What's the overall cost of living in Bocas Del Toro, Panama?

Your overall cost of living in Bocas del Toro Panama will vary widely depending on your lifestyle. Do you like to eat out every day or will you cook for yourself?  Will you eat simple and local foods, or do you like to buy imported items? You can rent a room and share a kitchen in a house for $150 per month or you can rent a fully furnished home for $2,000. The best way to figure out your overall cost would be to see how you live right now and how much your groceries cost you...

Your overall cost of living in Bocas del Toro Panama will vary widely depending on your lifestyle. Do you like to eat out every day or will you cook for yourself?  Will you eat simple and local foods, or do you like to buy imported items? You can rent a room and share a kitchen in a house for $150 per month or you can rent a fully furnished home for $2,000. The best way to figure out your overall cost would be to see how you live right now and how much your groceries cost you and get a sense of restaurant prices by looking on this web site for answers provided. Once you have an idea of where you would like to live, you can also peruse this site for ideas on costs, to either rent or buy. I know people who live here very very simply on less than $500 per month and others who need at least $4,000.
 

The overall cost of living in Bocas del Toro, Panama will vary to some degree depending on where and how you choose to live.

 

If you want to eat in the best waterfront restaurants every night and stay in an apartment with a seaview balcony, as in the picture to the right, which shows the main Bocas del Toro waterfront, then your living costs will be relatively high. You can choose to live a much more frugal lifestyle, and spend much less it cost of living terms.

The overall cost of living in Bocas del Toro, Panama will vary to some degree depending on where and how you choose to live.

 

If you want to eat in the best waterfront restaurants every night and stay in an apartment with a seaview balcony, as in the picture to the right, which shows the main Bocas del Toro waterfront, then your living costs will be relatively high. You can choose to live a much more frugal lifestyle, and spend much less it cost of living terms.

 

The four main factors in overall living cost anywhere are housing, food, transport and entertainment. Lets have a bit of a closer look at each individually.

 

Housing

 

This will be one of the biggest factors involved in your overall cost of living in Bocas del Toro. If you are renting then you can expect to pay anywhere between $300 to $2,000 plus per month, depending on size, location and facilities of your rental property. A small apartment out by the airport can be rented for around $300, but a luxurious waterfront condo will put you in a completely different price bracket.

 

If you buy, and own your property outright your costs will be significantly lower, of course, and you will only have repairs and maintenance to cover, along with the usual utility costs.

 

Another popular option for a shorter term is house-sitting. As people head back to visit friends and relatives in the States, Canada or wherever, they often want people to look after their property while they are away. This will bring your cost of living right down.

 

Food

 

If eating out, expect to pay around $3 to $4 for a decent meal in a local-style restaurant. In fancier places prices can head up towards the $20 range. Don't forget to factor in drinks too. A local beer will perhaps be $2 in a restaurant, shots and mixed drinks $3 plus.

 

Eat at home regularly and you will save much money. Groceries are on par with US prices. It is possible to buy goods in bulk cheaper in a big city such as David and have them shipped to Bocas del Toro. With Bocas del Toro being towards the end of the supply chain, and no big supermarkets here, prices are slightly higher here than most other places in Panama.

 

A case of beer for consumption at home is a bargain $10 for 24 bottles!
 

Transport

 

If you live in Bocas Town your transport costs will be minimal. A taxi anywhere within the main town area will cost you 60 cents. Rent a bicycle for a few dollars a day and ride anywhere you like. The bus to the far side of the island is about $5. A water taxi across to Isla Carenero is $1, and $3 to Isla Bastimentos. A fast speedboat water taxi to the mainland will only set you back $3 to $5 depending on which company you go with.

 

However, if you choose to live further out in the archipelago you'll need to factor in the costs of running a boat and putting fuel in it. Gasoline with oil mix currently runs at about $5 per gallon. Boats are not cheap to run!

 

Entertainment

 

Bocas del Toro is pretty cheap in entertainment terms. Cycle, swim, snorkel and wander the beaches - you won't be spending much. Rent a surfboard or go diving and your costs will be a bit higher. For example, a double-dive day out with one of the dive schools will cost about $60, all gear included.

 

Bocas del Toro, Panama really is a paradise, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how affordable it can be to live here.

I agree with everything Ian and JB said. Your cost of living in Bocas del Toro will vary according to your personal tastes. I know people living very comfortably on $1,000 a month including rent and folks who spend much more, eating out at fancy restaurants every night, buying expensive American brands instead of local, driving an SUV etc.

 

One thing I 'd like to add though is that prices are going up. A water taxi ride to Carenero that was 50 cents 10 years...

I agree with everything Ian and JB said. Your cost of living in Bocas del Toro will vary according to your personal tastes. I know people living very comfortably on $1,000 a month including rent and folks who spend much more, eating out at fancy restaurants every night, buying expensive American brands instead of local, driving an SUV etc.

 

One thing I 'd like to add though is that prices are going up. A water taxi ride to Carenero that was 50 cents 10 years ago is now $1.00.  Air Panama just raised their air fare round trip from Panama City to here from $235 to $250, Even some of the local restaurants are now more expensive than they used to be and the highest priced hotel ten year ago was $70. Now there is an all inclusive that starts at $400 a night. If you want to live in Bocas and own Real Estate, I would buy now. Prices are likely the lowest they will be, right now, with so much for sale.