Sailing in Bocas del Toro: Starfish Beach, Dolphin Bay and coral gardens

You’re going to love Bocas del Toro

Bocas del Toro is an archipelago on Panama’s Caribbean coast, close to the Costa Rican border, with around 50 cays and some 200 tiny islets scattered over about 250 km². Bocas Town, on Isla Colón, is its hub, and from there everything is a short boat ride away: warm shallow water, mangroves, coral gardens, seagrass and forest down to the shore. Columbus explored this coast in 1502, looking for a passage to the Pacific.

Our two trips are the same 6-hour sailing catamaran day, either shared or as a private charter. They follow one of two routes, Starfish Beach or Dolphin Bay, and finish at the coral gardens off Isla Solarte, with lunch on board and snorkelling gear included.

The 5 best reasons to visit Bocas del Toro

1. 1

   An archipelago made for boatsAround 50 cays and some 200 tiny islets, with Isla Colón, Isla Bastimentos and Isla Solarte among the main islands. Almost everything worth seeing here is reached by water, and the crossings are short.

2. 2

   A national marine parkIsla Bastimentos National Marine Park, created in 1988, covers about 132 km² of beaches, mangroves, coral reefs and tropical forest. The Panama Tourism Authority classes it as an IUCN category II national park.

3. 3

   Dolphins in Dolphin BayA small community of bottlenose dolphins lives in the waters of the archipelago, and Dolphin Bay is where most dolphin watching happens. We never promise a sighting, and we ask for patience and distance when they appear.

4. 4

   Warm water and reefs all yearDaily highs of about 31 °C and lows of about 21 °C, with a drier spell early in the year and another in September and October. Snorkelling over the coral gardens is part of both our trips.

5. 5

   A culture of its ownThe islands have their own English-based creole, Bocas del Toro Creole, a banana-growing past and Indigenous territories on the nearby mainland. Bocas Town has a distinctly Caribbean character.

What to do in Bocas del Toro

• Sail the archipelago on a catamaranOur 6-hour day leaves at 10:00 and follows one of two routes, Starfish Beach or Dolphin Bay, before the Solarte coral gardens. Lunch is cooked on board and snorkelling gear is included.
• Look for dolphins in Dolphin BayA lagoon a few miles from Bocas Town where a small, resident community of bottlenose dolphins is often watched from boats. Keep a calm distance: they live here all year, and boat traffic is their main pressure.
• Meet the starfish at Starfish BeachA shallow beach on Isla Colón known for its starfish in the clear water; how many you see varies. Look and photograph, but do not lift them out of the water: it is the usual advice and we ask you to follow it.
• Visit the national marine parkIsla Bastimentos National Marine Park, with the Zapatilla Cays, is where sea turtles nest on the beaches, and the hawksbill, an endangered species, is the one the tourism authority highlights, from April to October. It is a separate excursion and not one of our trips.
• Wander Bocas Town and the nearby islandsStroll Bocas Town, cross to Isla Carenero, only about two minutes by boat, or head to the beaches of Isla Colón and Bastimentos. A day on the water and an evening ashore go well together.