It’s a tale as old as time—or at least one that goes back a few decades now: The surfers come first, then the cute cafés, restaurants, and boutique hotels follow. That’s been the story in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Starting in the mid-1990s, wave riders would arrive every winter to conquer the legendary offshore break Silverbacks. Nonsurfers would usually stumble upon Bocas—which sits on Isla Colón, an island off the country’s remote northwestern Caribbean coast, a 10-hour drive from Panama City—while road-tripping along the Pan-American Highway. Many who landed in the town never left, finding themselves seduced by the slow lifestyle, empty beaches, and mix of bohemian locals and expats. “Bocas has long had this old-school 1970s Key West vibe, where nothing feels manufactured,” says Richard Kiibler, who arrived in 2006 and opened a hostel there a year later.
But Bocas wasn’t always so under the radar. In the late 19th century, it was one of Central America’s busiest port towns and biggest agricultural centers. “Yellow gold,” as bananas were known in the export trade, made it a boomtown where for a time United Fruit Company employed more than 30,000 people. When the banana industry went belly-up in the 1920s, there were five consulates, three newspapers, a hospital, and dozens of company-owned hotels and restaurants in colonial-style buildings.
Now Bocas is beginning to boom again, due in part to the efforts of the Panamanian government, which hopes that Isla Colón’s pristine beaches, coral reefs, and rainforests will make it the next Tulum (before the traffic jams and hordes of influencers). More than $150 million has been invested in hardwiring the island to the national grid, modernizing the hospital, and building new roads and homes. For a remote Central American town, these infrastructure updates are major.
Yet the soul of Bocas’s current transformation is fueled by new expats and transplants, who are transforming waterfront buildings into casual restaurants and bars, including the open-air La Buga Gastro Market and the brunch spot Casa Papaya. “Sleepy Bocas is finally waking up,” says Dan Behm, a retired tech entrepreneur from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the developer of Nayara Bocas del Toro, the latest outpost of the sustainable luxury brand Nayara. “The big difference is that Bocas is growing into a vibrant international destination without losing its charm or identity.” Kiibler, meanwhile, is readying the eco-friendly Four Elements resort, set to open in 2027 with multiple pools, restaurants, shops, and a spa and fitness center, all of which will be accessible to locals as well as guests. “The goal is to be an integral part of the Bocas community,” he says, “and not just another base camp for surfers when they’re passing through.”
This article appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.
