Getting Around in Boquete

Boquete, Panama, is a small town with big ambitions. We've only lived here since September 2022, and already we can see changes big and small happening all around us.

Old-timers fondly recall the slower pace of life in what was once rural Boquete, when caballeros rode into town on horseback. And while you can still see horses on side streets, and pull up and park at the front door of most stores in town, the main avenue through Boquete is often jammed with cars.

Horses on the side streets of Boquete

Boquete doesn't have traffic lights, and only a few stop signs that are largely taken as a suggestion. Taxis will stop in the street to pick up passengers, and cars are parked anywhere they can more or less fit.

Buses are the primary mode of transportation in the area: they're cheap, go everywhere, and will pick up and drop off anywhere along their routes. Big coaches and repurposed school buses run continuously from Boquete to the city of David, while 10-seater vans known as "coasters" connect neighborhoods and towns across the region.

Speeding buses and taxis, narrow streets, deep gutters, and pedestrians and animals walking into traffic are all common in downtown Boquete. Still, the expectation is that drivers wait, let others in, and pull around when necessary. Honking is more informative than angry.

There is a police presence in Boquete, primarily along the main highway that runs for roughly 40 km from Boquete to David, the second-largest city in Panama. There is a permanent police checkpoint on the highway about 10 km before you reach Boquete.

Speeds on the highway range from 40 km/h to 80 km/h without much notice or signage, and keeping up with traffic earned us our first speeding ticket in Panama this year. It was a pretty perfunctory stop though and tickets are recorded electronically, so easy to pay online later.

Rainbow over Boquete

The town of Boquete lies in a valley flanked by neighborhoods perched on the surrounding mountainsides, notably Jaramillo and Volcancito. When we first arrived and were searching for a rental property, we spent time exploring these and other high-altitude areas, and were glad to have our four wheel drive Toyota.

Most of the neighborhoods in the mountains surrounding Boquete are only accessible by narrow, winding, and sometimes gravel roads. More than once I had to grab the seat after looking over the edge of a road with no guardrails that plunged precipitously down the mountainside.

Bottom line, getting around this growing region requires a lot of patience and goodwill, as road rage will get you nowhere. Some drivers are fast and some are slow. We just shrug and remember, This Is Panama (TIP).

Moving to Boquete

Our second year of living in Panama began almost the same way as our first: showing up with packed bags and nowhere to live. Luckily we had picked one of the most popular tourist destinations in Panama as our next home, full of hotels and short-term rentals at least.

The valley town of Boquete is located in the mountainous Chiriquí region of western Panama, close to the border of Costa Rica. The town sits at an elevation of about 1070 m (or 3510 ft) above sea level, making it much cooler than the country's coasts and lowlands.

Before leaving the city, we rented for one week a small, three-bedroom house on the edge of town. We also hired Miguel Samaniego, a tour guide in Panama City, to load one of his passenger vans with our belongings accumulated over the past year, and to deliver them to our rental.

It's a roughly 6.5 hour drive (482 km or 300 miles) along the main Inter-American highway to get from Panama City to Boquete. It's a scenic drive though and one we've taken several times since moving, which includes going by the massive wind farm in Penonomé. 

Penonome Wind Farm

We had visited Boquete twice before while living in Panama City, and had read a lot about it. The town's temperate climate has long made it popular with retirees and expats, while hiking trails, whitewater rafting on the Caldera River, and zip-lining over the rainforest canopy has made it popular with tourists.

Those things also have increased costs and put housing in short supply.

Undaunted, we contacted a string of real estate agents about long-term rentals, posted inquiries on local listservs, and stopped by a happy hour in town to ask if anyone knew about places opening up. Days went by with agents telling us there just weren't properties to show us and that inventory was the lowest they'd seen in years.

Initially, we had envisioned renting a furnished, single-family home on the side of a mountain overlooking the town of Boquete, with lots of trees and a nice view of the sunrise. But with rentals in such short supply, we were forced to adjust our expectations.

Still, we knew what we had to have in an apartment: good internet, king-size bed, modern appliances, at least a decent view, and most important, an outdoor patio with a grill. Although our view of the bay in Panama City was spectacular, not being able to grill was traumatic.

Sunrise from the condo

Three weeks later, we settled on a second-story walk-up condo in a gated community called Boquete Country Club that met most of our checklist. Located in Alto Boquete, our neighborhood of mostly English-speaking expats is an easy 10-minute drive into town along relatively smooth, paved and lit roads, which are not at all a given in this region of Panama.

And while we initially wanted to be closer to town, the slightly longer distance means it's quieter and we can avoid festival traffic.