When I was approached by some friends about where they should spend their upcoming vacation they were a little surprised when I said they should look into a Panama Vacation.  They had never thought about or considered the Central American country to be a vacation destination.  After five minutes of describing the Bocas del Toro region of Panama, they were convinced that this was a great option for a Panama Vacation.

There were a couple of main points that helped me sell Bocas del Toro as a Panama Vacation option to my friends.  The fact that they running from the Chicago winter, the beach was the most important thing to them when considering a vacation.  I explained that Bocas del Toro had many beaches to choose from and that Isla Bastimentos was the best Panama Vacation option when it came to beaches.  If you took a 6 hour hike from Old Bank, one would cross Wizard, Red Frog, Turtle, Polo, and Larga Beaches.  This fact alone was enough to sell the Panama Vacation.

However, there is much more to Panama than strictly beaches.  While on Bastimentos, travelers have access to countless other activities that will keep them busy during their Panama Vacation.  The newest attraction to the Bocas del Toro region is the Bastimentos Sky Canopy Zipline.  This new action-packed ride through the jungle will add an element of adventure to any Panama Vacation.  Each person flies above the jungle floor on 5 different ziplines of varying length and height.  Guests can challenge themselves on the ropes course.  It is a series of challenges suspended high in the trees.  Stations range from a tarzan swing and monkey swing to a walking bridges.  This is a surefire way to push yourself to the limit while on your Panama Vacation.

When traveling abroad it is important to gain an understanding of you local surroundings and experience the nature and culture first hand.  I told my friends that while they were on their Panama Vacation they could experience both of these things while participating in the Wild Life Cave Tour.  The guide is a local man by the name of Rutilio who does an extraordinary job of pointing out the local wildlife and making every guest feel comfortable.  While floating through the mangroves en route to the cave it is almost certain you’ll see sloths and if you’re lucky, maybe even a few monkeys.  Upon reaching the cave everyone walks through a local farm and gets a sense of how the locals really live.  The cave is an adventure by itself.  With bats flying above your head, some participants really get to challenge their fears.  After exiting the cave Rutilio will often take the tour to the local Bahia Honda village for lunch.  A little nature and a little culture is a great away get the most out of any Panama Vacation.

When it comes down to it, Bocas del Toro, and especially Isla Bastimentos, has everything that a Panama Vacation needs.  Beaches, Adventure, and Local flavor are all things that are at your fingertips when visiting Panama.  A Panama Vacation is a great way to spend your free time discovering the world.

How are you? I am well. I bet your reindeer are extra excited for the trip this year….coming quick, only 4 – 5 months left…..How are the elves?  Still short? I bet so.

Anyways, I am writing you early in case the mail is delayed while heading to the North Pole. What I really want for Christmas this year is a Panama vacation. Not just any Panama vacation, but a really good Panama vacation: something with white sandy beaches, impossible sunsets, and tiny yet potent colorful cocktails with small paper umbrellas donning the rim. Now Santa, I realize this may seem like a steep request at first (Keep in mind that I have been an extremely good boy this year) but Panama vacations are getting more and more reasonable, especially in the area of Bocas del Toro. For my Panama vacation, I was thinking perhaps of an up and coming resort: Red Frog Beach. I heard that they have great and affordable rental villas which make for a perfect Panama vacation every single time. I think that if you would get me this awesome Panama vacation that I would be even more likely to be good again next year. Please Santa, they have 5 different beaches to walk to, a suweeet beach bar, plenty of snorkeling and exploration, and who knows maybe they will even have tiny yet potent and colorful cocktails with small paper umbrellas donning the rim. It seems that they have more amenities to offer than you do toys in your sled…Isnt that a kicker!

If you were to find a way to wrap this up under the tree for Christmas, it would truly be one of the best holidays ever. I can see it now – I would come down on Christmas morning and find my tickets to the perfect Panama vacation sitting nicely rested upon a tree limb. The Christmas lights would sparkle the name “Justin” on the envelope and then I would know for sure…Panama vacation time! Excited, I run to the tree, rip open the envelope and behold inside I will find a filled out and signed copy of the Red Frog Beach Villa rental agreement, as well as my Red Frog Beach cart rental contract, and even a grocery list in case I want my luxury vacation villa to have complete food stocked and ready for me. I just can’t imagine the excitement that would come over my face. It would be worth video-taping

Also Santa just a few other things on my list: Doublestuff Oreos, a helicopter, and a puppy. Hope this isn’t too much stuff to fit in the sled. You may have to doublecheck your list, but like I have said, I have been a really really good boy this year so it should be no problem. Tell Rupdolph not to worry, I have a feeling all the other reindeer will come to their senses eventually!

My family and I have just returned from the number one of all Panama Resorts on the beach!  Red Frog Beach is in Bocas del Toro and we rented a Villa for a week.  First off, we paid about the same for a week in a 2,500 sq. ft. house in Bocas del Toro, as we would for 2 nights in a mediocre suite in Las Vegas.  Our house included our own pool, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, flatscreen T.V’s, and a view to die for!  We got a resort adventure package, so our week included snorkel gear, boogie boards, 2 boat tours, and the most insane cave tour!  If you have ever seen the movie, “The Goonies” you might be able to understand how awesome this tour was.  Wading in water up to our necks while bats were flying overhead, and jumping off of a big rock, hundreds of meters back in a cave……INSANE!!  I don’t think that any of the other Panama Resorts near a nice beach could offer what this place has.

The morning of our second day in Bocas del Toro at Red Frog Beach started with a fantastic boogie board session on Turtle Beach at 8AM, (about a 5 min walk) and ended with a walk back seeing 2 sloths and a monkey!!  We had a great BBQ on our balcony, and went on the most fabulous Catamaran Tour ever!  Red Frog Beach cannot be rivaled by any of the other Panama Resorts.

Our third day started a bit slow due to some bottles of wine on our catamaran tour, but the fresh ocean air opened our eyes right up, and we continued down to the beautiful Bocas Bound campus and had a wonderful breakfast. We met some great people that were about to depart on a Panama snorkeling tour, and they asked us to join, and went to Corral Cay, and Zapatillas.  These may have been the most beautiful snorkeling spots of any of the Panama Resorts!!!  I never knew how crazy and hilarious the Dutch were!!!!

Day 4 started similar to day 3, but we were up early because some of the friendly staff at Bocas Bound had let everyone know that there was swell coming in, and the Bocas surf was going to be fantastic!  We reserved some surfboards the night before, and got back down to Bocas Bound about 9AM, grabbed the boards and sprinted down to the beach.  We were all taken back a few notches when we saw the size of these Bocas del Toro waves!  The day before they were about 4 foot, and today they had jumped up to 6-7 ft.!  It took us about an hour and a half to realize that they were a bit too big for us, and went to the beach to relax and have a beer at “Punta Lava” the Red Frog beach bar.  Just another PERFECT day at the best of all Panama Beach Resorts!

The last 2 days were a lot more relaxed, taking tours around the islands and enjoying the sights of our two favorite Panama Resorts:  Red Frog Beach Club, and Bocas Bound Island Hostel!  They even have a canopy tour that will be done in about 3 weeks from now!  We were able to take advantage of all the beautiful hiking trails that were already completed beneath the ziplines, so we could see the ropes course about 100 feet above us!

I hope any and all that read this, that are looking for the newest and best of all the Panama Resorts on the beach–will go and visit this slice of heaven!  It doesn’t get any better than Isla Bastimentos.  I know that everyone back home will definitely get an earful of the top of the top echelon of all Panama Beach Resorts!!!  Thank you Red Frog Beach, and Bocas Bound!!!!