Is Bocas del Toro in Panama OK to visit late July or will the weather be too rainy to enjoy beaches & parks?

Question

This is our first time to Panama. We will visit Soberania Park area near Pan. City, but wanted to see another part of the country as well. We are avid birders. Recommendations for other areas are welcome, interested in slightly cooler weather, hopefully not constant downpours.

Answer 1

Bocas is on the Rainy Side. It rains there almost everyday, even in the "Dry" season.  

The Smithsonian Institute has a research facility there and they give bird tours. I've put a link to their site below.

For closer to Panama City birding, take the road to Gamboa and ask to get off at Pipe Line Rd. A stroll down that dirt road through the forest holds the record for most bird sightings in one day, over 500!  You have to be very quiet and no talking or wearing bright colors. As you know, you see more the earlier you go.

You might want to go to the drop line tourist attraction on the road to Gamboa. I've not done it, but it should be good.

Also ask about the Smithsonian Institute Research Station at Barro Colorado Island, which is in the middle of Gatun Lake, the lake that was formed by damming of the Chagres River, when they built the canal. It is an amazing island. I've been there and walked the Pipeline Road too.

They have tours to that island . I've attached a link to their website.

You can call them and arrange a tour. Their pier is close to the Pipeline Road. One day a week, they share a lecture with anyone who wants to go. Its free. You can have dinner there and then listen to the lecture and take the ferry boat back to their pier.

You could spend a whole day in Soberana Park, and a day on the Pipeline Road and one day on the Colorado Island.  

You will be risking the usual afternoon showers, They only last for about an hour and then back to the usual partly sunny skies.

I've walked in Altos del Maria too. You will have to get permission and that might be difficult. But just to walk through the area will be an awesome day. It is very hilly and all up and down. Getting there and back will be difficult if you don't rent a car.

Answer 2

It will be rainy in Panama City... but it does‘nt rain for long periods... it rains, and then it stops, so, dont worry much about it.  I believe there are many sites for birdwatching, one is in El Valle de Antón, there is another in Chiriquí.

Try this site, these are serious people.

http://www.ecoventures-travel.com/Panama...

Answer 3

Unlike the Pacific side of Panama,  Bocas does not have any marked dry season-- although there is usually less rain in September and October (the rainiest months elsewhere in the country).   So July is just as good a time to visit Bocas as any other.  It will rain and it will  be hot, but that is how it always is in Bocas--you will normally have rainless periods during the day.