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In the News from Panama

Bocas del Toros the ‘Next Coolest Place on Earth’

The rest of the world is starting to catch on to Panama’s less-known treasures. Forbes magazine recently put the spotlight on Bocas del Toros, with the headline, “I’ve Traveled To Six Continents And Bocas Del Toro, Panamá Is About To Become The Next Coolest Place On Earth. Here’s Why.”

Author Peter Lane Taylor makes a strong case that Panama’s Caribbean paradise is about to become the next hot destination in the region. It’s already attracting an “amazing mix of digital nomads, surfers, tech CEOs, and celebrities.”

He was clearly captivated by the beauty of the small islands and jungle-covered coastline. He described his first impression as the plane landed, “revealing a high-speed Hollywood movie trailer of pristine tropical islands, white crescent beaches, coral reefs, surf breaks, and clusters of over-the-water bungalows through the windows as we level out to land.”

While Taylor illustrated many of Bocas’ well-known attributes, he also made it clear that the area is changing quickly, ad there are opportunities for real estate buyers. New electricity hookups, an airport expansion, and upgrades to roads and infrastructure also signal that Bocas is ready for its moment in the spotlight.

“They’re also laying the foundation for a real estate and hospitality boom that now seems all but certain to come,” Taylor wrote.

Bocas is only a 45-minute flight from Panama City. “Traveling from western Europe, you can be sitting on an over-the-water bar stool here in under eight hours from Heathrow or Madrid,” Taylor wrote. “From most of the continental U.S., the trip takes five hours (three from Miami).”

Taylor also enjoyed the pleasures of Panama City and Casco Viejo, which he describes as “one of the hippest places to visit in the country and Central America,” with a “world-class culinary and bar scene, the country’s best nightlife, and some of Panamá’s most important historic buildings like the National Theatre and the Presidential Palace.”

But he reserves most of his attention for Bocas, and i ts “mind-boggling” array of natural wonders, which has “become one of the hottest new spots on the global hipster travel map.” But he also got a sense of the unique history of the region.

“There aren’t many deeply historic places left in the world where paradise has been left to its own devices to evolve, time stops for everyone, and the beaches are perfect. Bocas is one of the last of them,”