What to do, where to go in Boquete and Chiriquí

Although Boquete is a small town in the Panama province of Chiriqui, it is a lively and interesting place which has a lot to offer. 
While originally its main attraction was and always is it's beautiful natural environment and the spring-like climate, it has attracted people from all over the world who passed their vacations here and in many cases decided to stay permanently and has thus become a very international place with many amenities which have increased its attractiveness even more. This is why many visitors are looking for real estate in Panama.

Restaurants & Nightlife

In Boquete, there are lots of places to eat out, from the traditional, simple and cheap fonda  , where the average Panamanian eats mostly breakfast and dinner with typical and traditional ingredients, mainly rice,  pollo (chicken), beans, and vegetables, to their more modern fast food  adaptations and finally to high-end restaurants with international cuisine. While we try to keep our recommendations updated, some restaurant may have moved to another place after our visit or may have actually closed and you may find a different restaurant in its  place instead.

Ristorante Retrogusto in Boquete
Ristorante Tre Scalini, Boquete
Pizzería Apizza
Some of the best and fanciest restaurants are very close to Boquete Apartments and can be reached in as little as 3 minutes, leaving your car at home. Unless it happens to be a rainy evening, we recommend just walking to these restaurants because at some hours it will be hard to find a parking lot in the more visited areas and you will be freer in the choice of your beverages.
The first to mention is Las Tapas, just 3 minutes to walk from our place. Then there is the Posada Boqueteña , only 6-8 minutes away from our place towards the center, on the left hand. It is renowned for its excellent pizza and Argentinian meat specialties. Even before that there is the new Pizzeria Rico's.

A few more steps down the road on the same side, you will find the Peruvian restaurant Mar de Grau whose specialty is seafood a la Peruana. 
Across the road, you can eat good Italian dishes at the Ristorante Otto. During the daytime, you will find the gorgeous shop Kotowa Chocolate Victoria open to the left side of Otto's, where you can not only drink excellent coffee and chocolate from Kotowa's own Panamanian plantations but can also taste their delicious homemade chocolate confectionery.  A good place to relax after an excursion.

While Panama has always been famous for its highland coffee specialties, the cocoa production is less well known but nonetheless of excellent quality.  
Have you ever tried a "mocachino", a tasty mix of coffee with chocolate? If you like its components, you will love their combination even more.
Café & Chocolate Kotowa in Bajo Boquete
The sweets at Café & Chocolate Kotowa
Restaurant Otto
We have eaten very well in the Colibrí restaurant. It is a little farther from the Aparthotel Boquete but absolutely worth the 4 minutes by car or 15 minutes on foot. Chef Daniele is Italian and you notice his touch in the good service and the taste and quality of the dishes that include even typical Panamanian dishes. The atmosphere is very nice, lots of art on the walls and a beautiful green patio for dining outside. 
At the bar, you will find a great choice of Italian liqueurs, including great grappas and the Amaretto di Saronno which we took with the coffee.
A delicious fish dinner
A salad with petals

Restaurante Valle del Cusco

In the same area, but a bit closer to town, we had a great lunch in the Peruvian restaurant Valle del Cusco. Their specialty is seafood and they do it really well. We had a wonderful entry, a spectacular plate of Piqueo Cuzqueño consisting of a delicious variety of hors d'oeuvres, from ceviches with ginger to mussels with fresh-cut tomatoes with olive oil and spices. The main dishes were Cau Cau de Mariscos and Picante de Camarones, the latter with the best fried yuca I had ever tasted. The accompanying glass of white wine rounded it up perfectly. Delivery 6559-7101

Piqueo Cusqueño

Cau Cau de Mariscos



Big Daddy's Grill

This restaurant is on the main road near Plaza Los Establos, the large guest area is on the backside of the building under the roof in a jungle-like green environment. We have eaten there several times, I had excellent salmon once and Fried Onion Rings and Filet Mignon with Blue Cheese Sauce the other time. All were very tasty, including the fries that were as crispy as I don't remember them from anywhere else. A nice place to go with a group of friends. Also, the homemade lemonade is excellent, if you have to drive and cannot have a beer or a glass of wine with the meal.


Pizzería Brasileirissima

This small pizzeria is relatively new in Boquete. They offer a variety of pizzas classical and Brazilian style, as well as various types of pasta with different sauces and meat dishes.

They are situated on the left side of the main road, coming from Aparthotel Boquete, a few steps down the road after Boquete's Central Park.
On demand, they deliver right to your apartment  6546.5663

Shopping for food in Boquete

The two largest supermarkets in Boquete belong to the national chains Romero / Rey and Superbarú . The latter is particularly well-stocked with international specialties. In addition to them, there is the municipal market near the central park, where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Vegetable market in downtown Boquete

These three markets in Boquete are only 10-15 minutes to walk or 3 minutes by car from our apartments.
A wide variety of small stores sell food to their neighborhoods.
There are also fruit and vegetable and fish vendors who drive around with their cars, announce their products, and stop right at your front door if you call them.
One of these is Manuel Gutierrez 6922.5199 who sells fruits and vegetables from his little transporter and delivers them to your doorsteps.

Chiriquí Crafts

Crafts from Boquete, Panamá

In the municipal market and in the surroundings of the José Domingo Médica Park (central park) there are many places where you will find handicrafts made by Boquete artisan hands, thus being able to carry home a beautiful memory of Boquete. 
Did I mention that  Maria is a very talented craftswoman who creates and sells typical Panamian handicrafts like sculptures with roof tiles and cold porcelain, knitted caps, and marvelous Panamanian tembleques, the kind of precious flower-like decoration made of artificial pearls which the Panamanian women use to decorate their hair during the National Holidays?

Some of these objects decorate our house and the apartments.  

Alto relieve en porcelana fría: "Amor de Madre" (María del C. Santamaría)
Esculptura con teja de arcilla y porcelana fría "Casa medievale" (María del C. Santamaría)
A pot of Margaritas, cold porcelain (Maria del C. Santamaría)
Tembleque (María del C. Santamaría)
Tembleque (María del C. Santamaría)
Gorra de lana a ganchillo (María del C. Santamaría))

Events

Girl with pollera and tembleque, dancing a folklore dance at the Flower and Coffee Fair, Boquete 2020

In mid-January   (in 2020 from Jan 9 to 19) you can visit the Flower and Coffee Fair   ( Feria de las Flores y del Café ) which is open for 10 days. In this fair, you can admire the colorful gardens on the banks of the Caldera river, since in this season everything flourishing in all its splendor. You can also enjoy folkloric presentations   with typical Panamanian and other country's dances, craft exhibitions, sale of plants, typical and international food and tasting of highland coffee   from Chiriquí. Since in January we are in the Panamanian summer, Boquete presents its best side as the "Valley of Eternal Spring ", perfect for excursions, walks and the discovery of its nature.

In February  , Boquete celebrates the Jazz and Blues Festival   (February 13-16, 2020).

February or March are the months of the Carnivals  that are celebrated in different locations, such as Dolega and David, with their "mojaderas " (people getting soaked from water tankers), pleasant in hot climates, folk music, carnival floats, the "Queens " of each town and a general sense of fun and fiesta. As in everything, many people like this kind of fun, and there are others who don't. In Boquete with its cooler climate, carnivals are not celebrated and therefore it is a refuge for those seeking tranquility in this period.

March and April  : Always during Holy Week, the Orchid Fair   is held on the grounds of the Boquete Fair.

...... more content to be added soon  ...... if interested in anything not yet published, just ask us


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