From Panama City, I headed over to Bocas Del Toro to meet up with my friends for that all day party. It’s called Filthy Friday, and it’s held every Fridays, rain or shine. That’s what they said, but maybe they’ll cancel if there’s like a hurricane or something? But then I’ve been told that hurricanes rarely make landfall in Panama because it’s not in the hurricane zone, so I guess they never do cancel. hah.

First, I needed to figure out how to get there. Of course the easiest way is to fly via Air Panama. If you choose to fly, you’d be in Bocas Town in an hour. The airport in Bocas is very close to Bocas Town, it’s just a 10 minute walk to the town center. They fly out from Albrook “Marcos A. Gelabert” Airport. To get here, you can take the metro then get off at Albrook Station. Walk over to the main bus station and hop on bus C820. Get off at Paseo Andrews-R which is a 5 minute walk to the airport. Flights usually cost around USD 100 each way, and can go as high as USD 142 if you book last minute flights. If you buy early enough, you could score basic economy tickets at USD 75 each way, but these sell out fast since this is a popular route. Then there’s the matter of luggage. Since these are small planes, free carry on luggage allowance is only up to 4kg (8.8 lbs)! They weight each bag and they’re really strict about this. You’d have to pay an extra $5 per kg in excess, with a minimum payment of $25. If you’re gonna check in luggage, that’s another $35 per bag with a maximum weight of 23kg (50.7 lbs). And yeah, since these are small planes you can only check in a maximum of 2 bags. Obviously even without check in luggage, flying would be pretty expensive, so I did things the hard way. lol.

That’s an exaggeration. It’s not hard to get to Bocas del Toro from Panama City by land. It’s pretty easy. The only drawback is it takes about 10-12 hours. First, you need to head to the Albrook Bus Terminal. As I’ve mentioned above, it’s easily accessible via the Panama City Metro. Just get off at Albrook Station, cross the bridgeway, and you’re there. Then just look for the booth selling tickets to Bocas del Toro. There’s a huge sign above it.

As you can see from the picture above, you can even head to nearby countries by bus from here… but let’s focus on Bocas del Toro. A single journey tickets costs USD 27.80. This doesn’t take you all the way to Bocas though, it takes you to Almirante. From Almirante, you need to take a water taxi to Isla Colon where the main town is located. If you’re staying at another island, you need to take another boat from Isla Colon.

There are buses leaving during the daytime, but I chose to take a night bus so I wouldn’t need to spend the night at a hostel. Night buses are also faster. One leaves at 7PM, while another leaves as 8PM. I chose to take the 8PM bus so I’d arrive at Almirante just before 6AM. This is perfect because the first fast boat to Isla Colon leaves at 6 in the morning. There’s one thing I found annoying at the Almirante Bus Terminal. A lot of us tourists almost missed the bus because we weren’t aware of this lol. So there are turnstiles in front of each boarding gate. Apparently you have to tap a special card (different from Metro Cards) in order to pass through. You can buy these cards at one of those small shops at the bus station. Each time you pass through a turnstile, 1 dollar is deducted from the amount stored on your card. You can top up these cards using one of these machines:

These are all over the bus station so there’s no problem topping up. Just make sure your bills are in perfect condition. These machines are real picky. They won’t accept bills that are crumpled, even bills with just a minor tear!

So our problem was, just before 8PM the stores selling these cards were already closed. So how were we able to pass through? Ask any local if they could help you get through in exchange for a dollar. Problem solved 🙂 If you won’t be taking a lot of buses from the Albrook Bus Terminal, it’s easier to just ask a local to tap their card for you in exchange for money.

So these aren’t sleeper buses. These are ordinary airconditioned buses but they’re quite comfy so I was able to sleep. We only had to wake up once halfway through during a checkpoint where a police officer checked everyone’s passport. We arrived at Almirante just before 5:30 AM. The bus stop is quite far from the port (about a 25 minute walk). No worries though, there are lots of shared taxis waiting. You just have to pay 1 dollar per person. At the port, you’d pay 6 dollars for a water taxi to Isla Colon. Get your passports ready, they’d need to see it for registration. Take note that there’s a good chance your bags will get wet. Make sure they’re waterproof or at least water resistant. This step of the journey would take about 30 minutes. As I’ve mentioned earlier, if you’re staying at another island, you need to take another water taxi from Isla Colon. This would cost 1-8 Dollars per person each way, depending on the distance. If you’re heading back to Panama City from Bocas del Toro, the first water taxi from Isla Colon leaves at 6AM. From Almirante, buses to Panama City would depart at 8 AM and 7PM. Personally I’d take the night bus back because surely, you’d want to spend as much time as possible in Bocas del Toro.

I chose to stay at Selina Hostel in Bocas Town because the main purpose of the trip was that Filthy Friday party. It’s tempting to stay at Aqua Lounge which is on another island (Isla Carenero) just across Selina because you’d get a discount there if you join Filthy Friday. It’s real close. It won’t even take a minute to get there from Isla Colon. However, I thought it would be such a hassle if I’ll ever need something from the main town— like if I have to withdraw money from ATMs. I’d have to take a water taxi for a dollar each way every single time. As for Selina, it’s at the main island, it’s on the main town. The Filthy Friday office is just across Selina, and the party starts and ends at Selina. I’ve read a lot of shitty reviews online so I expected the worst. The truth is— it’s not bad at all. The entire hostel was generally clean, beds were comfy, the AC was left on the entire day in the dorm rooms, Wi-Fi was good so I was able to get some work done, kitchen facilities were adequate.. frankly, that’s all I’d ask for. Just do not drink the tap water, even if there’s a filter. Not just in Selina, but anywhere in Bocas. You’d be hearing locals saying tap water in Panama is safe to drink, but it’s definitely not in Bocas! A lot of guests at the hostel thought it was safe to drink, and everyone of them were barfing and shitting their guts out. That made our Sunday pretty grim.

Anyway, back to Friday. For some reason, you can’t purchase tickets in advance at their office, you’d have to wait until Friday morning. If you’re afraid they’d get sold out (this sometimes happens during peak season), you can purchase a ticket online.

FILTHY FRIDAY BOCAS

It’s 40 dollars per person, plus tax. So you’d end up paying about 45 dollars. Yeah, that’s not exactly cheap. On the day itself you’d need to get your kits at the office, which includes a Filthy Friday tank top, a drawstring bag, and a Filthy Friday cup for drinks. Do not lose this cup because they’ll use this every time you order drinks. Local beers cost $2.50, while mixed drinks cost $5. That’s pretty cheap, but take note that the party goes on all day. That’s gonna add up. On the first stop I bought 7 beers. I stopped counting once we reached the second stop.

So the first stop is at La Neta Caribe. This is the restaurant/ bar in Selina. The party starts at around 11AM. There’s not too many people early on. The party gets going at around noon. At around 1:30PM, they start transferring people to Blue Coconut at Isla Solarte. At this stop, they don’t accept credit cards, you need to pay with cash. You can buy snacks here for about 6 bucks. IMO this is the best stop… people were having so much fun here— partying, swimming, and getting wild under the sun.. the last stop at Aqua Lounge was fun too but most people were already wasted when we got there by 5:30 PM so there’s noticeably less energy lol. At this last stop, the music shifts from Latin pop to EDM/ techno. The party here officially ends at 9PM but you can leave as early as you want if you feel like you’ve had enough. Since this is the last stop, payment for the water taxis aren’t included in the ticket price anymore, so make sure you have at least one dollar left. Though technically Filthy Friday ends here, most people head back to La Neta Caribe for the after party. How long does this last? It depends on the crowd, but when I called it a night at 4AM there were still a lot of people left at the bar.

So is this party worth 45 bucks (not including food and drinks)? I would say it would depend on the crowd. I liked it, but I saw some people who weren’t that into it. Guess it depends on how much you like socializing at beach parties. To save money, some just head to Aqua Lounge for the last stop. This could be a good option if drinking all day seems too much for you. I’m not sure how much they paid though.

Is there some other reason to visit Bocas del Toro? You bet, and there are lots. It’s not just a place to party. I’ve met people who have been staying in Bocas for weeks already, and it’s not hard to see why. Bocas Town itself is a great place to just chill and stay long term. It’s laidback, and it pretty much has everything you’ll ever need. The surrounding islands are very accessible. If you need to get away from the crowd, several other islands have lodging options. Most tourists just head to Bocas for Filthy Friday, so pretty much everyone leaves once the weekend is over. If you’re not a party person and you’d rather have some peace and quiet, head to Bocas Del Toro on a Monday or a Tuesday and just leave before Friday… or head to a another island that’s away from all the noise. 🙂

If you’re staying at Selina in Bocas Town, you can check out Red Frog Beach at Isla Bastimentos for free. The island is a nature reserve (where you can see red frogs!) so normally, you’d have to pay $5 right at the dock to enter. But if you’re staying at one of the hotels on the island, you don’t need to pay. If you’re staying at Selina in Bocas Town, just show your Selina bracelet and you won’t be charged. Red Frog Beach is about 20 minutes away from Bocas Town via water taxi. Selina has their own water taxis going to and from Red Frog Beach which leaves every 2 hours and they charge 5 dollars each way. If you’re taking the Selina water taxis, buy tickets at the reception. You could probably get a slightly cheaper rate if you haggle with random water taxis close to the dock. Red Frog Beach is chill, there’s not much people (probably because they charge to enter heh) and there’s lots of wildlife. I’d recommended leaving early and spend one entire day here.

You can explore random islands on your own, but if you don’t have much time it’s best to join one of the tours that are offered all over Bocas Town. These tours include the popular spots like Cayo Zapatilla, Starfish Beach, Dolphin’s Bay, and Sloth’s Island. Selina has their own tour desk and they charge 30-35 bucks for each day tour. Walk around town and you’ll see the same tours being offered for about 5 bucks cheaper. Keep in mind that these tours do not include lunch. Instead. you’ll make a stop at some expensive restaurant. If you want to save money, pack your own lunch.

If you’re looking to party, Bocas del Toro is that one place in Panama that you shouldn’t miss. If you’re not looking to party? You shouldn’t miss it either. There’s a lot of sights to see. And if you just need to relax and chill for a couple of days, this is the perfect spot in the country to do so.