VACATIONS FROM HOME: PUNTA CARACOL ACQUA-LODGE

Friday, February 20, 2026

PUNTA CARACOL ACQUA-LODGE

CHASING A DREAM
The Master Suite
Punta Caracol

We had never heard of Bocas del Toro until we happened upon a video by some influencer that was aglow about this Panamanian archipelago where the opportunity to stay in overwater bungalows are offered at a fraction of the cost of similar places like Bora Bora or the Maldives. Such places would be far out of our price range, but in Bocas del Toro we discovered there are several opportunities to chase this dream.

This is not to say Bocas is a perfectly even exchange for either place, but it’s hard to argue against a staying at Punta Caracol. This mid-range bungalow is less than $300 per night. There are other resorts in the area that are less and others, as shown by the influencer’s video, are more expensive stays.

Interior

Punta Caracol Acqua-Lodge is rustic with thatched roofs and the resort prides itself on being an eco-lodge with electricity from solar panels and is set on a mile long coral reef. Each bungalow has a hammock and a little dock to swim from or to just watch the water and tour boats and water taxis pass by. Janet has been taking great delight in waving at the boats, and everyone waves back.

The water is clear and teeming with marine life just beneath our deck. This is a special place.

It has been a relaxing beautiful stay.

SERENDIPITY

The best part about coming to Punta Caracol is the price we did NOT pay. Janet went through a consolidator, Hotels.com, though she doesn’t usually go that route and prefers staying with what the establishment offers. The price we were quoted at Hotels.com for one of the smaller bungalows though was less than the Punta Caracol website so we booked one of the smaller bungalows through Hotels.com.

Better yet, for some reason we were upgraded from our small bungalow to their largest one, the "Master Suite Fernando Aldania". This large airy spacious bungalow is their most expensive and goes for $400 per night.

The circular master suite has stairs leading to a loft for the main sleeping area and that opens onto an upper balcony. On the main floor there are three bed/couches. Sliding glass door open to a large deck with several chaises and a ladder into the water.

Not only is this comfortable bungalow spacious, but it located near the reception desk, which is another small bungalow across the “gangplank” from us, but close enough to get very reliable WiFI, so we don’t have to trudge over to the dining hall, another thatched roof building, to get our Candy Crush fix for the day.

As mentioned earlier electricity is a priceless commodity and provided by solar panels charging up batteries. After we flew into Bocas del Toro from Panama City on Air Panama we had a hired taxi drive us to the resort’s pier to catch a water taxi. Before we left eight heavy batteries were loaded onto our small launch and throughout the resort are solar panels. Sadly, yesterday was cloudy and this morning we didn’t have hot water for the shower.

Thankfully Punta Caracol maintains a charging station for personal devices at the reception desk. This may seem inconvenient to some, but for us it’s a small price to pay to finally enjoy staying at an overwater bungalow.

We would come back.