Surfing in Bocas Del Toro

Bocas del Toro is quickly becoming one of the most popular surf locations in Panama with a collection of great surf spots to be found in uncrowded locations around the archipelago.

With numerous locations to find surf on all of the islands, you will be spoilt for choice. Surfing is a nearly all year round experience on the islands with the best and most consistent waves occurring from November through April. 

Cold fronts make June and July worth considering and while August is considered to be much smaller, the hurricanes can cause some swells that make for interesting conditions. December to February are the best months with wave heights ranging from three to six feet, but can get up to 15 feet on a good day. 

The most common surf spots are reef breaks, but a couple of beach breaks can be found with just a few rights and mostly lefts to be found around the islands.  

Surfing Bastimentos

Many of the surf breaks are a boat ride away which is easily organized and arranged.  With Silverbacks being the most challenging break of the ten or so on offer around the island, you will find something to suit both natural and goofies from beginner to advanced.  Wizard beach and First Beach are well worth considering as they offer both lefts and rights.  

Surfing Bluff

There are essentially three surf spots along the stretch of beach leading to Bluff Beach including Bluff itself, Dumpers, La Curba and Paunch. Bluff beach is a great beach break which is reached either by water taxi or by car and is almost always deserted while La Curba is ideal for those wanting the waves to themselves. 

This short beach break only shows itself over three feet. Dumpers offers left hander reef bottom that is best for those with a little experience under their belts.  The wave itself can be very short with a powerful tube and steep drop offs.  While the spot is one of the most popular due to its location but seldom gets more than five or six surfers. 

Don´t leave your booties at home as you´ll want them and need them. Paunch is left break with a reef bottom but is not as gnarly as Dumpers, but don´t let your guard down, it can be a wild ride.  For intermediate surfers, this is the ideal spot with a great tube section and a couple of spots that you can take off from.  

Surfing Carenero

Carenero is a fantastic surf spot with a left hand reef bottom point break that runs for around 100 yards and has a penchant for perfect barrels.