Bastimentos Surf Resort - Isla Bastimentos, Bocas Del Toro. Panama
INTRODUCTION
Uncover stunning beaches and bright blue morpho butterflies. Witness the monkeys swing from treetop to treetop and the abundant flora and fauna that has been blooming here for centuries. Find yourself at a hidden waterfall, a lagoon with turquoise water or a rainforest trail leading to a pristine natural world.
Bocas del Toro is truly a wave of paradise like none other that surfers everywhere will be thrilled to experience. The Bocas del Toro surf season generally starts around November and begins to calm around April, although the peak of summer in June and July can bring a mini-season which provides a great window to surf Panama’s Caribbean.
Although it’s just a 10-minute boat ride from the town of Bocas del Toro, Isla Bastimentos is like a different world. As you approach Isla Bastimentos on water taxi, keep an eye on the water for passing dolphins or glowing coral underneath the bright water. At the marina dock you’ll be greeted by friendly, local villa hosts and have a ride on dirt roads through a Nature Preserve on a Jungle Cart.
Guests enjoy regular boat shuttles to Bocas town or cruise around the archipelago made up of 68 islands and keys….or explore the 5 beaches on Bastimentos or miles of island pathways. Along with some of the most beautiful beaches in Central America, this region is considered the “Galapagos of the Caribbean”…welcome to one of the most biologically diverse and beautiful places on earth.
At Bastimentos Surf Resort, you’ll find sophisticated accommodations with Caribbean hospitality amidst centuries-old charm in a setting that nature itself designed.
THE ACCOMMODATION
Resort
Instead of rainforest demolition for a commercialized check-in desk, the resort’s lobby was designed by Mother Nature. The resort creators followed nature’s lead to nestle the villa neighborhood on the hillside over former farmland (rather than primary rainforest growth), providing easy beach access and spectacular rainforest and Caribbean views.
Amenities
Staying in one of our private island villas will give you the real at-home feel while being amid the world’s most breathtaking and authentic island destinations. Take just a 5-10 minute walk to Red Frog Beach, or find yourself on one of the other breathtaking beaches on the island.
Each private luxury villa includes:
✔ Private plunge pools
✔ Full kitchens with housewares, granite countertops & stainless steel
✔ Expansive patios with a view
✔ WiFi Internet Access
✔ Mobile Patio Grill
✔ Travertine Stone Flooring
✔ Flat Screen TV and DVD Player
✔ Satellite TV Access
✔ Air Conditioning
Choose…
One Bedroom Jungle Lodge
A great romantic option hidden in the jungle.
If you are looking for an authentic, remote and secluded island experience in Panama — the Jungle Lodge at Bastimentos Resort is for you!
The tranquil hillside setting allows for superior views and marvelous ocean breezes. With air conditioning, the Jungle Lodge is a perfectly comfortable and ideal for a true island experience. The natural treated woods and fixtures are elegant with a native touch to help you experience this unique place.
Features
✔ Continental Breakfast
✔ Round trip transfers from/to Bocas del Toro airport
✔ Sleeps 2 guests (+1 or 2 lofts)
✔ Bedroom 1: Queen bed
✔ Lofts: Full bed or Sofa bed
✔ Full kitchen
✔ Jungle Village pool
✔ Free Wifi
Two Bedroom Jungle Lodge
Perfect for a true island experience
The tranquil hillside setting allows for superior views and marvelous ocean breezes. A great romantic option with no other units visible from this location, 8 miles of coastline to view as waves splash the shoreline.
The outdoor stone tiled shower peers out into nature and give you a sense of being removed and disconnected. The natural treated woods and fixtures are elegant with a native touch to help you experience this unique place.
Features
✔ Continental Breakfast
✔ Round trip transfers from/to Bocas del Toro airport
✔ Sleeps 4-6 guests in 2 bedrooms + loft
✔ Bedroom 1: Queen bed and common outdoor private shower
✔ Bedroom 2: Queen bed and common outdoor private shower
✔ Loft: Twin bed Two Balcony decks with superior views
✔ Full kitchen
✔ Shared pool
✔ Free Wifi
One Bedroom Private Villas
Ideal for a honeymoon or a romantic stay.
The 1 bedroom Master Private Villa is the rental of a full private villa, pool and kitchen. The accommodation is a full private villa and pool where the couple will sleep in the master bedroom (with the non-master bedrooms locked-off). This is one of the best values in the Caribbean for couples.
Features
✔ Continental Breakfast
✔ Round trip transfers from/to Bocas del Toro airport
✔ Master bedrooms all have either a king or queen bed
✔ Private pool
✔ Wifi
✔ Kitchen
✔ Washer and Dryer
✔ Satellite TV
✔ Expansive private patio/pool areas
Two Bedroom Private Villas
Stage to experience the untouched beauty
These sophisticated and spacious 2 bedroom villas are nature’s stage to experience the untouched beauty. You will experience ALL the natural elements here: the birds, beaches, towering trees — the sounds, rolling waves and splashing cays will mesmerize you.
The villas are very private yet you are able to access the natural wonderland that Bocas del Toro offers with a variety of tours and adventures to experience.
Features
✔ Continental Breakfast
✔ Round trip transfers from/to Bocas del Toro airport
✔ Professionally decorated Villa with private pools
✔ Travertine flooring, granite countertops, and premium finishes throughout
✔ Private pool and patio areas
✔ Generous personal space – open floor plans
✔ Terraces and balconies with beautiful views of the island surroundings
✔ Many tours and activities to access (including natural spa and 1.5 hour zipline eco-tour)
✔ Accessible daily boat shuttle to Bocas
✔ Several restaurants to enjoy on island (private chef service available upon request)
✔ Full private villa kitchen
✔ Complimentary WiFi
Three Bedroom Private Villas
Nature is all around you with unparalleled access to beaches and island pathways.
You will experience ALL the natural elements here: the birds, beaches, towering trees – the sounds, rolling waves and splashing cays will mesmerize you. The villas are very private yet you are able to access the natural wonderland that Bocas del Toro offers with a variety of tours and adventures to experience.
Features
✔ Continental Breakfast
✔ Round trip transfers from/to Bocas del Toro airport
✔ Professionally decorated Villa with private pools
✔ Travertine flooring, granite countertops, and premium finishes throughout
✔ Private pool and patio areas
✔ Generous personal space – open floor plans
✔ Terraces and balconies with beautiful views of the island surroundings
✔ Many tours and activities to access (including natural spa and 1.5 hour zipline eco-tour)
✔ Accessible daily boat shuttle to Bocas
✔ Several restaurants to enjoy on island (private chef service available upon request)
✔ Full private villa kitchen
✔ Complimentary WiFi
Four Bedroom Private Villas
Enjoy your own island sanctuary in nature.
These sophisticated and spacious 4 bedroom villas are nature’s stage to experience the untouched beauty. You will experience ALL the natural elements here: the birds, beaches, towering trees — the sounds, rolling waves and splashing cays will mesmerize you.
The villas are very private yet you are able to access the natural wonderland that Bocas del Toro offers with a variety of tours and adventures to experience.
Features
✔ Continental Breakfast
✔ Round trip transfers from/to Bocas del Toro airport
✔ Professionally decorated Villa with private pools
✔ Travertine flooring, granite countertops, and premium finishes throughout
✔ Private pool and patio areas
✔ Generous personal space – open floor plans
✔ Terraces and balconies with beautiful views of the island surroundings
✔ Many tours and activities to access (including natural spa and 1.5 hour zipline eco-tour)
✔ Accessible daily boat shuttle to Bocas
✔ Several restaurants to enjoy on island (private chef service available upon request)
✔ Full private villa kitchen
✔ Complimentary WiFi
Five Bedroom Private Villas
The mood is set with the sounds of crashing waves below.
These sophisticated and spacious 5 bedroom villas are nature’s stage to experience the untouched beauty. You will experience ALL the natural elements here: the birds, beaches, towering trees — the sounds, rolling waves and splashing cays will mesmerize you.
The villas are very private yet you are able to access the natural wonderland that Bocas del Toro offers with a variety of tours and adventures to experience.
Features
✔ Continental Breakfast
✔ Round trip transfers from/to Bocas del Toro airport
✔ Professionally decorated Villa with private pools
✔ Travertine flooring, granite countertops, and premium finishes throughout
✔ Private pool and patio areas
✔ Generous personal space – open floor plans
✔ Terraces and balconies with beautiful views of the island surroundings
✔ Many tours and activities to access (including natural spa and 1.5 hour zipline eco-tour)
✔ Accessible daily boat shuttle to Bocas
✔ Several restaurants to enjoy on island (private chef service available upon request)
✔ Full private villa kitchen
✔ Complimentary WiFi
Ultimate Six Bedroom Villa
Ultimate space and comfort in idyllic setting
Villas include private plunge pools, travertine flooring, stainless steel appliances, expansive terraces, and professionally decorated interiors. Island seascapes peer out to Caribbean cays and lush tropical vegetation.
You will experience ALL the natural elements here: the birds, beaches, towering trees — the sounds, rolling waves and splashing cays will mesmerize you.
The villas are very private yet you are able to access the natural wonderland that Bocas del Toro offers with a variety of tours and adventures to experience.
Features
✔ Continental Breakfast
✔ Round trip transfers from/to Bocas del Toro airport
✔ Professionally decorated Villa with private pools
✔ Travertine flooring, granite countertops, and premium finishes throughout
✔ Private pool and patio areas
✔ Generous personal space – open floor plans
✔ Terraces and balconies with beautiful views of the island surroundings
✔ Many tours and activities to access (including natural spa and 1.5 hour zipline eco-tour)
✔ Accessible daily boat shuttle to Bocas
✔ Several restaurants to enjoy on island (private chef service available upon request)
✔ Full private villa kitchen
✔ Complimentary WiFi
THE ACTIVITIES
Surfing at Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro is quietly becoming a priority destination for selective surfers worldwide. The next best part is that this surfing paradise is still largely undiscovered and you’ll have plenty of water to yourself.
The tropical environment makes Bocas del Toro comparable to Indonesia or Tahiti; you’ll be surrounded by lush green primary forest with very clear blue water so you can often see the ocean floor beneath you as you cruise.
Bocas del Toro Surfing Season
The Bocas del Toro surf season generally starts around November and begins to calm around April, although the peak of summer in June and July can bring a mini-season which provides a great window to surf Panama’s Caribbean.
Surf Guiding and Lessons
These and many other Bocas del Toro surf excursions can be arranged and accessed by boat. We have many options to choose, from beginners to expert surfing enthusiasts. Private Surf lessons are also available.
Surfing Spots Nearest Bastimentos Resort
PLAYA LARGA /LONG BEACH
Situated in the Bastimentos Marine Park, and produces one of the most secluded and pristine waves in the entire Bocas del Toro region with challenging drops and hollow tubes. It’s worth the venture even just for the views.
COCOS
A great spot for beginning surfers, offers long rides.
SILVER BACK
A fierce Bocas wave which can reach peak face heights of over 20 feet during Panama’s winter months. In between Isla Bastimentos and Isla Carenero is the large wave break that will challenge most surfers.
WIZARD BEACH/FIRST BEACH
Offers another uncrowded surf towards a beach break on Isla Bastimentos.
CARENERO
Gives surfers world-class 4-12+ ft. barrels over a reef that drops into a deep channel. As the island wave that put Bocas del Toro surfing on the map, this can get crowded under good water conditions.
BLACK ROCK
Around Isla Carenero from the namesake wave, but this is a great alternative for beginning and intermediate surfers.
PAUNCH REEF
One of the few with left and right breaking waves but be careful for the strong waves over the reef.
OUTER DUMPS
Attracts a lot of locals who make the most of a photogenic steep drop and strong sucking waves that expose the reef.
INNER DUMPS
Can give a continuous barrel for 100 yards.
BLUFF BEACH
Usually for experts only! The water comes from deep channels with powerful barrels that tend to eat boards. It’s a great ride to a 3-mile long sandy beach for those who are prepared.
Beaches
We’ve got waves on the north shore and glass-smooth waters on the south side of the island, offering stunning places for body boarding and kayaking. Choosy travelers know not all beaches are created equally — these beaches are stunning.
Pools
Your private pool at your villa is the perfect place to relax and soak in the scenery within earshot of the waves. Expansive patio balconies, Italian showers and BBQ appliances make your outdoor living space comfortable and memorable.
Spa
Follow the entrance trail into a hidden rainforest valley revealing a waterfall and exquisite sounds of the tropics. There is not a better place in the world to get a massage.
Nature Trails
A vast network of trails extend from the villa neighborhood towards the National Marine Park. These trails have been created over the centuries and vary from a walk along the beach (to arrive at North Beach) or a longer 2 hour hike out to Playa Larga. Expect to see wildlife, towering trees and indescribable private beach coves that are more frequented by monkeys and sea turtles than tourists (we have even discovered pirates cannonballs in the jungle!)
Marina
Your first welcome to Bastimentos is at our Marina Village which features 84 berths and can accommodate mega-yachts up to 250 long. This protected island harbor, near where Columbus anchored in 1502, is framed by the Marina Village gardens and rainforest. Your private paradise begins here where there is a public dock (for day visitors to Bastimentos Beach), resort office, marina office, and jungle cart parking.
LOCATION & GETTING HERE
Location
PANAMA, BOCAS DEL TORO
The Bocas del Toro archipelago is a collection of ten tropical islands on the Caribbean coast of Panama, near the border with Costa Rica. Warm, turquoise waters, nice beaches fringed by coconut trees, tropical rain forest teeming with exotic birds and coral reefs for snorkelling provide and ideal background to get away from it all. Bocas del Toro has been the shooting location of Survival Series of no less than 12 different countries, including France, Spain and Italy !
Isla Bastimentos
Those who wish to explore the area’s preserves and the neighboring Marine Park will be stunned by the diverse topography that they have to choose from. Both Red Frog Beach and the more remote Wizard Beach and Playa Larga beaches offer sweeping vistas and a healthy beach break.
There are several quiet cove beaches that provide a more intimate setting as well. These beaches and the expansive coral reef, provide important habitat for leatherback, loggerhead, hawksbill and green turtles. The leeward side of the island features smooth, glasslike waters that harbor our marina and are ideal for exploring the delicate ecology of the ocean mangroves.
The terrain on the island is diverse as well, and features secondary and primary rainforest stands on hills and small mountains based on ancient basalt rock formations.
Climate
Tropical, the weather on Bocas is quite unpredictable. Storms and dense cloud cover are usual, but so are spurts of sun and beautiful calm weather. The most frequent wind direction is NW to NE, and that is fine for many of the breaks in Bocas that have a more easterly or southerly position. As for the weather, the reliability of the surf is also irregular and difficult to predict, because the swells come up abruptly and without much warning, and go down just as suddenly.
Visa
Most countries including U.S, Canada, most of South America, European Union, Australia, New Zealand do not require a visa for up to 180 days. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 3 months.
Check visa specific requirements for your country here: https://panama.visahq.com/.
Check with your airline in case you have connecting flights overseas as part of your journey to Panama, that might require a transit visa.
Vaccination and Insurance
Courses or boosters usually advised:
Hepatitis A;
Tetanus;
Typhoid.
Other vaccines to consider: Diphtheria; Hepatitis B; Rabies; Yellow Fever.
Traveling with a valid travel health insurance is highly recommended.
Getting Here
Flying to Panama
Flying from Europe
Direct flights to Panama city available:
Air France – Paris – Charles de Gaulle
Avior Airlines – Barcelona (VE), Valencia (VE)
Iberia – Madrid
KLM – Amsterdam
Lufthansa – Frankfurt
Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas – Madrid (Seasonal)
Turkish Airlines – Istanbul–Atatürk
Flying from U.S and Canada
Direct flights from:
Air Canada – Toronto–Pearson
American Airlines – Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami
American Eagle – Miami
Copa Airlines – New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, San Francisco
Delta Air Lines – Atlanta
United Airlines – Houston–Intercontinental, Newark
Flying from South America
Copa Airlines pretty much offers flight to Panama from all major cities of both, South and North America.
Getting to Bocas
Transportation (water taxi) from Bocas town upon arrival and departure included with a stay of 3 nights or longer.
Flights are available from Panama City and San Jose (Costa Rica) to Bocas del Toro “Isla Colón” International Airport (BOC).
The airport in Bocas is just 3 blocks outside of Bocas town, and is easily within walking distance to the center of town. A taxi from the airport will shuttle you to our water taxi dock for $1.00 to $2.00.
Air Panama has regular flights to and from Bocas del Toro and Panama City.
Nature Air has regular flights to and from San Jose, Costa Rica.
Warning! Many airlines will refuse to check-in your board to Panama !
Getting to the Resort
From the moment you land to Bocas Airport or to Bocas city the resort staff will take care of the rest. Free transfer from Bocas to the resort and back – simply relax.
PRICES & PACKAGES
Staying in one of our private island villas will give you the real at-home feel while being amid the world’s most breathtaking and authentic island destinations. Take just a 5-10 minute walk to Red Frog Beach, or find yourself on one of the other breathtaking beaches on the island.
Each private luxury villa includes:
✔ Private plunge pools
✔ Full kitchens with housewares, granite countertops & stainless steel
✔ Expansive patios with a view
✔ WiFi Internet Access
✔ Mobile Patio Grill
✔ Travertine Stone Flooring
✔ Flat Screen TV and DVD Player
✔ Satellite TV Access
✔ Air Conditioning
All the rates are per night/US dollars. All prices include daily continental breakfast and both way Bocas Airport/Town transfer.
RATES
| 12 Apr -17 Apr | High Season* | Low Season** | 24 Dec - Jan 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Bedroom Jungle Lodge | 516 | 296 | 219 | 527 |
| 2 Bedroom Jungle Lodge | 538 | 362 | 285 | 593 |
| 1 Bedroom Private Villa | N/A | 406 | 329 | N/A |
| 2 Bedroom Villa | 835 | 479 | 402 | 835 |
| 2 Bedroom Beachfront Villa | 923 | 556 | 479 | 923 |
| 3 Bedroom Villa | 1044 | 626 | 549 | 1044 |
| 4 Bedroom Villa | 1418 | 736 | 659 | 1418 |
| 4 Bedroom Beachfront Villa | 1649 | 923 | 846 | 1649 |
| 5 Bedroom Villa | 1517 | 923 | 846 | 1517 |
| 6 Bedroom Villa | 1616 | 989 | 912 | 1616 |
*High Season – 7 Jan – 12 Apr; 3 Nov – 6 Nov
** Low Season – 18 Apr – 2 Nov; 7 Nov – 23 Dec
