How To Get To Bocas del Toro

2. The Boat / Ferry from Almirante to Isla Colon

Now the fun starts.

Almirante is the mainland gateway to the Bocas del Toro islands. From here, you can take frequent shared boats (lanchas) to Bocas Town on Isla Colón, whilst there’s also a slower, less frequent ferry.

The majority of travellers will take the shared boat for speed and convenience, but also because you may not be given the choice!

The Lanchas

These run throughout the day, theoretically every 30 minutes or so but there’s no fixed timetable, so you may end up waiting around with no idea when you’re actually going! It’s not necessary to book your boat tickets in advance, and the crossing to Bocas town takes about 35 minutes.

The docks where you’ll be dropped off or arrive on foot are on a narrow-ish street by the Chiquita banana containers, with lots of activity, bodies, and a dollop of chaotic energy (at least when we’ve been there). Find the Almirante docks here on Google Maps.

Young guys will approach straight away offering to carry your bags for two metres, telling you a boat is just about to go, or help buy your ticket. It’s mostly a hustle, but there are scams going on too and it can feel a bit dodgy at moments. Some pressure people into accepting their help or don’t even ask before taking your bag into a specific office, and they aren’t doing it for free. They were quite aggressive to others when demanding tips.

Our advice is, once you’re out of the taxi, get your bag straight away and take a moment to compose yourself. Also:

• do not leave bags or valuables unattended

• anyone who helps you will ask / expect a tip

• don’t be rushed, led astray, or simply follow the scrum

• there’s clearly a system of commission for taxi drivers and / or the touts – so don’t necessarily take their advice at face value

• patience is a virtue

There are a handful of tour & boat companies based in the street, and we did what we usually don’t, and just got tickets at the one the taxi driver dropped us outside. That was Transporte marítimo Valencia – maps – and it was packed with almost every other backpacker and tour group. However, we ended up waiting 45-minutes for a boat, so it may be worth walking a little further down to Transporte Lancha Torres (maps) in case their office is less packed or they’ve got a pending departure.

Both are open 6am-6pm and charge the same prices: $6 for a one-way (ida) ticket from Almirante to Bocas, or $10 for a return (ida-vuelta). Cash only.

As we already had our flight booked from Bocas del Toro to Panama City, we just got the $6 one-way. Whilst offering better up-front value, it’s not recommended not to get the $10 return ticket if you’re going to take an organised shuttle from Bocas onward to Boquete or Panama City, as they’re included in the price.

Further, although there’s no date specific on your return ticket, others say it’s valid for a month. If you lose it in Bocas, you won’t be given another, and you can only use it with the same compmany’s boats on the way back, which may not be ideal if you’re looking to leave in a hurry.

Be aware that the taxi drivers and touts all push the return ticket as it increases their commission.

We’ll leave it up to you though, and welcome anyone sharing their experience on whether it gives more convenience or not!

Lastly, there are various signs up stating ‘never buy or pay outside the offices for boats or tours‘, so make sure you only buy your Bocas del Toro boat ticket from the kiosk inside!

The boats themselves are low-slung and weathered, with individual seats and canopy for cover. Large bags are chucked on and stored haphazardly at the front and back. Lifejackets are provided, and you’ll have a slightly less bumpy ride at the back. If it’s not a bright and sunny day, it can get a bit chilly once it speeds up, so not a bad idea to have a layer handy.

Banana growing is the main employer in this region, and the scale of that is quite clear when you see the fortifications of Chiquita shipping containers by the docks.

Know | Boats usually stop running around the late afternoon / early evening; to avoid running the risk of missing the last boat of the day try to arrive in town before 3pm. Also, there’s not much on the dock street for snacks or food.

If you need to stay the night, there are only a handful of options available online. Gigi’s Guesthouse has decent ratings and is perfectly situated for the docks, whilst Hostal Ojo de Agua had good reviews but may be a little far away for convenience.

Top Tip // Based on our experience, don’t be surprised if information is scant and varied about when your boat is actually going to arrive + leave! Unless it’s right there waiting and almost full, you’ll be told it’ll be in just five minutes, then twenty, then in another ten etc. Just be patient; stress or complaints won’t get you anywhere quicker. However, if you’ve been waiting a decent while, it’s important to also keep your wits about you as more groups and travellers arrive in the office. If you want to make damn sure you’re on the next boat, then get a place vaguely in line and sharpen up those elbows – it can be quite a chaotic scrum to actually get on and those who aren’t prepared will be left behind.

The Ferry to Bocas del Toro

Due to the more limited scheduled, the small ferry isn’t as popular a choice for travellers heading from Almirante to Bocas del Toro.

However, if it aligns with your arrival times in town, it would probably be a cool way to get there. The crossing time is quite a bit longer at 1 hour 40 minutes, but sometimes the slow way is the most memorable.

The standard timetable for the ferry from Almirante to Isla Colon is a departure at 6am, 11am, 3.30pm (Monday to Saturday), reducing to 7am and 12pm on Sundays.

This will be different on any public holidays etc, and it’s always recommended to arrive at least 30 minutes earlier.

Rather helpfully, the Bocas del Toro ferry has a decent website where you can find more information and latest schedules.

Tickets are $3 adult passengers and find the Almirante ferry port here on Google Maps. Note the port is a 20-minute walk from the aforementioned docks, and you’ll have to be very clear to a taxi driver if that’s why you want him to drop you off!

The ferry also has limited space for vehicles, costing from $35 to $50 depending on size, but the price appears to include your passenger ticket too.

For road trippers in Panama, the ferry is therefore a viable option – but there are complications due to space and whether you actually want/need to have your car on the islands. We’ve covered everything in the ‘Driving to Bocas’ section’.