Biking on Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro

Looking for a fun, cheap, activity on Isla Colon? Rent some bikes and explore for the day! A plethora of rentals are scattered around Bocas Town and you'll have the choice of renting per hour or per day. Prices range greatly, but the best deal we found was $5/day or $7/24 hours (located at a small unnamed booth in the fork in the road around the corner from the fire station.) 

Though the island is a decent size, the limited number of roads makes it easy to navigate.  You have three basic options for biking on Isla Colon. Ranging from easiest to most difficult they are:

Cruise the roads of Bocas town. You can spend as short or as long as you want circling the busiest part of the island, but watch out for all of the vendors and pedestrians in the street. 

Heading north from town you'll pass some neat little eateries (and Bocas Brewery!) on the beach road. You'll eventually come to a marked fork in the road where you'll have two options. 

Head to Playa Bluff. This mostly flat road will end shortly before playa bluff, but thanks to 4-wheel drive traffic, the sand on the beach is packed tight enough to still be a decent ride. Stop at Paki Point for lunch and lounging- it's one of my favorite chill out spots on the island. 

Take the longer trip to the beaches of Boca del Drago. This 15km route definitely requires some leg muscles to get over the fairly constant hills, so if you're in the hunt for a bigger challenge, give it a go!

No matter what route you choose, I'm sure you'll have a great time biking on Isla Colon!

My Most Beautiful Day in Bocas

Though I normally shop around first, I was sold after talking to the people over at Olas tours (located just around the corner from the police station).  With no time to waste, we jumped on the boat that was just getting ready to leave and headed out to Dolphin Bay, Coral Key, and Zapatillas Island.  The thing I most loved about this tour was that each stop was beautifully different from the others, and our guide, Willy, was happy to adjust the stop times to meet our group´s preferences.  

After leaving around 11:30, we boated through perfectly still, mangrove surrounded waters to reach our first destination- Dolphin Bay.  According to Willy, you have an 80% chance of seeing dolphins on any given day, as this bay is home to a pod year round.  The dolphins are free to roam out into the open ocean, but seem to prefer this secure bay which abounds with jellyfish- one of their favorite foods.

After leaving Dolphin Bay, we grabbed at our cameras once again to capture the insanely beautiful waters surrounding Cayo Coral. To make the most of our time, we ordered lunch at the local restaurant and then headed off to snorkle while it was being prepared. 

 Though the food wasn´t anything to write home about (next time I´ll pack a sandwhich and some fresh fruit), the views made up for it.  And did I mention there were Maccaws?  

The next and final destination was Isla Zapatillas (aka one of the most gorgeous islands in Bocas.)  The aquamarine water and complete lack of development in this national park made it the perfect place to lay back and nap while listening to the gentle waves hit the beach.  

A perfect ending to a perfect day?  I think so.