Panama
In numbers
250km²
Area
33m
Highest point
29°C
Warmest sea
September
11km
To the mainland
When to go to Bocas del Toro Archipelago
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in September (29 °C) and coolest in January (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Group of islands in the northwest of the Caribbean Sea in Panama
Bocas del Toro Archipelago is an island in Panama. It covers 250 km². Its highest point rises to 33 m. The nearest mainland is 11 km away.
Getting there
- Bocas del Toro "Isla Colón" International Airport (BOC)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at DAV airport (David)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesAlmirante - Bocas del Toro, Palanga Car Ferry Route
- 11 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Bocas del Toro Archipelago.
- 1marinasBocas Marina
- 1named peaksBT-21
- 2restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 7 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 |
| Night low (°C) | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 |
| Sea (°C) | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 124 | 67 | 82 | 132 | 294 | 278 | 320 | 269 | 245 | 316 | 361 | 197 |
| Wet days | 13 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 21 |
| Sun h/day | 4.8 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.3 |
| Wind (km/h) | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.1 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | −0.4 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +1.4 |
| 2024 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.0 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Costa Rica
Colombia
Nicaragua
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q2632038) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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