Top Bocas del Toro Helicopter Tours: See Panama From Above
Bocas del Toro, with its striking turquoise waters, stretches of green rainforest, and a scattering of islands, is really just a treat for the eyes. Now, taking in this scenery from the ground is certainly a blast, yet lifting off into the sky grants you, like your own, unique perspective that photos barely even touch. Think about soaring over secluded beaches, keeping an eye on hidden surf spots, and getting an expansive feel for the place; it’s pretty great. If you’re checking out a trip to Bocas del Toro, you actually should put a helicopter tour at the very top of your activity wish list. After loads of study and keeping our eyes on what’s hot, we’ve assembled, basically, a list of the top five helicopter tours in the area, and each promises, almost, something that is special.
1. Bocas Dream Scapes Helicopter Tour
The “Bocas Dream Scapes” Helicopter Tour does, maybe, what it sounds like it would do: It gives you a sweeping panorama of Bocas del Toro’s best features. Is that okay? The experience starts when you meet up at the main hangar. The people you will be flying with start by telling you a bit about safety, and after this, they set you up in a slick, well-maintained helicopter. Is that not good? Because as you go straight up, get prepared, very, to lay your eyes on the place from a brand-new angle.
Picture yourself floating above Isla Colón, where you can observe, in a way, the bustle of Bocas Town below, then coasting onward over to the Zapatillas Cays. That tropical area, protected with real care, really just shows off white beaches set next to green plants, and it also includes crystal-clear seas perfect for a picture. That part where you swing past Bluff Beach is cool because you may even be able to make out sea turtles moving through the surf underneath! The “Bocas Dream Scapes” tour is very, very thorough, running a full hour, providing guests with ample time to capture a million memorable pictures and to absorb the unmatched wonder, clearly, of Panama’s breathtaking Caribbean coast. This trip is perfect if you want a solid intro, sort of, to all the scenery hotspots found in the Bocas del Toro chain of islands. Read our full review: Bocas del Toro Helicopter Tour Full Review and Details
See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Bocas Dream Scapes)
2. Island Hopper Aerial Adventure
Consider taking the “Island Hopper Aerial Adventure” if the goal you have is to thoroughly get to know the island vibe in the area. So, this choice lasts, kind of, around 45 minutes, and this covers several smaller, more remote islands near the core islands in Bocas. A highlight includes coasting past Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park, which is often overlooked from ground level. While overhead, you’ll witness thick mangrove forests teeming with wildlife alongside secret cove spots where the lucky few sail quietly far from busy crowds. Yet if conditions are on your side, keep an eye out—you may spot dolphins playfully, yet swiftly, cutting through the clear seas below.
The ride switches when you shoot above Carenero Island to witness quiet villages dotting its shoreline ahead of wheeling over vibrant coral reefs as your helicopter turns back inland towards Bocas. This trip emphasizes, almost, just how many quiet paradises populate the Bocas archipelago other than Isla Colón, giving it great appeal to vacationers really wanting to see hidden spots and get an sense, basically, of the untamed wildness of Panama’s islands. That also highlights areas where you may grab a cheap beach hut rental on the mainland. Read our full review: Island Hopper Aerial Adventure Full Review and Details
See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Island Hopper Adventure)
3. Caribbean Coastline Explorer Tour
Are you all about the coastline? Then consider the “Caribbean Coastline Explorer” Helicopter Tour. But instead of only floating above islands, it takes you out alongside the mainland’s jungle fringes of the coast south of Bocas Town. As you float low, so that, the area opens with seemingly unending lines of crushing surf hitting volcanic rock and pure beaches that meet green jungles loaded with a lot of wildlife. The way this all looks from the chopper? Incredible.
This particular flight takes roughly, actually, 50 minutes and commonly steers down past San San Pond Sak wetlands to follow that area before making wide, sweeping curves inland over valleys to exhibit plantations where people farm bananas and cacao farms far removed from modern hustle, in some respects. Plus, on occasions where clouds allow it, people may steal glimpses farther into mountains found deep inland. The point here? To experience wild variety across terrain alongside tropical islands in Panama and to connect a bit, basically, with landscapes reaching farther beyond pure beaches. Read our full review: Caribbean Coastline Explorer Tour Full Review and Details
See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Coastline Explorer)
4. Hidden Beaches & Remote Islands Expedition
Let’s suppose that the kind of place you imagine, potentially, when vacationing suggests seclusion most of all. In that case, it’s really hard to compete with “Hidden Beaches and Remote Islands Expedition,” a longer option intended for showing the seriously far away escapes in the archipelago near Bocas. It goes beyond the basic islands covered by some quicker packages for almost 75 minutes, which provides chances to carefully observe the practically uncharted spots scattering the outermost reaches here. One highlight involves buzzing over deserted sand bars barely breaking the sea alongside seeing some rare tourists lounging along shorelines in complete calm and peace.
Basically, if requested ahead of time, it’s even doable to try landing shortly onto an unblemished slice of sandy paradise to stretch out a little or snag particularly choice photos before hopping on. The feel this option has does wonders showing just how many corners, perhaps, continue staying untouched by development around Panama’s Bocas del Toro region. Read our full review: Hidden Beaches & Remote Islands Expedition Full Review and Details
See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Hidden Beaches Expedition)
5. Ultimate Bocas Grand Tour
The “Ultimate Bocas Grand Tour” makes its name, perhaps, in the grandest fashion it could possibly achieve—essentially becoming, almost, the supreme survey tour that genuinely tries encompassing all aspects that the islands here could possibly provide anyone hoping for wide immersion. This comprehensive tour takes people on virtually 90 minutes worth of complete investigation, stringing between mangrove mazes over Cristobal Island along volcanic cliffs lining Panama’s northernmost tips before shifting completely over towards calmer waters on Bocas’ west edges. People on it commonly get treated by possible dolphin swims and chances for catching looks at whales breaching offshore far away. But also, this thing can involve the odd custom diversion after talking with the pilot pertaining areas linked toward particularly unique traveler needs or passions. Do you have any?
Basically, it goes further than most alternatives and operates more along personalized adventure models, rendering higher costs, naturally, for the trade-off due showing travelers anything they potentially might be eager about when initially considering scenic helicopter escapes close near this appealing stretch spanning Panama. In a way, it’s intended mainly as the singular “check it all off” memory builder. Read our full review: Ultimate Bocas Grand Tour Full Review and Details
See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Grand Bocas Tour)
