Shuttle Service from San José, Costa Rica to Bocas del Toro, Panamá.

Recommended by 90% of travelers

San Jose, Costa Rica

10 to 11 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket

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Overview

Travel safely and stress-free from San Jose Costa Rica to Bocas del Tora, Panama, with this shared transfer service. Easily meet your driver at the departure point in San Jose, then get settled in for your direct ride to Bocas del Toro. You won’t have to worry about directions, navigating the streets, or the language barrier. Just relax and use the provided Wi-Fi on the way to your Bocas del Toro accommodation.

Choose from a few pickup points in San Jose to keep things simple
Enjoy the ride from your courteous, safe, and friendly driver
No need to haggle for taxis or negotiate the fare on the spot
Ride comfortably in your new, clean van to Bocas del Toro

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle
WiFi on board
Lunch

Snacks
Lunch
Bottled water

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Please let us know your Pick up hotel name at the time you make your reservation in order for it to be confirmed. We do not pick up directly at the airport. For airport pickups you will need to take a short taxi ride to the near by Denny's restaurant.

Drop-off point

Bocas del Toro, Bocas del Toro Province, Panama
Caribe Shuttle will pick you up at your hotel in San Jose or Denny's near the airport then head to Puerto Viejo where you will have lunch at Banana Azul Restaurant. From here we head to Bocas del Toro, a guide will help you cross the border checking into Panamá. Our shuttle in Panamá will take you to Almirante, where you will then board a boat to Bocas del Toro. You will be dropped off at the Caribe Shuttle Dock next to the Bocas Town Hotel. Itinerary: 5:30 am to 6:00 am: Airport pick up (Denny's Restaurant) *(see important notes) 6:00 am to 6:30 am: San José city hotel pick ups. 6:30 am to 11:00 am: Travel to Puerto Viejo 11:00 am to 12:30 pm: Lunch at Banana Azul 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm: Travel to the border 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm: Border crossing (Costa Rica time) 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm: Travel to Almirante (Panama time-1 hour forward) 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm: Boat to Bocas Town IMPORTANT NOTES: There is an $9 tax to exit Costa Rica and $8.00 to enter Panama. This fee is not included in the ticket price. Please have your passport, with no less than 6 months to expire and printed flight itinerary with you for immigration officials. Panama is only accepting flight itineraries for entry into Panama. (No bus tickets) Your flight can be from anywhere in Central America back to your home country. * For airport pick ups, it is necessary for you to take a taxi to the nearby Denny's restaurant where our shuttle will be waiting for you at 5:30 AM. Pick-up time is an estimate and may vary by 15 minutes either direction. Clients should be waiting at the assigned pick up point 15 minutes before the assigned pick-up time. The shuttle will wait for clients a maximum of 5 minutes. If after that waiting period the client is not on board, the shuttle will leave without the client.

Start time
.5:30 am

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Michael_B

From San Jose Costa Rica we shuttle to Bocas Del Toro Panama. We had to transfer to several different shuttles due to Panamanian protests that were going on at the time. The Shuttle company had it all figured out and had shuttles lined up to transfer to, to get around the protests. All the drivers were very professional and courteous and very helpful. Would definitely recommend this shuttle service

Reviews

4.7

based on 10 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

not bad, not as described

Batsheva_M, Jun 2026

The drivers were great, drove smoothly and were very nice. The vehicles were new and comfortable. no complaints. The issue is that the description of the shuttle service is inaccurate. One van drove from San Jose to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca for lunch. There we transferred to a second shuttle that drove to the border, Sixaola-Guabito International Bridge. At the border we disembarked, crossed the border by foot, as required, and boarded a third Shuttle. The last ride was from Guabito to Almirante where the ferry dock is to Bocas Del Toro. I was not expecting so many transfers along the way. to be honest this was not convenient for me especially with my large suitcase.

Exceptional Shuttle Service

Michael_B, May 2025

Highly recommended

NYNKE_E, Aug 2026

Our experience with Caribe Shuttle has been very good. The journey is a bit of an odyssey, but everything is very well managed and it saves you from having to look for transportation, crossing the border, and organizing the boat on your own. They picked us up in San Jose in a minibus for about 10 people. They arrived about 10 minutes late, so there is no need to stress thinking that they have forgotten about you. The first leg of the trip lasts about 4 hours. There is a stop for breakfast, but there is no need to eat much because later, at the Hotel Banana Azul, lunch is included from 11:00 to 12:00. They give you a chicken or vegetable wrap with coleslaw and plantain chips. The wrap has cilantro, lettuce, vegetables, and pico de gallo, so watch out if you don't like cilantro. Banana Azul is right on the beach and has a pool, so packing your swimsuit in your carry-on is a good idea. At 12:00 you take another minibus that takes between 45 minutes and 1 hour to the border. A guide from the agency waits for you there and accompanies you throughout the process, which is appreciated because the immigration offices are a bit hidden. You have to walk about 500 meters with your luggage crossing the border bridge, so if it rains, the suitcases can get wet. To leave Costa Rica we paid 8 dollars (online) and to enter Panama another 8 dollars in cash. If they have to give you change, they give it to you in local currency. In Panama, another minibus waits for you that takes about 45 minutes to Lanchas Valencia. They load the suitcases there, you put on your life jacket, and you take a 15-minute boat ride to Bocas Town. I had considered flying from San José, but it was quite a bit more expensive and the flights were not connected. Choosing Caribe Shuttle was a very good decision: comfortable, well-managed, and especially recommended to forget about all the logistics of a trip that, on your own, would be much more complicated.

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I recommend +++

Belen_R, Apr 2026

Super well organized, we were super welcome and guided all day! I highly recommend this provider!

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worth the transfer

Eduardo_B, Feb 2026

Positive points: The push and well organized and help at the time of migration being all easier Negative points: they say that it has Wifi, but was not informed until the time of the blue banana, also was pending to inform that the transfer of the boat was included, in the nomemnto understanding we already realized this information when arriving

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Die Fahrt war gut...

katharina_d, May 2024

Die Fahrt war gut organisiert und der Fahrer war pünktlich. Der Bus ist jedoch ziemlich eng. Am Grenzübergang waren immer Leute da, die geholfen haben. Was etwas nervig war, alle haben immer nach Trinkgeld gespäht. Was man verbessern könnte: Mittags wird ein Stopp bei einem Hotel gemacht. Dieses Hotel ist wahnsinnig schön und hat Pool- sowie Strand-Zugang. Wenn ich das im Vorhinein gewusst hätte, hätte ich meine Badeklamotten mit eingepackt, um die tolle Umgebung auch nutzen zu können. Alles in allem ist die Fahrt empfehlenswert.