Bocas del Toro Surfing - Surfing Capital of the Southwest Caribbean

Bocas del Toro surfing

Bocas del Toro is the surfing capital of the southwest Caribbean. Strong seasonal winds and cold fronts are the reason for powerful temporary swells in the Caribbean. The aqua green colored water and clarity of the ocean is just incredible, and the abundant jungle backdrop and concentrated Panamanian sun provides a phenomenal setting for your surfing experience. The most remarkable and unfailing swell season is December-February. Wave heights average 3-6 feet during this season, but can get up to 8-15 feet on the biggest swells. However, it can also go dead flat for days at ANY time of the year even in peak season.

There are no assurances. March and April can also be good times to surf, with 30-40% consistency. The most ordinary waves are reef breaks, but there are also some beach breaks. The waves here are tubing, shallow and have punishments. There are few rights but the lefts are widely ranged. Bocas del Toro's waves normally favor short boarding and body boarding, and the surf tours at Rancho Paraiso are geared for the intermediate and expert level surfers seeking steep drops and barrels.
December until April is the surf season in Bocas.

The weather on Bocas is unpredictable. Storms are usual, as is dense cloud cover, but so are spurts of sun and beautiful calm weather. The most frequent wind direction is N, varying from NW to N to NE. This wind is OK at many of the breaks in Bocas that have a more easterly or southerly position. The reliability of the surf is also irregular and difficult to predict even by most swell models because the swells come up abruptly and without much warning, and go down just as suddenly. The surf can be one foot or ten feet and there is no logic to it. Unlike the Pacific where one is dealing with ground swells generated by distant ocean storms in the Pacific, surf forecasting is not as precise or dependable inside the Caribbean, the swells can come up rather quick and unexpectedly, you really just have to be in Bocas and be on it. Give yourself at least 7-10 days so you have a good mathematical probability of scoring a few good swells, with a 3-5 day trip you're really just rolling the dice.

Surfing, Bocas del Toro, Panama

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