If you are planning a day visit to Boquete, Panama, you are in for a real treat! This idyllic town set in the mountains of Chiriqui, Panama beckons to those who want a Panamanian experience without the hustle and bustle of the city life. We will give you plenty of ideas on what to do in Boquete, Panama.
We arrived at our adorable cabana style hotel in Boquete a day late, thanks to the big airline outage that happened worldwide. What a day to travel – when nearly all the airlines (and many banks and restaurants) in the world are down thanks to a Microsoft system issue. Lucky us! We were supposed to have arrived in Boquete on Friday evening around 5:30. Thanks to two delayed flights in the United States, we missed our connecting domestic flight from Panama City to David on Copa Airlines. But, thanks to my cousin and my tía, we made in from David to Boquete on the second day.
One thing I didn’t remember from my past trips to Boquete is the busy town center. And maybe that is because the business has really boomed over time. The center of town seems to be a happening place – people walking everywhere with restaurant options galore. Small artisan shops call from the sides of the roads.
If you’ve explore our other recent posts on Panama – the Albrook Mall in Panama, our swank rental apartment in Casco Viejo in Panama City, you know we packed it in on this trip! But today, we want to go into detail about the area of Boquete.
Where to Stay in Boquete
Valle Escondido Resort
As I mentioned above, the Valle Escondido Resort is a luxe place to stay – with on site restaurants, bars, spa, golf, and more.
Bermuda Castle
We also took a short drive to see the hotel castle and hobbit homes in Boquete. This is such a fun place! The Bermuda Castle boasts more of a casual and modern atmosphere on the inside than one might expect.
On the property of the castle, you will find small bungalows – including four adorable hobbit houses. If you are interested in these, you might want to book early, because when I checked in a couple months ahead of our trip, they were all already booked.
A lovely couple visiting from Texas let us take a tour through their hobbit house rental!
Garden Inn Boquete
On our trip, we stayed at Garden Inn Boquete, and we had such a lovely time there! This place is an outdoor tropical paradise! With relaxing times in the hammocks and many seating areas, you feel like you are in a rainforest! You can read more details about our stay in our post linked below.
Best Restaurants in Boquete, Panama
You probably have two burning questions on your mind – where to stay in Boquete and what are the best restaurants in Boquete. Visit my other posts to see all my detailed tips and advice on hotels in Boquete and restaurants in Boquete.
During our last afternoon there, we enjoyed a nice Italian dinner at Otto Gastronomia Italiana Restaurant in Boquete. The lasagna is delicious and at a very good price!
The Rock Restaurant in Boquete
We also at at The Rock on our first night. We detail this experience more in a future post on The Garden Inn stay, but just know we thoroughly enjoyed all the special touches of this indoor/outdoor restaurant!
What to Do in Boquete, Panama
Read on for our day of outings in Boquete, Panama. While the Hubs and my cousin’s husband played golf, the girls went shopping and exploring. We’ll tell you a little about everything.
Play Golf at One of Several Boquete Golf Courses
The guys played 18-holes at a very nice 9-hole golf course at Valle Escondido Resort and Golf Course, which I mentioned above. It is a beautiful course and resort property! Some of the surrounding properties appear to be permanent homes while other bungalows are short-term rentals. The girls had fun exploring the property for the first hour or so that the guys played.
Since 18-holes of golf takes a while, we girls had plenty of time to explore!
Visit the Artisan Market
The Boquete Artisan Market is a loop of booth after booth of locally-made goods mixed with the typical junk you often find at a market of this style. There were plenty of “junky” things I had to go into battle with my girls about – the same type cheaply made junk toys and accessories you can find anywhere. However, there is also plenty of artisan jewelry, mola art by the Kuna tribe, and wood crafts. My goals on any travel is to pick up an art work, a Christmas ornament that I can easily label with the date and location, and some fun jewelry like earrings or a beaded bracelet.
I found everything I needed here! I even found a sloth mola for my daughters’ shared bathroom since they are both in a major sloth kick right now. And since sloth merchandise seems to be widely sold in Panama, finding a handmade sloth mola seemed perfect.
Stroll Around La Fería de Boquete
Unfortunately, since we must always travel during the months of June-July to accommodate my teaching schedule and the girls’ school schedule, we miss out on the typical “summer” events of Panama. La Fería de Boquete showcases gorgeous flowers, artisan goods, and coffee during its annual event every January. The area below is where you would find the flower display if you came during the Panama summer season.
Eat Ice Cream or Pastries in the Park
It is nice to grab and ice cream or a fresh pastry from one of the local shops and sit in the park for a spell. Enjoy the lovely leaning trees which provide a nice shade for one of the sitting areas. Also, there is free wi-fi in the Boquete park. You do have to enter a rather annoying number of questions to access the free wi-fi, but I found this to be the case in many areas of Panama where free wi-fi is offered.
There are occasional performances under the gazebo in the park – such as the night we arrived when a group of dancers were performing in typical dress.
Visit Los Ladrillos
Drive a bit away from the center of town to the Los Ladrillos. Los Ladrillos in Boquete is natural rock wall which locals and tourists attempt to climb. Mostly, it seems to be a photo opportunity for tourists, but we did see a local rock climber there with gear. My cousins says he is there often, leading mini camps on rock climbing.
It’s cool to see all the signatures on the rocks of past people who have climbed or stopped for photos.
Across the street is a playground and the big letters of Los Ladrillos which makes for another great photo opportunity!
Go Hiking in Boquete
Although we didn’t have time to squeeze it in on this trip, there are many opportunities for hiking in Boquete. Some popular trails for hiking in Boquete and in the surrounding areas are the Pipeline Trail and El Pianista trail. If your family is into adventure, be sure to check in to these trails before you visit – if you are looking for what to do in Boquete!
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