Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
hostel bursting at the seams with exuberant backpackers, who come for the daily happy hour
(7-8pm) and lethal cocktails, plus wild, themed party nights.
Daily 7pm-midnight, some-
times later.
Paradaze Labs
9 Degrees Ocean Terrace, Tropical Markets 6480 1757,
facebook.com/
paradazelabs
;
map
.
Several times a year,
Paradaze Labs
brings in big-name national and in-
ternational artists for mega
electrónica
parties that pull in huge crowds. Held on an open deck
over the water, it's the place to be. Tickets $5-15, with cheaper tickets for advance purchase.
Events 8pm-4am.
joy a selection of good wines and conversation, either lounging on comfy sofas inside under
ambient lighting, or out on the veranda watching folk drift past below. The service is friendly
and efficient and the lite-bites-cum-tapas hit the spot.
Mon-Sat 6-11pm.
Isla Carenero
A short water-taxi ride from Bocas Town,
Isla Carenero
presents a 2km sliver of low-
lying land surrounded by shallow waters and a thin necklace of beach that periodically dis-
solves into mud, tangled roots and, round the northeastern end, jagged rocks, where one
of the archipelago's best
surf breaks
pounds the reef. Most of the four hundred occupants
are squeezed onto the southwestern tip, in makeshift wooden housing on littered and boggy
ground. The main reason to base yourself on Carenero, rather than in busier Old Bank or
Bocas, is to stay over water you can swim in or right on the beach. That needs to be weighed
against the island's vicious sandflies and the fact that there's not much to do or see; most vis-
itors hop across for a day-trip for a drink, a bite to eat or just a change of scene.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ISLA CARENERO
By water-taxi
Isla Carenero is a 5min water-taxi ride ($1) from the dock beside
El Barco
Hundido
in Bocas Town.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Aqua Lounge Hostel
Southwest side of island
bocasaqualounge.info
.
Friendly over-the-
water party venue with its own swimming pool carved out of the deck, swings and a water
trampoline. You've a choice of fan-ventilated private rooms for two, three or five people
($14/person) with shared bathrooms, cramped, hot dorms, or you can bag a hammock, though
you'll need a mosquito net. Don't expect
any
sleep on
par
ty nights (Wed & Sat), nor any wa-
ter left for a shower the next day. Dorms
$12
, doubles
$28
Bibi's on the Beach
Buccaneer Resort, southeast side of island 757 9137.
Popular tourist
and expat watering hole built over the water with great Caribbean views. It serves up fresh
seafood - try the
ceviche
with passion fruit - and refreshing cocktails.
Daily 7am-9pm.
