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Dec
31
Update on Getting to Bocas del Toro
Posted by Editor | December 31, 2008 | Categories: Transport | 3 Comments
The usual route to Bocas del Toro from Puerto Viejo is to go by car or bus to the border, then shared taxi to Finca 60 near Changuinola then a boat service from Bocas Marine through the banana canals and then onto Bocastown. See the detailed route descriptions here.
Unfortunately, the high water the coast had back at the end of November has messed up the banana canals and they now need dredging so the boat from Finca 60 is not running until further notice. So the alternate route is required which is a shared taxi from the border to the somewhat more distant town of Almirante then a boat or ferry from there to Bocas town.
Please expect to pay a little more for the shared taxi between the border town (Guabito on the Panama side) and Almirante – the distance is further. The standard fare there is typically $10 per person (insted of the $5 per person to Finca 60). The boat ride at $3 each is a little cheaper though.  There were various emails circulating that people though they were getting scammed by the taxi drivers in Guabito who wanted to bring them to Almirante only to get a larger fare and telling them Finca 60 was closed. Well it wasn’t a scam, it is unfortunately the truth.
The biggest lost is that it was a very pretty ride through the canals and so we hope this route will be reopened.
Please remember that there is a the option of booking a complete transit including pickup at your hotel in Puerto Viejo all the way to the dock in Bocas town for only $34 per person – this includes the vehicle transport on both sides of the border and the boat ride. You can book that on Gecko Trail Adventure’s shared ride shuttle form (just select Puerto Viejo as your pickup city and Bocas del Toro as your destination):
Comments
3 Comments so far
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Thanks for the update, Doug. One correction: the boat ride from Almirante is now $4. We will inform you and everyone as soon the canal opens again, but with environmental impact reports and bureaucracy and the high cost of transporting the dredge to the canal, we are looking at a half year, quite possibly much longer. Shame, no? Anyway, in my humbly biased opinion, the complete transit option for $34 is the way to go!
John, don’t know where to start and not sure how to finish. Four guys departing San Jose Airport at 9:45 am on the 23rd of Feb. want to be in Bocas later that day…Is this possible? We were thinking about the private van from the airport to Puerto Viejo (don’t know how long that takes)and then do the $34.00 program. Don’t know how timing would work for all of this. Any help or suggestions would really be appreciated.
The shuttle is now going to start leaving Puerto Viejo at noon daily. But, no, you won’t connect with it if you are arriving San Jose at 9:45am. The drive from San José takes 4+ hours (5 comfortably from the airport with a quick meal break).
You have a couple of options:
1. Spend the night in Puerto Viejo and then go the next day on the shuttle.
2. Fly to Bocas from San Jose – this is on Nature Air and leaves most days but is often booked. Note that this leaves from the OTHER airport in San Jose not from the International Airport.
3. Take the bus from San Jose to Changuinola and then get to Almirante for the Bocas boat. That bus leaves San José at 9am daily though so you’d have to spend the first night in San José.
The full info on all these options is on the Puerto Viejo Satellite Transport page – Getting to Bocas at http://puertoviejosatellite.com/transport.php#bocas
Doug.