EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Just across the water from Bocas Town on the western tip of Isla Bastimentos is the small fishing community of BASTIMENTOS , one of the parts of the island not included in the national marine park. Regular boats run between Bastimentos and Bocas Town (US$2 per person), and it's easy to hire a boatman in Bastimentos to take you on excursions into the park or elsewhere in the archipelago. The community is not really set up for tourism, and so makes a good place to stay if you want a more authentic Caribbean experience than that provided by Bocas Town. A few places offer rooms , the best of which is the welcoming Mr Wolf's Place (tel 757 9923; US$10-15), which has two very comfortable rooms as well as rustic cabins in a flower-filled garden. The German Mr Wolf is very helpful, prepares breakfast and dinner, rents sea kayaks and snorkelling equipment, and can arrange excursions. Pensión Bastimentos (no phone; US$10-25), on a floating wooden platform beside the dock, is also pleasant and friendly, with a good restaurant, while the Sylvia Guest House (tel 757 9442; US$5-10), a little further east, is more basic, but friendly and good value. In addition, a couple of upmarket beach cabaña complexes have opened near the eastern tip of the island, just outside the park boundaries. The secluded Al Natural Resort (tel 757 9004, www.bocas.com/alnatura.htm ; US$60-80) has stylish rustic cabañas with solar-powered lighting and rainwater showers; transport to and from Bocas Town and three meals a day are included in the price. El Limbo (tel 757 9888, www.ellimbo.com ; US$60-80) has comfortable cabañas, and rates include two meals a day and the use of snorkelling equipment.