Isla Bastimentos

Jungle Love, Beaches, and Monkeys All-in-One on Isla Bastimentos

Isla Bastimentos is the second largest island within the archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama and is home to the Bastimentos National Marine Park, as well as numerous beaches, rainforest, and the authentic Caribbean community of Old Bank. There are no roads, no infrastructure, and very limited Wi-Fi at a handful of resort properties. If you are looking for a place to go off-the-grid and completely get-away from everything — Bastimentos checks those boxes.

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Located just south of Costa Rica in the northeastern corner of Panama, the Bocas del Toro District is the epitome of surf & chill. It is a different take on paradise where nature is raw and dress codes do not exist.

We spent about 48 hours in total on Bastimentos while traveling throughout Panama. It was sufficient to see and do what we came for. However, we could have easily been convinced to spend a couple more days rocking in our hammocks at La Loma Jungle Lodge, reading some book club novel as Capuchin monkeys swung by.

Read my complete post on our full 9-day itinerary for Panama here.

Our experience on Isla Bastimentos had everything to do with our stay at La Loma. While the beaches and attractions there can undoubtedly be enjoyed by anyone, our gorgeous accommodations, dining, and tours were all arranged by the wonderful staff at La Loma. All the stress that often accompanies independent tourism completely vanishes when an attentive hospitality team steps in to take care of the details. And that is exactly what happened.

Whether you decide to book a stay at La Loma or not, this post will cover all of our many varied activities on Isla Bastimentos that can be separately arranged from any of the islands or hotels in the area.

How to get to Bocas del Toro

There are a few ways to travel to Bocas. (1) You can catch a short flight to Isla Colon on Air Panama from Panama City or David, (2) You can drive a rental car or hire a private transfer, or (3) You can take a group passenger shuttle such as Hello Travel Panama Shuttle. If driving or taking a shuttle, your ground transportation will take you as far as the town of Almirante where you can catch the ferry to Bocas Town. From Bocas Town, you will need to take a water taxi to Isla Bastimentos.

Above photos: The ferry building in Almirante (left) and the water views from the ferry (right)

Above photos: Arrival in Bocas Town

Once we arrived at the docks in Bocas Town, we had to make our way to Bocas Docks where we would later meet La Loma’s water taxi transfer. We were able to store our luggage there while we spent the next few hours walking around Bocas Town and grabbing some lunch. If you are not staying on Isla Bastimentos, you can catch a water taxi through any one of the many tour operators in Bocas Town.

In most cases, reservations are not needed. Hand-painted signs with service schedules and prices are posted outside along the main street. Just pop in and let someone know where you want to go! It is important to have an idea of where on Bastimentos you are headed (e.g., which beach, bay, or resort) since most of the island is thick jungle and cannot be walked.

Where to stay on Isla Bastimentos

There are several areas on Bastimentos that offer accommodations. So, you will want to think about the types of activities you are most interested in and go from there.

For a remote beach experience, the eastern tip of Punta Vieja area offers eco-lodges such as the Casa Cayuco Eco-Adventure Lodge and Al Natural Resort. This area will also put you close to Cayos Zapatilla, a completely uninhabited paradise you can visit for the day.

Another popular area is the northern side of the island with a string of beaches, such as Wizard Beach, Red Frog Beach, Polo Beach and Long Beach. The best accommodations and a couple restaurants can be found near Red Frog Beach, such as Palmar Beach Lodge, Red Frog Beach Island Resort, and a handful of Airbnbs.

Old Bank is an authentic Caribbean community with a single sidewalk lined with rainbow colored buildings. There a several highly rated hostels and beach houses right off the ferry landing, but the over-the-water bungalows at Hotel Eclypse de Mar Acqua Lodge are probably one of the most unique and romantic sunsets over the bay.

And, finally, there is the La Loma Jungle Lodge located on the highest point on the island over looking the Bahia Honda Bay, with open air bungalows scattered around it. La Loma Jungle Lodge is an amazing 55 acre property that includes a chocolate and permaculture farm and is surrounded by tropical forest and groves of fruit trees. This is where we stayed — and we absolutely loved it!

Above photo: View from the dock

Above photo: Path from the dock to the lodge

Above photos: La Loma Jungle Lodge

We were just in awe! This is hands-down the most unique property I have ever stayed at. The experience of staying in our treehouse bungalow lounging in our hammocks while white-faced capuchin monkeys swung by was unmatched. Surprisingly, it was not that buggy. We had no complaints about mosquitos or anything unpleasant. The most startling thing that happened was we had a monkey jump on the roof of our bungalow around 3 am and freaked us out a little. But, honestly, it was all part of the adventure of sleeping in the jungle. Loved every minute of it!

Above photos: La Loma Jungle Lodge

What to do on Isla Bastimentos

Take a night hike

After dinner on our first night, a local guide, Roger, took us around the property for a night hike to see some of the nocturnal animals that live on the island. We saw a Panamanian night monkey, a couple Central American woolly opossums, a baby spectacled caiman, a conejo pintado (painted rabbit), banded armadillo, Tome’s Spiny rats, leaf cutter ants, tarantulas, and king toads. Those were just the night animals!

Take a permaculture and chocolate farm tour

We had a morning tour of the permaculture and chocolate farm scheduled with the main caretaker, Mr. Kelly, who has been living there for over 30 years and was part of the original development and planting of the farm.

As we walked through the farm, we were able to pull fruit right off the trees and try them there on the spot. We learned so much and were able to taste so many tropical fruits that I have never even heard of.

Above photos: Permaculture Farm Tour at La Loma Jungle Lodge

The chocolate farm is so interesting. We learned about cacao farming and the process of making chocolate. It was very educational and a great way to spend the morning. Mr. Kelly was an amazing guide – and also quite funny!

Above Photos: Cacao Farm at La Loma Jungle Lodge

Visit Red Frog Beach

For the afternoon, we headed over to one of Bastimentos’ beautiful beaches, Red Frog Beach. There are several great beaches on Bastimentos. Probably the most popular beaches are Wizard (great for surfers), Red Frog, and Polo (named after its most famous resident). There is a jungle path that you can hike from Red Frog to Polo, but we did not have time. One thing to keep in mind is that Red Frog has a couple bars and restaurants so you can easily spend a bit of time there. Polo, on the other hand, does not have any commercial businesses. However, if you run into Polo, he has been known to fry up fish for visitors!

Above photo: Entrance to the Red Frog Beach shortcut

We arrived at the Red Frog Beach shortcut by water taxi and paid $5 for the entrance fee. Close to the entrance we had our first sloth sighting! These critters are super hard to spot and photograph because they tend to hang out at the very tops of the trees. They kind of look like a ball of moss, but if you’re lucky, you’ll spot some movement and know its one of these guys.

Above photo: Sloth spotted in a tree near Red Frog Beach

Red Frog Beach is a nice beach and the water is gorgeous – perfectly clear and a comfortable swimming temperature. It is important to keep an eye on the surf flags put out by the beach patrol though. During periods of rough or dangerous surf you may need to head in. This is true of many of the beaches in Bocas del Toro, which can have strong currents and increased drowning risk.

Above photos: Red Frog Beach

Experience the phytoplankton on a moonless night

One of the most extraordinary things to experience while in Bocas del Toro is a phytoplankton tour on a moonless night. As luck would have it, we were there in mid-April during the new moon and had a completely dark sky — ideal conditions for being able to discover the incredible bioluminescence of plankton. Our guide picked us up at our dock and took us to a couple locations where it was really, really dark. The plankton sparkles when the water moves. It literally looks like diamonds in the water. You can jump out of the boat and swim with the light of the plankton all around you. It was just a wild and mystifying showcase of nature! The only unfortunate thing was not being able to photograph or video this experience. Believe me, we tried! The plankton just did not show up in the videos and there was too much movement in the boat to take a low-light long-exposure photo. You’ll have to take my word for it — it was the coolest thing ever!

Visit Bastimentos National Marine Park and Bat Cave

We planned for our guide to take us through the stunning Bastimentos National Marine Park and Bat Cave on our final morning on Isla Bastimentos. The first part of our journey navigated through narrow mangrove passages up the beautiful Bahia Honda creek.

Above photos: Mangroves in Bahia Honda creek

When we arrived at the Marine Park, we stepped off the boat and proceeded on foot through an abandoned cacao farm and thick jungle until coming to the cave opening.

Above photos: Bastimentos National Marine Park

The cave was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Honestly, I was glad we were wearing water booties and gloves because it was also a little bit gross. The cool factor outweighed the gross factor though:) Hundreds of bats were hanging from the top of the cave and a few were flying around. The water came up to our knees in some parts, but is was mostly akin to sloshing through a puddle. If you keep walking into the cave, the water will eventually be chest-deep before opening up to a hidden pool with a mini waterfall.

Above photo: Bats hanging from the top of the cave

Go sloth spotting

We spent the last part of our tour on a “sloth hunt” with our guide, who was able to spot these guys so much better than we could. Tough to photograph, but I did manage to get a few good shots of a sloth hanging low in one of the mangrove trees.

Above photos: A sloth in a mangrove tree (top) and an over-the-water bungalow (bottom)

I have never been more sad to leave a place. Our experience at La Loma Jungle Lodge exceeded our expectations in every possible way. It was not easy to get to, but it was worth the effort! Alas, the La Loma water taxi took us back to Bocas Docks on Isla Colon for us to continue on with the next part of our adventure.

Thank you for visiting and reading my post! To read my complete post on our full 9-day itinerary for Panama, please click here. Comments and additional recommendations are welcome!