Playa Bluff - Bocas del Toro, Panama

by Rebecca Hollman
updated March 13, 2019

Playa Bluff - Bocas del Toro, Panama

Playa Bluff is the biggest beach on Colón and probably the most accessible. The beach itself is over 5 miles in length and it feels like you could keep walking on it forever. Bluff has easily the best sand because of its big beach area to lay on and because of the vibrant orange color of the sand. The contrast of the green palm trees right along the edge, the orange of the sand, and the bright blue of the water really is something to see. However, Playa Bluff is NOT a swimming beach. The waves crash in only 3 feet of water - so extremely close to the shore. These waves are heavy and powerful and the buffer zone is generally right where people get in to just wade around or play in the water. The rip tides and currents here are also very aggressive and so it is easy to get swept out to sea. A handful of tourists drown here each year. If you want to go to a beach to swim, either go to Starfish Beach or Sand Dollar Beach. Playa Bluff and Paunch are not swimming beaches. However, Bluff is a great beach to lay out on and spend the day in the sun or walking up and down the long stretch of coast.

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Bluff can also be a surf spot depending on the swell. If you are a good surfer and the swell is smaller, then you could go for a surf at Bluff. However, Bluff is known as a board breaker since the waves are crashing pretty much directly onto the sand of the sea floor. I would only surf at Bluff is you are at least an intermediate level surfer. When the swell gets bigger, only advanced surfers that are thirsty for barrels will surf there.

Getting There

To get to Bluff, you can take a colectivo from the park at the center of town. There are small 20 person white vans labeled Playa Bluff across the windshield that will take you to Bluff for $1.50 each way. You can also bike to Bluff if you have a rental bike. It would probably take 45 minutes to an hour to bike from town. Taking a taxi is another option but it would probably be $6-8 one way per person. You can also stay at a hotel on Playa Bluff and I would honestly recommend this, since it is much more calmer and beautiful up this way. I strongly advise against staying in Bocas Town. If you want to stay on Colón, then look into hotels or guesthouses close to Paunch or Bluff. If you are staying at a hotel nearby, you can just walk to the beach everyday.