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Aerial view of a palm-covered cay ringed by turquoise reef in Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro · Panama

A field guide to island life in Bocas del Toro.

Moving here, money and taxes, homes that survive salt and rain, and where to spend a Sunday. Written in the archipelago, for people who want to stay.

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Isla ColónBastimentosCareneroSolarteCristóbalIsla PopaCayo ZapatillasDolphin BayBoca del DragoAlmirante
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Four guides for a new island life

Pick the question keeping you up at night. Each guide collects everything we have written on it, in plain language.

01

Making the Move

Selling up, shipping out and paying for the jump without draining your savings.

3 guides
02

Money & Paperwork

Taxes from abroad, insurance that actually pays out, and budgeting for island prices.

5 guides
03

Home & Power

Furniture that survives salt air, solar for outages, and the gear a tropical house needs.

3 guides
04

Work From the Island

Tools and side income for people who earn online and log off at sunset.

3 guides
Most read

The questions everyone asks first

All articles
Boat gliding down a calm, vine-draped jungle river
Money

Filing U.S. Taxes From Panama

Who has to file, the deadlines that shift when you live abroad, and the forms U.S. citizens in Bocas del Toro run into first.

5 min read
Teal-roofed cabin on stilts over a calm bay
Home

Solar Generators for Island Homes

What a portable solar power station is, how to size one from your appliance labels, and how to keep the fridge cold when the island grid drops.

5 min read
Calm bay reflecting clouds, seen from a forested hill
Money

What Insurance Do You Need in Bocas del Toro?

Health, home, electronics and liability cover for island life in Panama, and the slow, salty damage most policies leave to you.

5 min read
Island guide

Where to spend a Sunday

Ten places and creatures that make this archipelago worth the move. Every photo on this page was taken in Bocas.

Bottlenose dolphin diving tail-up in Dolphin Bay
No. 01

Dolphin Bay

Between Isla Cristóbal and the mainland
Aerial view of a palm-covered cay with turquoise reef
No. 02

Cayo Zapatillas

Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park
Beach bar looking out over calm Starfish Beach
No. 03

Starfish Beach

Isla Colón, past Boca del Drago
Spotted Oophaga pumilio poison dart frog on wood
No. 04

Red frogs of Bastimentos

Isla Bastimentos
Coral garden with sponges and a snorkeler at the surface
No. 05

Reefs and mangroves

All over the archipelago
Boat gliding down a calm jungle river channel
No. 06

San San Pond Sak

Mainland, near Changuinola
Three-toed sloth hanging upside down from a branch
No. 07

Sloths in the canopy

Wherever there are cecropia trees
Howler monkey with a baby on its back eating leaves
No. 08

Howler mornings

Forest edges on every island
Kinkajou on a branch lit by a flashlight
No. 09

The jungle after dark

Guided night walks
Open cacao pod next to pieces of dark chocolate
No. 10

Cacao farms

Dolphin Bay and the mainland
See the full
island guide
Bocas basics

Know this before you land

Currency
U.S. dollar. Panama mints its own balboa coins at the same value.
Getting here
About an hour by plane from Panama City, or the bus to Almirante plus a water taxi.
Getting around
Water taxis between islands, bikes and taxis on Isla Colón.
Drier spells
Usually February to March and September to October. Rain is possible any day.
The journal

Every article

Hammocks on a covered dock over the bay at sunset
Work

AI Writing Tools for Remote Work From the Island

Eight writing tools sorted by the job they do, how they hold up on island internet, and where they stop being useful, like official Spanish translations.

5 min read
Small boats tied to a wooden dock on a glassy bay
Work

Can You Still Make Money With Affiliate Marketing?

What still works for small sites, what stopped working, how long the first commission takes, and the U.S. tax and disclosure rules that follow you to Panama.

5 min read
View from a boat toward an over-water cabin on a calm bay
The move

Should You Borrow Money to Move to Bocas?

When a loan for a move to Panama makes sense, when it makes things worse, and what to compare before you sign, especially with bruised credit.

5 min read
Calm bay reflecting clouds, seen from a forested hill
Money

What Insurance Do You Need in Bocas del Toro?

Health, home, electronics and liability cover for island life in Panama, and the slow, salty damage most policies leave to you.

5 min read
Wooden over-water deck with a table and chairs above turquoise water
Home

Which Outdoor Furniture Survives the Tropics?

Salt air, hard sun, termites and long wet spells. Which materials last on a Bocas porch, which ones rot, and how to keep them going.

5 min read
Long dock leading to an over-water cabin and gazebo
Home

10 Must-Haves for a Tropical Home

Screens, dehumidifiers, backup power, water storage and the other things that make a humid, salty, bug-friendly house in Bocas comfortable to live in.

5 min read
Wooden dock with small boats moored under overhanging trees
The move

Donate Your Car Before You Move to Bocas

In the islands you get around by boat, bike and foot. Here is how to decide between selling and donating the car you leave behind, and what the IRS actually lets you deduct.

5 min read
Two blue dugout canoes pulled up on a rocky shore under palms
The move

Pay for Your Move With a Cash Rewards Card

How to route the cost of a move to Panama through a rewards card and come out ahead, plus the foreign fees and address problems that catch people after they land.

5 min read
Teal-roofed cabin on stilts over a calm bay
Home

Solar Generators for Island Homes

What a portable solar power station is, how to size one from your appliance labels, and how to keep the fridge cold when the island grid drops.

5 min read
Palm tree leaning over white sand and clear turquoise water
Work

Automate the Boring Work With Make

Five small automations worth setting up once you live in Bocas, what the free plan covers, and how to keep them from breaking quietly.

4 min read
Aerial view of a palm-covered cay and turquoise reef
Money

Can Crypto Fund a Move to Panama?

What it takes to turn crypto into a life in Bocas del Toro: planning around volatility, taxes on both ends, and getting dollars onto an island.

5 min read
Boat gliding down a calm, vine-draped jungle river
Money

Filing U.S. Taxes From Panama

Who has to file, the deadlines that shift when you live abroad, and the forms U.S. citizens in Bocas del Toro run into first.

5 min read
Thatched beach bar looking out over calm Starfish Beach
Money

Money Habits for Island Independence

Budgeting for dollars, cash, boat rides, imported groceries, salt damage and slow seasons when you live in Bocas del Toro.

5 min read
Over-water gazebo reflected in a still bay at sunset
Money

Lower Your U.S. Tax Bill When You Split Your Year

Day counts, the foreign earned income exclusion, foreign tax credits and the retirement account traps for Americans who spend part of the year in Panama.

5 min read
The Bocas Style letter

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