Taboga Island Beaches, Panama Province, Panama

4J R 5:00 PM Aug 7, 2022

Very cute little island town and beach
I was a little concerned after reading some of the newer reviews but decided to take my wife, 15 y/o and 12 y/o for a beach day while on vacation. TL;DR: I'd recommend going for a beach day. Beaches and water were clean if you head right when exiting the pier. The beach on the left seemed less improved but I didn't see any sewage or trash. Food at Casa Taboga Restaurante was good and people on the island were friendly. Overall, the island is cute and worth a day trip. Long Version: I booked in advance Taboga Express Fast Ferry for the Day Pass. You could probably save a few bucks by booking the ferry separate from the umbrella & chairs and lunch. But all we had to do was show up and meet a guide once we arrived. We left on the 8:00am ferry with the intention of hiking before beach and lunch. Our guide gave us a walking tour of the town and showed us where are reserved chairs and umbrellas were located. As other folks have mentioned, the trail head is a little difficult to find but not impossible. Downloading the trail map from Alltrails helped and you can use it offline. We wore tennis shoes to the island and left our hiking shoes at our hotel which was a mistake. After 30 mins on the trail, we turned back as it got pretty slick. With the humidity, we were a sweaty mess. Our guide recommended some bathrooms that were "cleaner than others" and they turned out to be perfectly acceptable. After changing, we stopped by a beach bar, also recommended by our guide, for pina coladas. They were strong and since the hollow out the pineapples, you get a small fruit snack. We switched to beers after the pina colada. Beers and soda (cans) were a buck and pina coladas were $7. The day was warm and humid, it is Panama after all, but the water was amazingly cool and clear. I could see my toes. Since we had the Day Pass, we were met at the beach by another guide with a gator style ATV which took us to the restaurant for lunch. While it wouldn't have been a far walk, it was a nice touch to ride across the small beach town. The people at Casa Taboga Restaurante were friendly and the place was clean. It doesn't overlook the beach, but the food was really good and I'd highly recommend it. After lunch the little church was open and is worth the few minutes it takes to walk through. We were pretty exhausted at that point and came back on the 2:30pm ferry. All told, it was a great Sunday. Taboga isn't a beach resort with pristine beaches. But if you want a day away from the canal and rainforest while in Panama, this is the place.

3billyhockey 5:00 PM Jan 6, 2020

Not much to do
The island presumably appeals to those who like to spend time on beaches. For those not interested in sitting, for hours, at a beach, then there is - regrettably - not much else to do on Taboga. We spent a couple of hours hiking up to the top of the island, which was enjoyable (we had a tarantula cross our path, as well as a different types of lizards and frogs). However, we found that there was little else to keep us occupied or to divert us after the hike. There are, for example, just a few shops and restaurants (in which we were, incidentally, unable to find satisfactory vegan food) on Taboga. For those who like beer, it was being sold on patios for $1 or less. Public bathrooms also cost about $1 per visit. We had taken the Barcos Calypso ferry on a weekday to the island, which leaves Panama City at 8:30 a.m. and does not return until 4:30 p.m.; the schedule left us feeling trapped on the island for half the day, waiting for the ferry to take us back to Panama City. If we were to go back, then we would visit the island on the weekend, which offers more frequent ferry service and does not compel visitors to stay the whole day on the island.