The Perfect 1 Week Itinerary for Boquete, Panama
by Rebecca Hollman
updated April 15, 2019
Boquete, Panama
Boquete is one of the most beautiful areas of Panama, known for its lush jungles, waterfalls, coffee farms and hiking trails. Some of the most accessible trails are the Lost Waterfalls trail, the Pipeline trail, and the Quetzales trail. Boquete is a small mountain town located in Panama’s green mountain highlands. Because of it’s high elevation, Boquete is drastically cooler than the rest of Panama. It is located on the Caldera River and is typically lush, vibrant green, and usually wet.
Boquete Itinerary Overview
Day 1: Lost Waterfalls and Pipeline trails
Day 2: Coffee tour and Volcán Barú hike
Day 3: Honey tour and Caldera hot springs
Day 4: Macho de Monte and Cascada del Trueno tour
Day 5: El Pianista and Piedra de Lino trails
Day 6: Los Quetzales trail to Cerro Punta
Day 7: Cerro Punta and trail back to Boquete
Alternative Day 7: Cangilones de Gualaca slot canyon
Day 1: Lost Waterfalls & Pipeline Trails
Start your day bright and early by grabbing breakfast and coffee at Boquete Sandwich Shop before heading out to Los Naranjos. Either pack a lunch or have the sandwich shop make you a takeaway bag for lunch.
Either take the colectivo from town or drive to the trailhead of the Lost Waterfalls trail in Los Naranjos. Start off on the Lost Waterfalls Trail after paying the $7 USD entrance fee. The trail takes between 2-4 hours in total depending on how much time you spend at each waterfall. Make sure to bring your bathing suit if you want to get in the water at the second or third waterfall, but be prepared because the water is very cold!
After heading back to the trailhead, stop at some point to have snack or eat your packed lunch. From there, head to the Pipeline trailhead only 5 or so minutes down the road.
After paying your $3 USD entrance fee, head out on the Pipeline Trail in search of a resplendent quetzal. The trail will take around 2 hours in total giving you time to stop at the waterfall, the 1,000 year old tree, and also to try your hand at birding. Head back before it gets too dark, and make your way back to Boquete
Finish off your day with a carbo load meal of pizza and pasta at RetroGusto. Make sure to try the sage cream gnocchi or the pumpkin risotto.
Learn more about the Lost Waterfalls Trail here
Learn more about the Pipeline Trail here
Day 2: Coffee Tour & Volcán Barú Summit
After a full day of hiking the day before, start your second day a little slower. The coffee tour starts at 9:30 AM, so maybe grab a quick breakfast before going. Finca Dos Jefes will pick you up in town and bring you to the farm from your hotel. The tour lasts for around 3 hours and shows you around the farm, gives you a demonstration of how coffee is dried, roasted and brewed, and then lets you sample different roasts of their coffee.
After getting your caffeine fix, head back for lunch at Sugar & Spice. They have a full lunch menu and also freshly cooked breads and pastries everyday. Make sure to try the stuffed churro donut. After eating, maybe spend an hour or so walking around the town of Boquete. You can go to the Boquete flower fair for free and get some instagrammable photos of you in front of some beautiful flower fields.
After the afternoon, I would suggest going back to your hostel and taking a nap to recharge for the volcano hike you will be doing that evening. You should start the hike around 11 or 11:30 PM and you really want to make sure you get at least a couple of hours of sleep beforehand. Also make sure you pack everything you will need for the hike beforehand.
After getting up from your nap, drive to the Volcán Barú trailhead and start the 6 hour hike up to the top of the volcano. Make sure to take off your layers of clothing if they get wet. Try to time it so you will arrive to the top between 6-6:15 AM.
After watching the sunrise, spend some time at the top enjoying the views and even going all the way to the secondary summit. After you’ve had enough time at the top, head the 6 hours back down the trail.
Once you get back in town, take a nap before technically “waking up” to start your day 3.
Learn more about the Finca dos Jefes coffee tour here
Learn more about the Volcan Baru summit here
Day 3: Honey Tour & Caldera Hot Springs
Depending on how your feeling after your volcano hike, you can either grab breakfast as soon as you get back in town from your hike and then nap or you could nap first and get up later for a late lunch.
Start the first activity of your day around noon for the Boquete Bees honey tour (make sure to arrange your tour at least a day in advance). You will spend the tour walking around the bee hives and farm, learning how honey is harvested, trying different samples of honey, and tasting honey wines and liquors. They also let you walk around the butterfly house to enjoy the blue morpho butterflies. The farm also has a café, a gift shop, and offers yoga classes everyday in the butterfly house.
Once the tour ends at 3, head out to the hot springs of Caldera to soak your sore legs. The hot springs are about a 40 minute drive from Boquete so you really to head there as soon as the tour ends to be able to enjoy as much time as you can before the sunset. After watching the sun start to set in the pools, head back to Boquete before it gets too dark.
Spoil yourself with a delicious meal at Colibri - one of the best restaurants in all of Panama. Try the beet and goat cheese risotto.
Head in for a long due night of sleep after hiking Volcán Barú the night before.
Learn more about the Boquete Bees Honey farm tour here.
Learn more about the Caldera Hot Springs here.
Day 4: Macho de Monte & Cascada del Trueno
Start off day 4 by having a quick breakfast at your hotel/hostel before heading out on your waterfall tour for the day. Your guide or tour will start by taking you to Macho de Monte, a deep canyon formed by the activity of the volcano. There is also a waterfall here and the baby blue water is perfect for going for a swim. After enjoying Macho de Monte and eating a packed lunch, you will head to Cascada del Trueno, a large waterfall only 15 minutes away. Spend a couple hours walking to and enjoying this waterfall before heading back to Boquete.
Once back in Boquete, head to Tre Scalini for a big Italian dinner full of antipasta, pasta, pizza and wine.
DISCLAIMER: There are a few tours that go to both locations in the same full day tour (Arma Tu Trip Panama) and other tours that do one or the other. You can also do both activities on your own if you have your own car and get detailed directions from someone in Boquete. Ask your hotel or hostel if they have suggestions on tours or personal guides to take you.
Learn more about Macho de Monte and Cascada del Trueno here.
Day 5: El Pianista & Piedra de Lino Trails
Grab an early morning breakfast at the best breakfast place in town, Sugar & Spice. You may have already been here for lunch, but head back again to check out their coffee and breakfast. Make sure to bring a packed lunch and snacks with you for the day.
From there, drive your car or take a colectivo to “Il Pianista Restaurante.” The trailhead for El Pianista is the gravel road directly to the left of the restaurant. Follow this trail up and up until you reach the lookout point over Boquete. The trail takes about 3-4 hours in total.
After coming back down, eat your packed lunch/snacks and head to the Piedra de Lino trailhead (either walking or driving). To walk would take about 15-20 minutes. Start up on the second trail of the day. This trail is short but steep and takes you to another lookout point of the surrounding area. This trail takes about 1-2 hours in total. Head back down the trail and drive back to town or hail a colectivo to take you back to town.
Finish your day up by getting stuffed on delicious pizza at APIZZA.
Learn more about the Piedra de Lino trail here.
Learn more about El Pianista trail here.
Day 6: Los Quetzales Trail
Depending on how you want your day 7 to go, day 6 will either require a decent amount of planning or not. If you want to spend the entire day hiking on the Quetzales trail to the town of Cerro Punta, on the other side of the volcano, and then spend the night in Cerro Punta then you will need to arrange accommodation and also make sure you have a pack to bring food/clothes/water with you on the hike. If you want to just spend the day on the trail, go half way and then come back to Boquete, you won’t need to worry about changing accommodation and bringing your items with you.
Start your day with a quick empanada breakfast and coffee at Kotowa Café before heading out on the Quetzales trail. If you are going to spend the night in Cerro Punta, bring a packed lunch/snacks/water/toiletries/a change of clothes with you. If not, I would still suggest bring a packed lunch or snacks on the trail. If you come back to Boquete, turn around at Mirador Las Rocas and head back to town. The trail should take you 5-6 hours in total, regardless of if you go to Cerro Punta or turn around.
If you come back to Boquete, finish your day off with dinner in the cozy restaurant of Mar de Grau. If you start the trail very early, you might be able to get back to Boquete in time to take a rock climbing class on the basalt climbing walls before the sun sets.
Learn more about the Quetzales trail here.
Day 7: Los Quetzales Back to Boquete (or Cangilones de Gualaca)
If you spent day 6 walking all the way to Cerro Punta, then day 7 will be walking back along the trail to Boquete. Get up for a nice breakfast in Cerro Punta before heading back on the trail for the 5-6 hour walk.
If you spent day 6 going to the halfway point and coming back to Boquete, then day 7 will be an adventure day to the Cangilones de Gualaca. This is a slot canyon located about 40 minutes away from Boquete that has a pool areas of the river to the north and south of the main slot canyon. You can just chill and wade in the river pools or you can swim through the canyon. The best part of the area is the cliff jumping from the edge of the canyon and also the possibility to rock climb out of the sides of the canyon to the top. If you mess up, you just fall back into the water. There are different areas along the canyon side with different difficulties.
Head back to Boquete for one last night in town. Grab dinner at the world famous Panamonte Hotel before heading back to your accommodation to pack and get ready to head out the next day.