A 10-minute water taxi from Bocas Town will bring you to Isla Bastimentos, home to some of the most spectacular beaches in the area. The rickety dock is on the mangrove side of the island. Visitors are required to pay $5 per person to use the path that ends at stunning Red Frog Beach. The fee is well worth the well-groomed path through a verdant jungle.
Red Frog Beach is perfect for swimming, hanging out at Caribbean-style bars, and enjoying miles of crystal-clear water and white sand.
To the south, Polo Beach is about a half-hour walk from Red Frog Beach. Just follow the water on your left and you can’t miss this idyllic snorkeling locale. Polo, the beach’s namesake, built a small hut here 55 years ago when he was 20 years old. Today, visitors find Polo at this same hut, grilling lobster, crab, fish, and coconut rice. Lobster and coconut rice costs $15, and Polo will tell you, “Eat until you full.” We call it “all you can eat lobster” in the U.S.
Surfers head to secluded Wizard Beach, typically accessed via a jungle path from the town of Old Bank.