more info: Contact us | Prices & Start Dates | Sign up & book now | Photos | Videos | Useful Info | F.A.Q. | Resources | Blog | Site Map

List of Questions | Link Exchange | Payment Methods | Traveling to Boquete
Visas for Panama

Traveling to Boquete from Panama City and from Costa Rica

How to get to Boquete? First of all it depends on how you will be travelling to Panama (as in the country, not the city). Click here or more information about airlines that fly to Panama (country).

In this page we will explain how to travel to Boquete depending on how you entered our country. The most common ways travelers enter our country are:

And once you are in Panama there are several ways to travel to Boquete:

Flying into Panama City and from there going to Boquete

Traveling from Panama City to Boquete is fairly straight forward. Basically you have to travel from Panama City to David (55 minutes by plain or 6 hours by bus or car), and then from David to Boquete (30 - 45 minutes by bus, taxi or a shuttle).

The best way, well... it depends on what you want: fast and convenient, or taking a bit more time and saving some money but enjoying the countryside. To travel from Panama City to David, and then from David to Boquete there are mainly 2 options:

Panama City to David by Air and then to Boquete

One way airplane tickets from Panama City to David cost around $70-$100. You can view flight times and make online reservations at: www.flyairpanama.com or at www.aeroperlas.com.

These flights do not depart from the same airport that your arriving flight to Panama City does. You will arrive to Panama at Tocumen Airport and to fly from Panama to David you have to go to Albrook Airport.

You can take a taxi between Tocumen Airport and Albrook Airport, or spend a night in a hotel in Panama City and then take a taxi next morning to Albrook Airport.

For information about hotels in Panama City for different budgets please visit Frommer's Travel Guide.

A taxi from Tocumen Airport to Albrook Airport or to a hotel in Panama City should cost around $25. A taxi from your hotel should not charge you more than $5 to take you to Albrook Airport if you are staying within Panama City.

The last flight to David from Panama City departs around 4:00 p.m., so if you land on Panama City after 1:00 p.m. you should plan to spend the night in a hotel in Panama City or take a bus from Albrook Bus Station to David. The last bus to David leaves Panama City at 12:00 a.m. (midnight). You should allow at least 3 hours between landing at Tocument Aiport and getting to Albrook Airport or Bus Station because of customs, immigration and then the journey within Panama City.

For $25 we also arrange airport pickups at Tocumen Airport to a hotel in Panama City and on the following day for $10 we can also arrange a pickup from your hotel in Panama City to Albrook Airport or Albrook Bus Station if what you decide is to stay in Panama City for a night before going to Boquete to rest after your international flight.

For suggestions about where to spend a night in Panama City before traveling to Boquete please visit Frommer's Travel Guide.

If you arrive to David through a flight, you will land on Enrique Malek Airport. A modern and convenient shuttle can be booked for only $15 (2 passengers pay a total of $25, and 3 or more $10 each) and will take you directly to our Language School or to your hotel. If you prefer to take a bus to Boquete, you will have to pay a taxi to take you to the Bus Station in David. The taxi should charge around $3, and the bus from David to Boquete is $1.45 per passenger. We can also arrange an airport pickup for $25 that will bring you directly to Boquete.

Panama City to David by Bus and then to Boquete

If you want to take a bus to David from Panama City, you first have to take a taxi from Tocumen Airport or from your hotel in Panama City to Albrook Bus Terminal. There you will be able to catch a bus to David. Busses depart almost every hour so you shouldn't have any problem with the schedule and you don't have to bother with reservations. The only dates when you will not be able to easily catch a bus is when it is a Panamanian National Holiday. On these days you are better of booking a flight from Panama City to David because buses can get chaotic.

The first bus departs everyday at 6:00 a.m. and the last one departs at 3:00 a.m. The bus ticket from Panama to David costs $12.50 or $15 per passenger depending if it is an express bus or not. Express buses are the fastest and depart at 3:00 p.m., 10:45 p.m., 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m.

Once you are in David we can arrange a Bus Terminal Pickup for $25, or you can easily take a bus to Boquete for $1.45. Each arranged pickup can transport up to 4 passengers for $25.

You can also rent a car in Panama City to drive to Boquete, but you can also rent cars in Boquete so if your reason for doing this is to just have a car, wait until you get to Boquete. But on the other hand if you want to explore the country it is a good option to rent a car in Panama City and then make the drive all the way to Boquete.

Flying into David from Costa Rica or entering by Paso Canoas

If your plan is to travel around the west side of Panama then it could make sense to fly or take a bus to David without going to Panama City. Tickets to San José, Costa Rica, from most parts of the world are cheaper than tickets to Panama City and from San José you can fly into David, or even take a bus from Costa Rica to Panama. But you also have to take into account the money and time that you would need to spend in a hotel in San José and then on the means of transportation to David.

Flying from San José, Costa Rica to David, Panamá

There are direct flights to David from San José operated by Taca (www.taca.com) and by AirPanama(www.flyairpanama.com). Taca's flights depart San José to David on Monday, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. AirPanama's flights make the connection on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Visit their websites for ticket prices and availability.

Once you get to Enrique Malek Airport in David, as explained above (for those flying from Panama City to David) a modern and convenient shuttle can be booked for only $15 (2 passengers pay a total of $25, and 3 or more $10 each) and it will take you directly to our Language School or to your hotel. If you prefer to take a bus to Boquete, you will have to pay a taxi to take you to the Bus Station in David. The taxi should charge around $3, and the bus from David to Boquete is $1.45 per passenger. We can also arrange an airport pickup for $25 that will bring you directly to Boquete. This option is very convenient if you are traveling with several people (up to 3 students).

By Bus from San José, Costa Rica to David, Panamá through Paso Canoas

Three different companies make the journey from Costa Rica to Panama (David): Panaline, Ticabus and Tracopa. To see bus schedules and prices please visit: www.panalinecr.com, www.ticabus.com or www.costaricareisen.com/info/busse_eng.htm.

The bus journey from San José to the border can take from 6 - 9 hours. Why such a big margin? Well, the roads in Costa Rica aren't that brilliant and sometimes buses can encounter lines of trucks in front of them. Crossing the border can take from 1 - 3 hours because of bureaucracy (Panamanian and Costa Rican combined). Roads in Panama are definitively better than their counterpart in Costa Rica. And finally from the border to David it should take 45 minutes to 1 hour and a half, depending on the speed of the bus and traffic. And from there to Boquete the trip should take between 30 - 40 minutes by bus.

If you purchase a bus ticket in San José to David, the bus's final destination could be either Changuinola (Bocas del Toro), David or Panama City. So if the bus that you chose is heading towards Changuinola or Panama City be sure to tell the bus driver that you need to get off in David and pay attention that you don't continue the journey too far (and also only pay the fare to David). How to identify David? Looking out for the signs and it will also be the first really populated area in Panama.

Tracopa leaves from San José to David at 7:30 a.m. They stop at David and do not continue to anywhere else. They also have a bus from David to San José that leaves David at 8:30 a.m. Their phone number in David is +507-775-0585.

Panaline leaves San José at 1:00 p.m. They travel directly to Panama City so if you are coming to Boquete make sure to tell the bus driver to leave you at David. They should be passing by David between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. The last bus from David to Boquete leaves at 9:00 p.m. so if you choose this option you have to ask us to arrange a bus station pickup for $25 to bring you to Boquete.

Ticabus leaves from San José to Panama City at 12:00 p.m. noon and 11:00 p.m. Their buses from Panama City to San José, Costa Rica leave at 11:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. The daytime buses are nicer buses known as "Ejecutivos". Their phone number in Panama City is +507-314-6385.

You can also look for a bus to the Costa Rican border, and buses from their to David depart every hour or so.

If your bus is continuing its journey further ahead then David, then you have to get of on a bus stop in front of a Super Market, called "Super Barú", which is located on the Panamerican highway, also know as Interamerican, the one supposed to go from Canada to Argentina, but interrupted by the Darién Gap. I wouldn't say this is the outskirts of town. If you were coming to David from Panama City it would be the entrance of David. If you cross by foot "La Panamericana or Interamerican" (the highway), and get on the opposite side of the road of where "el Super Barú" is, you will be standing on the corner of a gas station. You will be just a block away from Vía Boquete (the road that goes from David to Boquete). From that corner you will need walk further up the road (still a block from Vía Boquete) and there you will be able to wait for a bus to Boquete. Buses to Boquete should be passing by every 30 - 45 minutes. The bus only costs $1.45. A taxi would charge you $20 - $25.

If your bus final destination from Costa Rica is David, then you don't have to worry because you will be dropped at David's bus terminal from where you can directly catch a bus to Boquete.

The only essential difference between these two approaches would be the schedules from Costa Rica to David.

The only thing to keep in mind, is that buses from David to Boquete run from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. so do not take a bus from Costa Rica that will arrive too early or too late.

After writing down all this info we have to say that the best way to plan to travel from San José to Boquete by bus is to sort everything out once you are in Costa Rica because you cannot book tickets by phone or online. You have to purchase them in person.

The normal bus fare should be between $8 to $10. One of the bus companies also has a "luxury" ticket.

Remember to purchase a return bus ticket in Costa Rica. Even if you are not planning to use it or don't have your exact dates, it is a requirement to be able to enter Panama. You have to have a valid return ticket that demonstrates that you intend to leave the country. Read more about requirements to enter Panama...

Flying into Bocas del Toro from San José, Costa Rica

By plain from Bocas del Toro to Boquete

If you are in Costa Rica and want to spend some days in Bocas del Toro before coming to Boquete, you can take a flight from San José, Costa Rica to Bocas del Toro with AirPanama and from there fly to David and then go to Boquete. There are direct flights from Bocas del Toro International Airport to David with AirPanama and Aeroperlas. To travel from David to Boquete read above.

By bus from Bocas del Toro to Boquete

First of all you will have to take a water taxi to get off Isla Colón. Make sure the boat is going to Almirante. Once in Almirante take a cab to the bus stop in Almirante and wait for 30 minutes to 1 hour for a bus to David to pass by. Once in David at the bus termianl take a bus or a taxi to Boquete.

Top