Boquete
Boquete is Panama's premier mountain destination and rated as one of the best places in the world for a second homes and retirement. Located close to the Costa Rica border, the dominating presence is Volcan Baru, a 11,400 ft. inactive volcano which towers over the area providing majestic views everywhere and a rich volcanic soil for the lush flor and fauna.Tourism attractions include majestic mountain scenery, a range of attractive accomodations from resorts to ecolodges, world-class rafting and kayaking, golf, coffee farm tours, birdwatching, hiking, horseback riding, a zipline canopy tour, residential communities, year-round Spring weather and a very friendly populace.
The small town of Boquete nestled in a picturesque valley is the center of the Boquete region. Here you'll find a variety of lodging choices from resorts to hostals, tour operators, services, restaurants, a 9 hole golf course and souvenir stores
Boquete used to be a "best kept secret". All that changed in 2001 when Modern Maturity magazine of the American Association for Retired Persons chose Boquete as one of the 4 top places in the world to retire, a rating based on safety, beauty, climate and cost-of-living. Fortune magazine's 2005 Retirement Guide selected Boquete as one of the 5 best places in the world to retire.
How To Get There
By air, car or bus. You can fly Air Panama or Aeroperlas from Albrook Airport to the nearby city of David. Airfares are around $190 round trip.
From David, you can rent a car or take a 45 minute taxi ride to Boquete for about $30. You can drive. It's an easy 7 hour car trip from Panama City. You can also take a bus ($15) from the Albrook Bus Terminal in Panama City that will take you to David and from their you can take another bus or a taxi to Boquete.
How to get to Boquete from Bocas: For a personal driver to Boquete, call Candelario Vargas 6643-5961 or Betsy Gonzalez 6629-1023. They will meet you with a car or van in Almirande where you arrive on the ferry or boat from Bocas. The drive to Boquete takes about 3.5 hours.
Or if you are on a budget you can take a bus from Almirante to David and then a bus from David to Boquete- the whole trip will cost less than $10.
Where To Stay
There are three kinds of Boquete lodging venues: stay in the village or up on the mountain overlooking the village or just outside the village along the river. A stay in a village hotel gives you walking distance to riverside fair grounds full of flowers, Boquete town sights, all conveniences and restaurants. See our hotel listings for more information. A lodging near the river means a more countryside experience. A stay in one of the hotels on the mountainside means beautiful volcano and mountain views and a close-to-nature experience.
Where To Eat
- Panamonte Hotel - A renowned restaurant with a menu prepared by one of Panama's top chefs: Charlie Collins. Especially recommended are the fresh trout, filet mignon and hearty seafood soup. For vegetarians, the wild mushroom polenta is great.
- Palo Alto Restaurant - Just outside town on a scenic site next to the Caldera River, a very popular place with excellent international dishes. Reservations are a must; see our listing for contact information.
In the Valle Escondido resort community. Open for Dinner only
A cafe for breakfast and lunch along the riverside with beautiful views of this world class resort community.
Boquete Food Bargains
A Treat Called "Duros"
These are delicious locally made popsicles in paper cup made of real fruit. They sell them at Restaurant Lourdes and other places for 30 cents- the perfect snack.
Sabrosin Restaurant
If you are on a budget this is the place. A Boquete institution- a simple eatery where you can get a large breakfast for $2 and a large lunch and dinner for less the $3. Restaurante Lourdes is another similar bargain restaurant.
What To Do
Have a Cup of Gourmet Coffee
We recommend Cafe Ruiz near My Garden is Your Garden and Cafe Kotowa at Los Establos Plaza. If you have a car, we recommend you have a coffee at the caje of Finca Lerida, a spectacular gourmet coffee farm about 15 minutes out of town with a lovely cafe and coffee farm views.
Zipline Canopy Tour: Boquete Tree Trek
A thrilling and beautiful ride of almost a mile through the canopy of highland rainforest on a working coffee farm. See Tours on the side bar.
Coffee Farm Tours
Boquete Safari Adventures offers both full day and half day coffee farm tours that include coffee tastings and viewing the coffee process from the coffee plants to the processing. The tours include a scenic ride of the valleys and mountains surrounding the town of Boquete. See www.boquetesafari.com
Rafting and Kayaking
Chiriqui province where Boquete is located is known world wide for some of the best rafting and kayaking anywhere- including sea kayaking. For rafting we recommend two outfits with perfect safety records- Boquete Outdoor Adventures and Chiriqui River Rafting. Boquete Outdoor Adventure also specializes in kayaking and adventure trips for everyone from families to extreme adventure addicts. See their info on the sidebar under Tour Operators.
Hike and Bike
: Ask your hotel to recommend a hiking guide and where to rent a bicycle. You will have a great time biking all around Boquete scenic outskirts. For a hike you can go up the Volcano or take easier trails to waterfalls like El Mono.
Golf
Valle Escondido Resort has a scenic and challenging 9 hole golf course. The greens fee for 9 or 18 holes is $35. Afterwards you can dine at one of their restaurants or have a coffee at their cafe. Call 720-2897.
Horseback Riding
Boquete is the ideal place for horseback riding- in short ride from the valley you find yourself on the mountain enjoying panoramic views. Boquete Safari Tours has a great horseback trip- a mountain view ride that ends up with your bathing in the Caldera hot springs. www.boquetesafaris.com or call them 6613-1472
To rent a horse without a guide call Eduardo Cano.
Visit Paradise Gardens Wild Animal Refuge and Zoo
This is a Boquete must do and a Boquete Bargain. This animal refuge and small zoo is founded by an animal loving English couple. For a $5 per person donation you will get have a guided tour through lush tropical gardens and see variety of tropical birds and animals. Currently they have a baby Howler Monkey, several kinds of the colorful Macaws, parrots, a Margay cat and other monkey species. There are special areas where they help wild animals who have been abused or neglected recover and they explain about the process. You can get close to some of the animals- tame monkeys for example. This place is a sure family and animal and nature lovers hit. Paradise Gardens is about 15 minutes from town. To get there, ask your hotel to help you get transportation.
Hike the Volcan Baru Volcano
This hike should only be done with a tour guide. The Volcan Baru is 11,400 ft- this is an all day hike through cloud forest. At the peak on a clear day you can see both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
There are a number of good guides for birding tours. If you want to see the rareQuetzal rare and one of the Holy Grails of birding we recommend you call Chago, a famous bird guide who can call Quetzales and mide December thru May guarantees you will see at least one Quetzal. Chago's phone number is 6626-2200
Spa and Alternative Health Services
Boquete is becoming an alternative health destination. The Haven Spa at Valle Escondido Resort and the Panamonte Hotel is a Boquete find- a world-class spa with many kinds of spa treatments and an alternative health clinic well known for helping those with chronic illnesses.
Shop for a Vacation Home or Retirement Home
While prices have gone up in the last few years, Boquete prices are still well below neighboring Costa Rica. For living Boquete has many advantages- low living cost relative to the USA, a close-to-ideal climate, safety, a hard working, honest and friendly local people, stores with just about everything you can buy in the States at the same price or better prices in nearby David and excellent medical care. See the sidebar for choices of residential communities.
Dine Out
For fine dining, we especially recommend The Panamonte Inn and Palo Alto Riverside restaurant, Sabor Escondido in Valle Escondido and Rancho Caldera, about half an hour from town. For hamburgers and American comfort food, The Bistro on Main St. is perfect. For amazingly cheap but good Panamanian food try Sabrosin on Main Street for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Boquete also has a surprising variety of international restaurants including Mexican, Peruvian, Italian, French and Middle Eastern.