Divers Paradise Boutique Hotel

Built Out Over the Water at the End of Main Street

Bocas Town occupies the southern tip of Isla Colón, and the buildings there have a habit of walking out into the sea on stilts. Divers Paradise is one of them, built over the Caribbean a few steps from Main Street, which means the boats pass under the windows and the panorama is islands, mountains and, often enough, dolphins. Twenty-four rooms, all with a private balcony, decorated with the sort of detail that gets chosen individually rather than ordered by the pallet. There is a dive centre in the building and a restaurant on the pier.

Why It Works

The building is the argument. Over-water rooms in Bocas are usually a long boat ride from anything, and rooms in town usually face the street. This one does both at once: water underneath, Main Street at the door, and a dock for the day boats. The second reason is that the diving is run from here rather than farmed out. Bocas Dive Center is in the building, and guests who book direct get a reduction on courses and dives. The third is Pier 19, which means dinner happens on the same pier and you are not walking anywhere after a three-tank day.

Why This Location

Isla Colón is the archipelago’s hub: the airport, the ferry, the water taxis and the one street where everything happens. Everything else in Bocas del Toro is a boat ride from it, which is the reason to sleep here rather than on an outer island if you want to see more than one thing. Hospital Point, the Coral Garden, the wreck and the swim-throughs at the Playground are all short runs out. Dolphin Bay and the Zapatillas Cays, inside the Bastimentos marine park, are the longer day. Starfish Beach and Bluff Beach are on this island. The water taxis start early and run late.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: Over-water, dive-town, unfussy

• Rooms: Twenty-four, each with a private balcony over the water or the town, queen or twin beds

• Best For: Divers, snorkellers, travellers using Bocas Town as a base for the archipelago

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The water directly under the balcony, and the boats going past at breakfast

• Dining: Pier 19 Restaurant & Bar, on the same pier

• Amenities: Bocas Dive Center in the building with a discount for direct bookers, private balconies throughout, a dock for the day boats

• Attractions: Hospital Point, the Coral Garden and the wreck, the Playground, the Zapatillas Cays, Dolphin Bay, Starfish Beach, Main Street

The Rooms, and Which Balcony to Ask For

All twenty-four have a balcony, but they do not all look the same way. Some face the water and the islands beyond it, others look back over the town, which is livelier and closer to the noise. Beds are queen or twin, and the decorative work is specific to each room rather than repeated down a corridor. Ask for the water side, and ask what is below you, because in a building on stilts the thing under your balcony is the sea itself.

Pier 19

The restaurant and bar sits on the pier and carries the number of the building. It is where the day ends for most people staying here, which in a dive town means early food and a drink over the water rather than a late table. Guests booking directly get a reduction there as well as at the dive centre, which is a small thing that adds up over a week. The advantage of eating where you sleep in Bocas is not laziness, it is that the boats leave early and nobody dives well on four hours.

What the Diving Is Actually Like Here

Bocas is macro diving. This is not a place for walls of pelagics, it is a place for seahorses at Hospital Point, nudibranchs and shrimp in the Coral Garden, octopus and squid on the wreck of El Barco Hundido. Hospital Point does drop into deeper water and the Playground has swim-throughs and small caverns for anyone wanting something more technical, but the pleasure of the archipelago is in looking closely. Conditions are generally calm, which makes it a good place to learn and an excellent one to carry a camera. The Zapatillas Cays are the day you plan around.