The journey from San Jose to Bocas Del Toro was keeping me (Judy) up at night for weeks before our trip. We could have taken a plane. We could have hired a private or shared shuttle that guided us to Bocas Del Toro and helped us through immigration. We chose to find our own way and it worked out perfectly.
We took a bus, crossed the border on foot and found our way via taxi and water taxi to our accommodations in Bocas Del Toro. Partly because of budget and partly because we wanted the experience and adventure of doing it ourselves.
For about $108 plus border crossing fees of $36, we got from San Jose to Bocas Del Toro. A private shuttle would have cost $76 per adult and $35 per kid plus border fees and the water taxis. When you are traveling full time on a budget, every dollar counts.
It all worked out. It was not scary. many people take that trip every day. People are nice, for the most part.
The Bus
When we asked the hotel concierge in San Jose about taking the public bus he discouraged us and tried to sell us a private shuttle. I am glad we did not cave in to that pressure.
The day started with us racing to the bus station. Who knew traffic would be bad in San Jose at 5:30 a.m? Apparently everyone except us.
We made it with 10 minutes to spare. It was enough time to grab snacks for the 6-hour bus ride to the border and one last pee break (no bathrooms on the bus).
If you have never traveled to Central America be aware that many toilets require a payment to use them. There is an attendant that collects the money and gives you an allotted amount of toilet paper- wipe judiciously. The cost is usually $0.50 per person.
The bus to Sixaola is a nice coach bus. Luckily our bus had air conditioning, but you don’t always get that luxury. Jackets or sweaters are good to bring along. The bus was on time and it cost about $13 per person.
The bus ride took a little more than five hours. It stopped in Limon and a few other places. We had one 9-minute bathroom/snack break about halfway through.
The boys napped and did some school worksheets on the bus.
Crossing the Border
We arrived in Sixaola at noon. Once we got off the bus a woman wearing a yellow vest who spoke English took us to pay our passport fee. She also took us to a restaurant nearby for lunch.
After lunch, we were approached by a man who offered to take us across the border and put us in a taxi to Alimantre, which is where we needed to go to the ferry to Bocas del Toro. He charged us $14 per person (which included the ferry ride to Bocas Del Toro). We took him up on the offer and it was a smooth trip.
The border crossing was easy and fast. After we paid our exit fee of $36 at one place in Costa Rica, we stopped again on the Costa Rica side of the border to get our passports stamped.
Then we walked across a bridge about 50 yards and we were in Panama! We stopped at immigration and they took Michael’s and my picture and fingerprints and stamped our passports.
Taxi Ride to Alimantre
We hopped in a yellow cab for a one hour ride to Alimantre. It is a windy road and I felt a bit car sick. It was a truck and our luggage was in the back. I kept turning around to make sure it didn’t pop out of the back. The boys and I played Uno in the back seat to pass the time. They also took another nap.
Boat to Bocas Del Toro and Bastimentos Island
The taxi dropped us off as promised at a boat dock to take the ferry to Bocas Del Toro. The boat ride is only about 30 minutes.
Our first water taxi took us to the main island, Isla Colon. We had to catch another water taxi to our island, Bastimentos Island. When we got off the dock in Isla Colon we were immediately approached by people who offered to take us to Bastimentos for $5 per person. Our Airbnb host told us where to go to get the taxi that cost $3 per person, so we did that.
The ride only took 10 minutes. It was Henry’s favorite part of the trip because the boat went fast and the water was choppy. It was like an amusement park ride.
It was a long day. We left at 6 a.m. and arrived at our Airbnb at 5 p.m.
Our Airbnb
When we got off the boat in Bastimentos, Cecilia the property manager greeted us and showed us to our Airbnb. The place is true to the pictures. It has three bedrooms, A/C, a small washing machine and a kitchen.
No hot water, so showering is fun. I created a showering playlist one day for Michael.
- Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice
- Cold as Ice by Foreigner
- Frozen Heart from Frozen
- Cold by James Blunt
- Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri
We have a bathroom in our Airbnb, but many of our neighbors use outhouses.
You will not find a Ritz Carlton or even a Super 8 motel on the part of the island where we stayed. There are just small shacks that are hotels, hostels and Airbnb’s. There are other parts of the island and other islands with nice, more modern-looking resorts.
There are a lot of kids, dogs, chickens, and roosters in Bastimentos. THE ROOSTERS! The roosters are confused and are crowing all day and all night. The boys seemed to be able to block it out. I did not sleep well for the first few nights. On the bright side, I can get a lot of work done between the hours of 3 a.m. and 7 a.m.
People are playing music at all hours too (we even went to bed one night to death metal music). During the day the music is delightful.
There are only a couple of little supermarkets on the island, and there is not a lot of fresh food for sale. We have been cooking pasta and eating peanut butter, toast, eggs, and cereal. There are bigger groceries and markets on Isla Colon.
The slower pace of life is enjoyable.
that is fabulous. keep enjoying!
Thank you!