Day Trip · Bastimentos Marine Park
Zapatilla Cays: The Complete Day-Trip Guide
Updated julho de 2026
Zapatilla CaysOpenStreetMap →
Two tiny, uninhabited islands on the outer edge of the Bastimentos marine park, ringed with white sand and living reef — the Zapatilla Cays are the single best day trip in Bocas del Toro, and it isn't close.
Here's everything we tell our guests before they go: how the boats work, what it costs, where to snorkel, and the one trail you shouldn't skip.
1.Why the Zapatillas are worth a full day
Plenty of Caribbean islands claim the desert-island look; the Zapatillas actually have it. No hotels, no bars, no docks to speak of — just two green dots of palm forest dropped on a sandbank, with water so clear the boats look like they're floating on air.
Because they sit inside the national marine park, the reef around them is protected and the beaches stay clean. Turtles nest here between April and September.
2.How do you get to the Zapatilla Cays?
The Zapatilla Cays are about 45 minutes by boat from Bocas Town, and nearly everyone visits on a day tour. Boats leave the main dock around 9:30am and have you back by late afternoon; expect $30–40 per person plus the marine park entrance fee of about $10 in cash. Most tours bundle in a snorkel stop and a pass through Dolphin Bay.
The ride out crosses open water and can get bouncy — if seas are rough, tours reroute or cancel. September and October usually bring the calmest, clearest conditions of the year.
3.The beaches
Boats land on the leeward side, where the water is bath-warm and barely knee-deep over ribbed white sand. Walk five minutes in either direction and you'll likely have a stretch entirely to yourself — driftwood, leaning palms, and that impossible gradient from clear to turquoise to deep blue.
4.Snorkeling the reef
The reef shelf on the windward side drops away in coral terraces — expect parrotfish, angelfish, rays, and the occasional nurse shark dozing under a ledge. Most tours also stop at a separate reef on the way where the coral is shallower and the fish thicker.
Bring your own mask if you're picky about fit; rental gear on the boats is hit-and-miss.
5.Walk the island loop
A sandy loop trail circles the larger Zapatilla cay in about 30 minutes, running through palm forest and out along the wild windward shore, where the surf piles driftwood on the coral rock. It's the best photography on the island and usually completely empty — most visitors never leave the landing beach, their loss.
6.What should you bring to the Zapatilla Cays?
Bring reef-safe sunscreen, plenty of water, cash for the park fee (about $10) and something to shade your head at midday — there are no shops, no shade structures and no fresh water on the cays. Tours usually include a simple lunch, but confirm when you book.
Leave the drone at home unless you've arranged a permit — it's a protected park — and pack out everything you bring in.
Go on a calm day, take the loop trail, and the Zapatillas will be the day you talk about long after you're home.
The Stay in Bocas Team
We live and host in Bocas del Toro year-round, running four small properties across the archipelago. Every guide is written from our own boat rides, beach days and guest questions.
