Panama

📍 Off Isla Colón, Bocas del Toro, Caribbean coast

Panama's Caribbean marine park: a protected stretch of coast and cays around Isla Bastimentos with coral, seagrass, mangroves and reef fish, and the shallow, sheltered water the Bocas archipelago is known for. Boats run from Bocas Town to the park's reefs and beaches.

A national marine park, so park rules and any fee apply, with anchoring and collecting regulated — confirm current arrangements locally. Sheltered as it is, visibility varies with rain and runoff in this part of the Caribbean.

📍 East of Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro

Two low, uninhabited cays inside the Bastimentos park, fringed with shallow coral and clear-ish Caribbean water — the classic Bocas boat day, with snorkeling off the boat and around the cay fringes, and white sand for the surface interval.

Reached by boat only, and the crossing is weather-dependent; there are no facilities on the cays. Coral here is patchy and shallow — keep off it, and take your rubbish back with you.

📍 Caribbean coast, east of Colón — the Guna Yala comarca

An archipelago of small cays along Panama's north-east Caribbean coast: shallow reef, sand flats and coral around islands such as the Cayos Holandeses and the many small cays of Guna Yala, in water that is often beautifully clear. Most visits are run by boat from the comarca or by island-based stays.

This is Guna Yala, an autonomous Indigenous comarca with its own rules and an entry tax, and land is owned and governed by the Guna communities — visits are arranged through recognised operators and stays are on inhabited islands. Respect community rules, ask before photographing people, and confirm current access and fees locally.

📍 Caribbean coast, Colón province

The closest Caribbean snorkeling to Panama City: the sheltered bay at Isla Grande and the reefs around Portobelo's historic harbour, with shallow coral, seagrass and easy boat access — an accessible half-day rather than an expedition.

Popular with local visitors at weekends and reached by road from Panama City, so it is busier than the islands further east. Visibility is the variable here — rain and runoff can cloud the water, so check with a local operator before you commit a day.

📍 Pacific coast, Veraguas province

A large, protected Pacific island group and marine park off Panama's south-west coast, part of the same conservation region as the Galápagos and Cocos Island: rocky reefs, coral at some sites, and genuinely big marine life — turtles, rays, whitetip reef sharks and seasonal whales. Snorkeling happens on the calm, sheltered sides of the islands.

Honest geography: Coiba is on the PACIFIC coast — a different ocean from Bocas and Guna Yala, with colder, more variable water, stronger currents and more swell. It is a separate trip reached by boat from Santa Catalina or Boca Chica, with park fees and a licensed guide required in practice. Not interchangeable with the Caribbean side of this page.

Bocas cooking is Caribbean with a Panamanian accent: rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, patacones, plantain, and whole snapper fried or grilled with lime. Many of the best tables sit on stilts over the water, so the meal and the view are the same thing.

Tip: Ask for the fish with patacones and coconut rice rather than fries, and try a fresh pipa — the green coconut — cut open to drink beside it.

Sancocho de gallina — a slow chicken and root-vegetable soup with culantro — is Panama's national dish, and the small neighbourhood fondas and market food courts serve it better and cheaper than anywhere tourists go. Panama City is on almost every itinerary here as a transit hub; this is the meal to have while you are passing through.

Tip: Have it with rice and a side of platanos maduros, and finish with raspao — a shaved-ice cup with condensed milk and fruit syrups — from a cart on the street.

On the cays, the food is what the community catches and grows: fried plantain, coconut rice, boiled green banana and whatever the boats bring in, served simply at the island's cookhouse. Eating what the community eats is part of visiting this comarca properly rather than passing through it.

Tip: Bring cash in small US dollar notes — there are no ATMs or card machines in the comarca — and be respectful: this is a community's home, so ask before photographing and buy from island stalls where you can.