Panama surf guide
Surfing Bastimentos & the outer isles
Silverbacks' big-wave right and wild Wizard Beach
- Spots2
- LevelsAdvanced, Beginner, Intermediate, Pro
- Best seasonDec-Mar
- RegionBocas del Toro
The waves at Bastimentos & the outer isles
Silverbacks
- Reef Break
- Advanced / Pro
- 6-20 ft
- Dec-Mar
- Crowd 2/5
The menacing name is a perfect fit for this coral-encrusted right-hand reefbreak that stays docile for most of the year before thumping its chest in the winter months. Surrounding exposed beaches need to be overhead to awaken this muscular, angry wave that sucks up volumes of water and hurls it at the shallow ledge, turning into large kegs that are as intense as they are short. Bocas' big-wave spot and the only right reefbreak in the zone, the ride is short but the drops are long as the wave ledges up into a large barrel.
Only experienced, air-drop specialists will gain much from this wave, as the under-gunned and under-skilled are punished by the shifting peak and scarily long hold-downs. Longer boards are needed, 7' and up, and maybe throw a back-up in the boat, as Silverbacks has a reputation for snapping boards like twigs. It needs a good-size swell to start breaking and will hold over 20ft (6m).
Come only when you're ready for it: a solid north-east swell, a step-up or gun, and a boat for safety. Silverbacks is Bocas del Toro's heavyweight, a thick, ledging right barrel that gives everything to the specialists and nothing to everyone else.
9.361908, -82.204393 · Swell NE grande, tabla 7'+
First Beach (Wizard Beach)
- Beach Break
- Beginner / Intermediate
- 2-6 ft
- Dec-Mar
- Crowd 1/5
First Beach, sometimes referred to as Wizard Beach, is a basic beachbreak with patches of reef on Bastimentos, whose main attribute is to pick up more swell than any other spot. Accessed via boat to the south side of the island, then a good 20-minute walk across fields (more when the trail gets muddy), it's definitely not the best surf around, but it will be the only option if it's flat everywhere else, and the beauty of the beach makes up for the poor quality of the surf.
The wild, jungle-backed sand of Wizard Beach is one of the most beautiful in the whole archipelago, so even a mediocre session comes with a spectacular setting and near-guaranteed solitude.
Come on a north-east swell when the reefs are too small, and treat the walk as part of the adventure. First Beach is the fallback and the scenery-lover's choice in Bocas, forgiving, beginner-friendly peaks on a postcard beach, worth the boat-and-hike when everywhere else has gone quiet.
9.32, -82.15 · Swell NE-E
Where to stay near Bastimentos & the outer isles
- Palmar Beach Lodge — Beach Lodge: Laid-back beachfront lodge on Bastimentos' Red Frog sand, walkable to First Beach and near the Silverbacks boats.
- Red Frog Beach Resort — Beach Resort: The island's flagship resort with pools and jungle villas by the beaches and the big-wave reef.
- Bastimentos guesthouses-Old Bank — Guesthouse: Simple, cheap rooms in the Afro-Caribbean village of Old Bank, the budget base for exploring the island's waves.
Beyond the surf
- Red Frog Beach: The famous jungle-backed beach on Bastimentos, home to the tiny red poison-dart frogs it's named for.
- Bastimentos National Marine Park: Coral reefs, mangroves and the Zapatillas Keys, protected islands with pristine snorkelling and empty sand.
- Old Bank village: The Afro-Caribbean village on Bastimentos, calypso, patois and a slow island rhythm a boat-hop from Bocas town.
Best time to surf Bastimentos & the outer isles
Bastimentos & the outer isles works best around Dec-Mar. See the full month-by-month breakdown for Panama.
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