportation, lodging, and food.  Groups with more than 10 people and a minimum stay of one week will receive a special discount.

AAMVECONA

Monitoring of Manatees

Year-round, Mainland- San San Pond Sak Wetlands

Contact: Kherson Ruíz and BSTA

E-mail:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Phone: 6494-5001

Website: www.eco-index.org/ong/aamvecona-pa-eng.html

Information: Tours cost $17 per day, which includes the cost of transportation, lodging, and food.  Groups with more than 10 people and a minimum stay of one week will receive a special discount.

Teaching English

Year-round, Mainland- Punta Robalo

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Language Schools

There is no better way to learn a language than full immersion. Language schools in Bocas del Toro offer visitors full or part time Spanish language lessons, with an emphasis on cultural immersion. These schools are casual, but instructors know that the only time students improve is when they are challenged.

 Schools can accommodate all ability levels, from absolute beginners to advanced Spanish speakers looking to brush up their skill.  Lessons are affordable, and hours are flexible.  Some schools offer rooms to rent to students at a low cost. Most are on Isla Colón.

Habla Ya Bocas del Toro Spanish School

 Besides Spanish classes and home stays with local families, Habla Ya also offers volunteer placements and vacation packages, including eco-adventure tours, lodging options (from budget hostels to upscale hotels and vacation rentals), in-country transportation and domestic flight bookings.

Habla Ya’s quality is guaranteed by its native Spanish teachers who all hold university degrees related to language learning, have many of  years of experience teaching Spanish, and are thoroughly trained in the most effective methodologies. Habla Ya Bocas del Toro Spanish School is also amongst the select group of Official DELE Examination Centers in Central America. The DELE Test is the most widely internationally recognized certification that qualifies levels of competence and command of the Spanish language.

Sustainability:

Habla Ya recycles plastic, paper, and cardboard and encourages guests to do so as well. Air conditioning is only used when strictly necessary. Each device has state of the art technology to save electricity.

Community Tourism support:

Habla Ya arranges  home stays which provide an extra income for local families. Both students and employees take part in numerous volunteer programs in Bocas del Toro such as English lessons for the local community, tutoring and coaching sports at the local schools, sea turtle conservation, and assisting at the elderly home care center. They also arrange medical internships and encourage clients to give monetary donations to charitable organizations.

Cultural Tourism Support:

• Havble Ya promotes tours where the main attraction is the local culture and only work with tour operators that protect Bocas del Toro’s natural beauty and marine life. Each Friday evening, Habla Ya organizes a night out at a local restaurant. Habla Ya Bocas del Toro, a proud member of Panama’s most prestigious network of Spanish schools, provides a cultural experience through its language courses and Spanish learning vacations.  Not only will you learn Spanish, you'll discover Panama and have the time of your life!

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Contact:

Julio Santamaria / Carlos Cabrera

757 - 7354 (front desk), 315 - 254 - 2331 (USA),  020 - 8144 - 2785 (United Kingdom), 069 - 2547 - 2704 (Germany) ,0970 - 445 - 221 (France),   20 - 893 - 2915 (Holland) Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   www.hablayapanama.com

Specials & Deals

Coming soon!

See our Packages page for more information