Boquete

Spectacular Mountain Scenery, Coffee Farms, River Rafting and a Year-Round Spring Climate

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 center piece is the Baru Volcano, a 11,400 ft. inactive volcano which towers over the area with majestic views and a rich volcanic soil that makes for lush flora and fauna. Attractions include spectacular mountain views, world-class rafting and kayaking, golf, coffee farm tours, bird-watching, hiking, horseback riding and a thrilling zipline canopy tour.

The small town of Boquete is nestled in a picturesque valley with a river rushing through it. It is famous for it's year-round spring climate and friendly locals. It used to be a "best kept secret". All that changed in when the American Association for Retired Persons chose Boquete as one of the 5 top places in the world to retire, a rating based on safety, beauty, climate and cost-of-living. Fortune magazine's 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 from Albrook Airport to the nearby city of David. Airfares are around $230 round trip.

From David, you can rent a car or take a 45 minute taxi ride to Boquete for about $30.
It's an easy 7 hour car trip from Panama City. Or you can a take a bus ($15) from the Albrook Bus Terminal in Panama City that will take you to David and from there you can take another bus or a taxi to Boquete. There's a convenient Midnight Express for those who want arrive in the morning.

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 Puerto Almirante 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 and the volcano or just outside the village along the river. A stay in a village hotel gives you walking distance to the riverside fair grounds full of flowers, Boquete town sights, all conveniences and restaurants. See our Boquete Hotels section for more information. A lodging near the river means a more countryside experience. A stay in one of the hotels on the mountainside is a close-to-nature experience with amazing volcano and mountain views

Where To Eat

  • Mike's Global Grill First class cuisine in a laidback setting, this great place is the creation of American Mike Rahm, a graduate of the top US cooking school- the Culinary Institute of America. Mike and his wife Heidi created a low key place where people can relax, have a good time and great food very reasonably priced. It is truly "internationa" as the name suggestsl- you'll find American comfort food classics, plus Thai, Mexican, pizza, Chinese, Panamanian dishes and the best falafel in Panama, There's a sports bar and a young crowd often, especially on Saturdays when there's live music.
  • Sugar & Spice A rare find- a world-class bakery shop with dozens of delicious pastries and kinds of breads. A great place for breakfast and lunch with soups, sandwiches enchiladas and burritos. This place is irresistible-you'll come back for sure.
  • The Oasis Conveniently located downtown this restaurant which is part of a B &B, offers fine food nicely presented with good service in a attractive setting on river view terrace with fireplaces. Fresh local ingredients and an opportunity to try some Panamanian as well as American dishes.
  • Panamonte - Boquete' s original fine restaurant this is a famous place wcreated by one of Panama's top chefs-Charlie Collins. Tru the fresh trout, filet mignon and hearty seafood soup. For vegetarians, the wild mushroom polenta. For the evenings, there's a beautiful lounge bar with a fireplace where you can order the same dishes.

    • Just outside town:

  • The Rock One of the most popular restaurants in the most beautiful setting- 5 minutes by car from town overlooking a scenic river. The Rock is is the place for a romantic evening and a gourmet meal. The menu is fusion and American classics with a twist. All fresh local ingredients and good service. Their Thursday night all-you-can-eat pork ribs. salad and sour dough break for $18.00 is very popular.
  • Boquete Bistro - Featuring American foods well flavored with the sauces and spices of a true chef. Good place to go when you hanker for a hamburger or American comfort food. Prices are reasonable and the servings generous.C onveniently located in a historic building with a full wall mural by a famous Panamanian artist from 1952 on Boquete's main street.

    • Boquete Treats

  • 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.
  • Restaurant Bargains. Nelvis is a cafeteria open for breakfast and lunch, The food is well prepared and you'll find it hard to spend more the $3. Their fried chicken is delicious. El Sabroson on main street is another local cafeteria with more selection. You can get a large breakfast for $3 and a large lunch and dinner for less the $4.

    • What To Do

    Canopy Adventure Panama

    Boquete Jazz & Blues Festival:
    Feb. 28 – March 3, 2013

    Boquete is home to a world-class Jazz and Blues - Central America’s only music festival showcasing with an exciting mix of eight bands playing Latin Jazz and North American Blues. Plan your Panama vacation for an immersion in great music in the enchanting town of Boquete.

    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.

    Hike and Bike

    For a hike you can see Quetzales in season, hike the Volcano or take easier trails to through rain forest to waterfalls.
    Ask you hotel where to rent a bicycle. You'll have a great time biking all around Boquete scenic outskirts.

    Golf

    Valle Escondido Resort has a scenic and challenging 9 hole golf course. The greens fee for 9 or 18 holes is $35. Afterwards dine at one of their restaurants or have a coffee at their cafe. Call 720-2897.

    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.

    Panama white water rafting

    Rafting and Kayaking for both Families and the Experienced Adventurer

    Chiriqui province where Boquete is located is known worldwide for some of the best rafting and kayaking anywhere- including sea kayaking. For rafting we recommend Boquete Outdoor Adventures with perfect safety records and attentive, fun oriented staff. They also specialize in kayaking and adventure trips on land and sea for everyone from families to extreme adventurists. See their info on the sidebar under Tour Operators.

    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-where you'll see views of the Pacific Ocean, Boquete and the volcano.
    To rent a horse without a guide call Eduardo Cano.

    Spas and Alternative Health Services

    The Haven Spa offers health spa vacations in a luxury mountain retreat. In addition to being the perfect place to relax and renew, they are well known for helping many with chronic illnesses.

    Canopy Adventure Panama

    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.

    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 foreigners 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 residential communities.

    Have a Cup of Gourmet Coffee

    We recommend Cafe Ruiz near My Garden is Your Garden, and the Cafe Kotowa at the CEFATA center (great views) and Los Establos Plaza. If you have a car, have a coffee at Finca Lerida, a spectacular gourmet coffee farm about 15 minutes out of town with cafe with a restaurant that has mountain and coffee farm views. Finca Lerida is also a great place to stop by for bird watchers, as the deliberately placed flora and fruits attract many birds.

    Birding and See a Resplendant Quetzal

    Los Quetzales Panama

    There are a number of good guides for birding tours. If you want to see the rare Quetzal rare and one of the Holy Grails of birding we recommend you call Chago, a famous bird guide who can call Quetzales and mid-December thru May guarantees you will see at least one Quetzal. Chago's phone number is 6626-2200.

    Dine Out

    For fine dining, we especially recommend The Panamonte Inn, Sabor Escondido in Valle Escondido and Rancho Caldera, about half an hour from town and for American comfort food. The Bistro on Main St. is also good, or for amazingly cheap but good Panamanian food try El Sabroson 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.