Palmar Beach Lodge

We had an amazing time at Palmar. The location steps away from the beach was perfect while also being in the middle of nature with the sounds of monkeys, red frogs and birds. They offered a variety of fun excursions you could reserve in advance and the food at the beach bar was amazing every single time. The staff were friendly and we found it to be pretty reasonable in costs. The beach during our stay was beautiful and perfect for swimming. This lodge offers a good vibe with a variety of guests. It had a bit of a vibe but also full of relaxation. Definitely not party hostel vibes but also not sleepy. They had activities each night like live music, beach BBQ, etc. The room we got was one of their nicer ones with AC. It was clean and spacious. I highly recommend the AC as it was really hot every day. Mosquitoes and bugs weren’t bad by the beach due to the breeze. I’d recommend this resort in a heartbeat.

We loved everything about Palmar. The front staff was amazing. We’ll remember Zulay’s warm smile and her genuine desire to help. Meals and drinks were delicious, the jungle and beach are in a sprawling, cozy and easily accessible setting. We travelled with the family, and there were plenty of activities for the kids to enjoy. The beach is superb and well cared for. Highly recommend.

Probably the best hotel I have ever been to with my wife. The location itself is fantastic and the hotel is amazing too. We stayed in a bungalow which had great amenities and a comfortable bed and good AC which is always most important to us. The bar/restaurant was great too. They had delicious food and drinks and the staff did an amazing job. We got to know some of them. Jimmy at the bar and Lucas and Eduard in service were doing great work and made this trip worth 5 stars. To top it of there were daily activities planned by Fiona. We got to mix cocktails, prepare S'mores at a bonfire and watch movies at night. It was nice to connect to people that way when you are in the mood to do so. Other nights we spend having a drink from the bar and watching the stunning night sky with all the stars. We can only recommend this hotel and hope to be back in the near future.

We stayed at the Palmar Beach Resort for 6 nights at the end of a three week Panamá adventure. Although the accommodations were basic/rustic, ( we stayed in a beach cabana) , they were also perfect, and fit the vibe of the place beautifully. What more could you need but a bed, bathroom and porch after all? The restaurant and beach were steps away, as was fresh coffee awaiting us every morning. The beach was the most beautiful we have ever seen and it was CLEAN, which is huge! The staff were warm, friendly, happy and genuine. I loved to see Yeslin’s beautiful smile every morning at the restaurant, and hear a welcoming hello from Fransisco from the front desk as I beelined to the coffee pot in the morning. The restaurant food and atmosphere was excellent. There was so much to do and see, but if you want to just chill, what a great place to do just that.

I heard great things about the shared accommodations as well, (from guests who were staying in them) and this is an incredible deal, so don’t let a tight budget get in the way. Go!

The A/C cabins are well maintained. The beds are good as well. The rooms are clean and the shower has good hot running water as well. Staff is very friendly and helpful. We can recommend the massages at the beach as well. We had a lovely stay.
The location couldn't be better, lovely beach. Especially for surfing. The only remark is that the location has a lot of beach flies, but that's not something thay can manage.

Truly amazing place! We stayed there 2 weeks, enjoying the calm of being away from crowded cities, literally in the middle of a rain forest full of cute little red frogs. The lodge is also a gateway to many excursions, very easy to reach Bocas when needed.
Last but not least the bar/restaurant is excellent and the staff extremely nice! Especially Eduardo and Sharon! 😊

The hostel itself is in such a beautiful spot right by the beach. Staff are amazingly friendly and helpful. Their volunteer Fiona did a great job of organizing activities like volleyball, movie nights or beach cleanups to help make it easier to meet new friends. Definitely recommend

Spent an extremely relaxing 10 days at this place with a couple friends. The food is great, the beach is clean and beautiful, the staff is fun and helpful. Bastimentos is a beautiful undeveloped jungle island. So beautiful. Hated leaving.

Yeslin is the best waiter I’ve ever had! Great service and fantastic attitude towards me and all my friends. I recommend to everyone who wants a great time with great service who is in the area. Yasmin is the best in all of Panama

Perfectionists should not go here, Purists should! This island is not yet polluted by mass tourism. (We were here in Feb 2024) The hotel offers you an authentic nature experience, you sleep surrounded by the noices of all jungle animals... (no real windows, just mosquito windows)
You go walking at sunrise, monkeys might be your only companions... Restaurant is good, staff super friendly.
If this is what you are looking for, do not wait too long!

We travelled for 3 weeks through Costa Rica and Panamá and Palmar was by far the best location we've ever been to.

We stayed for 6 nights in a bungalow at Palmar and had an incredibly good time there.
Our bungalow was very clean, comfortable and had a good and quiet AC. The bungalow was perfectly located between jungle and beach, thats why we were able to enjoy the nature and various animals around us. The beach was only 1 minute away and absolutely fantastic! We also booked a tour to Zapatilla Island at the reception and had a great day by seeing dolphins, snorkeling and relaxing at another beautiful beach.

The restaurant at Palmar is probably one of the best in the neighborhood. Food and drinks were very delicious and beautifully arranged every time. They were offering enough different dishes from which we tried something new every day. Furthermore there was a happy hour slot between 5 to 7pm where you got 2 drinks for 1.

All employees at Palmar were very friendly and nice and gave us a good feeling staying here, especially Lucas, Jimmy & Eduard at the restaurant/bar.

Furthermore they had daily changing activities, like bonfire, cocktail classes (with Jimmy), live music, movie nights with popcorn at the beach and sport activities.
Fiona, the girl that organized all of them, was super nice and motivated us ever day to join. Actually we don't join hotel activities, but in this case we joined almost all of them and had a really good time here.

I definitely recommend staying at Palmar. It's the perfect location to relax, have delicious food & drinks and meet new people!

I really enjoyed my stay here. One thing I cautioned against is the half rooms. I got the Shared twin private with shared bathroom. I thought this is like a normal but it’s not. I only have like tent like zipper as a door and it doesn’t closed properly and have no air con. I got bitten by bugs a lot. I move to the dormitory and I got my best sleep here yet. If I could do it again I would choose the dormitory from the start. The beach is amazing. The place is very relaxing and easy enough to go everywhere else in the Bocas area via water taxi. The staffs are friendly and helpful. Bring plenty of (strong) insect repellent as I got bitten a lot by sand flies. But overall I really enjoyed my stay :)

Fantastic food and great service. The coconut shrimps are superb and the cheesecake is to die for. Great place to get lunch or dinner, some snacks and/ or drinks directly at the Red Frog Beach.
Yeslin, our lovely waitress, was super nice and friendly!

Beautiful hostel on a lonely beach. The location, vibe and food are outstanding. Try the tuna steak or the garlic shrimps. The service in especially the restaurant is outstanding, honorary mention to Gloria, who brought a smile to my face every time she cheerfully walked by.

It is a beautiful place. The dorm is in the middle of the jungle, has two luxury bathrooms and great beds. I slept really good and the breakfast was delicious. The staff is always happy to help.

it was a wonderful place for our one week long stay. Palmar Beach Lodge is a beautiful hotel, the bungalow was nice, the food great and the service team so kind and helpful. Thanks a lot to all of them. We will strongly recommend Palmar Beach Lodge!

The best beach place in Panama, value for money, in particularly the dorm, unbeatable. The perfect place if you like chill atmosphere and pure nature. The restaurant is very good, too, much better than the nearby options.

A very beautiful eco hotel in the middle of the jungle and directly on the beach.
The rooms are spacious, stylish and you have AC.
The food is delicious all day long and the happy hour is great! ;)
You can book a big variety of cool tours to other islands, bioluminesence tour, snorkelling etc. for fair prices.
The service stops at 10pm and they're really slow and not very friendly unfortunately...
If you pay by credit card, you have to pay 14% commission which is insane! So take enough cash with you to go there.

We stayed the whole week here. Overall, it was an amazing stay. The stuff is friendly. The food was amazing.

There are many activities it’s an awesome experience to stay in the jungle and have the beach right in front of you.

Hopefully we will come back.

Thank you again to the whole staff which made our stay amazing.

Stayed here for 4 nights in October and it was a highlight of our time in Panama. Walking through the jungle to get to the lodge was fun. Our cabin was cozy and it was nice to fall asleep to the sound of rain. Loved the use of cruelty-free shower products made with natural ingredients.

The restaurant had great food and drinks. The servers we interacted with (Eduardo, Jimmy, Zeida and Pablo) were lovely and seemed happy to be working there, which is important to me. The lodge organizes various events and there's a beautiful beach a 30-minute walk away for snorkelling.

Some tips for future guests:
- The beach cabanas are quite rustic so if you're looking for luxury, can't cope without AC, or aren't okay with a small crab making an appearance in your bathroom now and then, go for one of the more expensive room types offered.
- If you only know basic Spanish, be aware that the man who patrols the park might exploit this and insist that you have to pay the $5 park fee.
- Mosquitoes weren't a huge issue but the sand flies were relentless! Bring coconut oil as recommended by the lodge staff.

Overall I highly recommend staying here. Thank you, Palmar!