Jaco was not what we expected at all. For some reason we had anticipated something akin to Benidorm in Spain. Instead we found it much more closely aligned to Patong in Phuket, Thailand, but with vastly inflated prices! We didn't really like the place, to be honest, but we made the most of a bad job as we always do. From our luxury accommodation in Montezuma we were in a true backpackers' hostel and my feedback and criticism of their attitude (the guy on reception when we had a problem didn't speak English and got very grumpy when he found out we could do it all in Spanish!) and lack of hot water (despite the electrical contraption being in the room it is, apparently, not included in the price!) did not go down well. Enough of ... read more

The bus dropped us off more or less right outside our first night's accommodation, url=https://www.booking.com/hotel/cr/boyeros.html?aid=1769628&sid=33ed6a6cedba792971fa750dfa22d234&sb=1&src=hotel&src_elem=sb&error_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fcr%2Fboyeros.en-gb.html%3Faid%3D1769628%26sid%3D33ed6a6cedba792971fa750dfa22d234%26atlas_src%3Dsr_iw_btn%3Bcheckin%3D2023-02-14%3Bcheckout%3D2023-02-15%3Bdest_id%3D-1107872%3Bdest_type%3Dcity%3Bdist%3D0%3Bgroup_adults%3D2%3Bgroup_children%3D0%3Bno_rooms%3D1%3Broom1%3DA%252CA%3Bsb_price_type%3Dtotal%3Btype%3Dtotal%3Bucfs%3D1%26%26&highlighted_hotels=1368324&hp_sbox=1&origin=hp&hp_avform=1&do_availability_check=on&checkin_year=2023&checkin_month=3&checkin_monthday=22&checkout_year=2023&checkout_month=3&checkout_monthday=23&group_adults=2&group_children=0&no_rooms=1&b_h4u_keep_filters=&from_sf=1#availability_targetHotel Boyeros.... read more

La Fortuna was billed as this big backpackers hang-out at the foot of a massive volcano. There's no doubting the first part of that statement, but what volcano? All we saw was low cloud and drizzle! It was good to sit in a bar drinking craft ale and playing Jenga, but there wasn't the party vibe we had expected. Food, drink and accommodation were generally way overpriced, but we did manage to find some value. We had big plans for our stay. A walk on a trail where we were more or less guaranteed to see sloths was definitely on our itinerary as was a trip to see a series of hanging bridges close to the volcano. Both bit the dust as the rain was relentless leaving us spending more or less a whole day in ... read more

Getting to the Bocas Islands from Boquete was simple, but it took about five hours. We all gathered at Hello Travel at 8am but it was a frustrating wait for departure as we finally left about 45 minutes later. The best part of four hours was spent on a minibus through spectacular mountain and forested landscapes. About three quarters of the way we stopped for a comfort break and grabbed some snacks, before the last hour of the journey to Almirante. It was chaotic at the port but soon enough we were all on a boat. It felt slightly overcrowded but not as bad as we had feared and it was about half an hour on the water over to Bocas Town on Isla Colón. Back on dry land it was a ten minute walk with ... read more

David is Panama's second city. That's really hard to believe when you approach on the bus and even harder to believe when you are actually there. Most people don't bother stopping and just change bus to get to Boquete. They are missing out on something very different when it comes to city breaks, although speaking Spanish really did make it a more enriching experience. On arrival we fended off the ticket touts trying to get us onto another bus and avoided all of the numerous taxis as it was only a 10-15 minute walk to our hotel. Ok, it was a bit of a hot and sticky walk, but in David the climate makes that in the capital seem fresh, so you have to get used to it. When we got to the url=https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en-gb.html?aid=1769628&sid=9a578de347668f45368f9dd1a856b6cd&sb=1&src=hotel&src_elem=sb&error_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fpa%2Ftryp-panama-centro.en... read more