A night bus also provides a connection from the Albrook Bus Terminal in Panama City.
This option is more economical but takes much longer than the flight (11 hours of travel).
The bus will drop you off at the port of Almirante, where you will need to take a boat to the center of Bocas.
The boat crossing takes about 30 minutes, after which you will need to take a taxi to the hotel, which takes about 3 minutes.

You will be traveling with the transportation company TRANCEIBOSA.

Their contact number is 507-6400-4509.

FROM PANAMA CITY TO BOCAS DEL TORO (ALMIRANTE):
From Monday to Sunday.

Evening departures: 6 pm, 7 pm, 8 pm.

Bus ticket: $27.80 per person.
Taxi from Almirante bus stop to the docks: $1.50 per person.
Water taxi from Almirante to Bocas: $6 per person.
Taxi from Bocas Town to the hotel: $2 per person.

FROM BOCAS DEL TORO (ALMIRANTE) TO PANAMA CITY.

From Monday to Sunday.
Departures: 8 AM.
Evening departures: 7 PM.

Taxi from the hotel to Bocas town: $2 per person.
Water taxi from Bocas to Almirante: $6 per person.
Taxi from Almirante dock to the Almirante bus stop: $1.50 per person.
Bus ticket: $27.80 per person.

Note: You must purchase the ticket at Taxi 25 (next to the Brother restaurant) on 1st street,

up to two days before your departure.
You will take the boat at the same location at 6 AM or 4:30 PM on the day of your departure.
Note: PANA BOCA EXPRESS S.A is the new name of Taxi 25.

Map link.

Note:  The bus schedules and prices are subject to change without prior notice.

Do not wait until the last minute to purchase your tickets.

SOME INFORMATION

FOR A PLEASANT JOURNEY ON BOARD THE NIGHT BUS:

- It is freezing on the bus. And the journey is long! Ensure you have socks, blankets, and a hat to not leave any part of the body uncovered. Prevention is better than freezing to death!

- Be vigilant with your personal and valuable effects (identity and travel documents, wallet, telephone). Keep them close to you throughout the journey rather than storing them above the seats.

- The bus stops three times along the way. Make the most of those little breaks by eating and using the restrooms! Except in an emergency case, access to the toilets will be denied on board the bus.

- Fasten your seat belt, or more precisely, hang on! If a good part of the journey is on the highway, the last segment is winding, and the driving is sometimes folkloric!
Here is a website providing your local bus schedules for internal travel in Panama
Panama City Bus Terminal.

The Caribe Shuttle company organizes transportation from
San José (Costa Rica) to Bocas del Toro ($78 ).

The shuttle picks you up at your hotel or at Denny's (near the airport) and takes you to Puerto Viejo, where lunch awaits you at the Banana Azul restaurant. Then the shuttle takes the road to Bocas del Toro. A guide will help you cross the border post from Costa Rica to Panama. Once in Panama, the shuttle will drop you off at Almirante, where you will board a boat to Bocas. Your arrival point will be the Caribe Shuttle dock, next to the Bocas Town hotel.

Here is a website that provides you with the schedules of local buses for internal transportation in Panama, making it easier for you to travel within the country.

It is also possible to make this journey on
your own via the Costa Rican bus company

www.mepecr.com

The journey takes about six hours (to calculate broadly) for around $15.

The border is to be crossed on foot. Once you have obtained your exit stamp from Costa Rica and the entry one into Panama, you can board a Panamanian shuttle ($10) in the direction of Almirante.

www.mepecr.com

Schedule: 6:00 am - 6:30 pm, open daily.
Departures are every 30 minutes.
The last taxi boat is at 6:30 pm.

If you're traveling from David or elsewhere, head to Almirante port to catch the water taxi to Bocas. Almirante is the small port town closest to downtown Bocas that connects the mainland to the archipelago.

Here are the two companies offering this trip for the sum of approximately $5:
Transporte Marítimo Valencia
Pana Bocas Express (formerly Taxi 25)

1. After 6:30 pm, it is sometimes possible to find a private boat that will bring you to Bocas. Calculate around $80 - $100 for two people. If you can share the boat with other people, it will be cheaper. You have to negotiate the price with the captain. PS: For your safety, make sure the boat has lights to navigate at night.

2. You can rent a hotel room. We advise you not to wander around the streets of Almirante at night.

In any case, contact us!

We sometimes have captains available!

Be careful not to confuse the water taxi, a passenger transport, with the ferry, which carries cars and goods.

If you have rented a car, you have two options.

First option: you can leave your vehicle in Almirante
and take the water taxi to Bocas. You can keep your vehicle in a secure parking, a few steps away from the water taxi, for approximately $5 per day. Recommended.

Second option: you can also board the ferry with your car from Almirante.
The crossing takes about two hours.

For timetables and prices,
visit the ferry's website.