Bus/Tourist bus from Panama City to Bocas del Toro?

All buses going to Bocas leave from the main bus terminal at Albrook. There is a direct night bus that takes 10 hours and then you take a 30 minute water taxi to the islands. That buses leaves at 8 pm. OR you can take a bus to David, which takes 7 hours and then a bus to bocas chich takes 4 hours. The buses are all very reliable and cheap. The only problem you may encounter is if there are mud slides between David and Bocas. The other thing is you have to leave david before 2 pm to get the last water taxi or leave panama city late enough to get the first bus to bocas at 3:30 in the morning.

Thanks Maliante!
Any information reliable/trustworthy scooter rental spots in Bocas Town?

There is a scooter rental downtown in Bocas Town. They look to be in good condition. There are alao a couple of ATV rental places as well, with Flying Pirates being the most popular. They also rent golf carts and aome type of ultra light. For getting aroumd the water there are places that remt kayaks and for high season they rent jetskis.

thanks again maliante!
so, do you live in bocas or just travel there a lot? :-) i would love to ask you a few more questions if you don't mind...

I live in Bocas... Ask away!

Great!
Well, let me ask you about Bocas Town. We are two single girls over 30 who want to have a good time, but not a stupid college fraternity style spring break drunken good time, if you know what I mean.

Is Bocas Town full of rowdy drunk tourists or is it usually a good mix of all sorts? I ask because we're trying to figure out where to stay and many of the cheaper options are in the town itself. From up here in the states, it's hard to determine on a map which hotels are far enough outside of town to be quiet at night, yet convenient for when we'd like to go out for dinner and drinks.
My dream is to stay someplace with jungle surrounding us but just a 5 minute bicycle ride to town and beaches. Maybe we should stay on another Bocas island?
Anyway, I hope that makes sense!
So, are you a native of Panama, or did you move there from elsewhere?
Thanks for your help!

Two questions and then I will give you my two centavos.
What time of year are you traveling?
What is your buget (you two combined or do you want seperate rooms ) for hotels?

Thank you!
Traveling mid-Sept. and we want combined rooms with two separate beds.
Is 8 days too long for Bocas del Toro?

September is a good time, not too many tourists. I would not saw the party scene is too frat boy. It is usually a good mix north americans, europeans, austrailians, kiwis, etc etc. Although there are some bars that are a younger scene, the town is small so people of all ages are pretty comfortable mixing. There are a bunch of places right out of the main strip that are fairly quiet. I would suggest somewhere in the Saigon area or big creek. The one thing to watch out for is Feria Del Mar which is the regional festival which is in the La Cabanas are so if you got a place around there, it will be very loud. I think the dates are around the 15th. I personally like Saigon but it is a very rustic Caribbean neighborhood which is not for everybody. Of course being on the water is cool. Maybe something like cocomo on the sea or hotel angela are mid range. If you look on a map of Bocas Town you can see the main street and the street will turn going towards Saigon and La Cabanasa anything above 5th street is pretty mellow, but it is Panama which means somebody is always listening to music or playing dominos etc etc. If you find something nice in the "Y" (egriega) area, that is nice, out of town, and plenty of birds and such. Just to give you an idea, Big Creek and the Y are about a 10 minute bike ride to town or a 2 dollar taxi. I wish I could be better help with hotels but I never stay in any... you might want to look at Air B&B or VRBO and see if any small houses are a good deal. Check out the Paunch area as well. 8 days is fine if you don't get bored super eaisily. The is plenty to do and see.