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

San Jose, Costa Rica
Great choice
5+ bookings last month.
  • 10 to 11 hours (approx.)
  • Pickup offered
  • Mobile ticket

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.

Operating hours
.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

Cancellation Policy

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

Reviews

4.9
based on 7 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Exceptional Shuttle Service

Michael_B, May 2025
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

Je recommande +++

Belen_R, Apr 2026
Super bien organisé, on a était super bien accueilli et guidé toute la journée! Je recommande vivement ce prestataire!

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.

From $104.00

per person

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 44 days in advance.

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