Jinja Island - Jinja Island

Bueno Isla Jinja

The Caribbean island of Jinja is a magical place, hidden deep in the heart of Panama's Bocas Del Toro archipelago.

Jinja Island is located in an area of calm, clear water of the Bocas Lagoon. It marks the northeast entrance to Dolphin Bay.

Jinja Island boasts a house, a cabaña, a bodega and three boat docks. It is highly accessible and uniquely suited for development.

The Dream is to gather together a tribe of bold, imaginative travellers, artists and dreamers who wish to play their part in transforming Jinja Island into a haven from this increasingly dysfunctional world, a home-from-home that provides accommodation, food, drink, teaching and entertainment for spirited individuals — from near and far — a place to relax, unplug, learn and explore.

The Call of the Wild

Jinja Island’s reefs are among the most bright, vibrant, healthy and best preserved in the entire archipelago.

The north-east shore of Jinja Island is fringed by two breath-taking tropical reefs, both of which provide a rich haven for a diverse range of marine wildlife. The protective mangroves which surround the island lock tons of carbon down beneath the waves.

The warm shallows around the island teem with colour and life: coral, sea anemonae, sponges, urchins, starfish, octopuses, eagle spotted rays, clown fish, barracuda, red snapper, swordfish, fry, langusta and shrimp.

At night the water glows with bio-luminescence and sparkles with the reflections of a million stars which trace a path across the firmament all the way from the North Star to the Southern Cross.

Jinja Island is a haven for wildlife; attracting hummingbirds, wild parrots, flycatchers and pelicans.

The mangroves which surround the island provide both privacy for visitors and shelter for all kinds of creatures, both great and small.

The soil is rich in nutrients and provides a solid foundation for growing all kinds of tropical trees, plants and flowers: coconuts, bananas, pineapples, aloe vera, ginger and many more besides.

The daily temperature averages a pleasant 26°C (79°F) all year round and with 400cm (115 inches) of rain annually, there is rarely a water shortage… just 2.2 acres of lush, green, vibrant life.

X Marks The Spot

Jinja Island is located 10km due south of Bocas Town. It's the largest private island that is in direct line-of-sight of Bocas. That means fast internet & boats can travel there day and night.

Sweet Love Bocas

Lonely Planet lists Bocas Del Toro as Panama’s number one attraction for backpackers and eco-tourists.

An archipelago of hundreds of lush green islands, clear tropical waters and white-sand beaches make Bocas Del Toro the hidden gem of the Caribbean.

Travel to the Zapatilla Islands, Red Frog beach, Starfish beach, go frog tracking, horse trekking, zip-lining through the jungle, watch turtles lay their eggs, hit the surf, dive reefs and wrecks, tour a chocolate farm and then dance the night away.

On a more practical note, Bocas has an international airport with several flights a day to Panama City and Costa Rica, as well as supermarkets and hardware stores, timber yards and solar panel distributers – everything needed to set up Jinja Island as Central America’s premier eco-retreat.

Activities in Bocas Del Toro include:

Scuba Diving | Swimming | Snorkelling | Surfing | Sunbathing | Flyboarding | Longboarding | Paddleboarding | Fishing | Kayaking | Water-skiing | Jet-skiing | Zip-lining | Quad-biking | Jungle Trekking | Horse Riding | Birdwatching | Camping | Beach Barbecues | Live Music | Mardi Gras | Chocolate Farm Tours | Fine Dining | Good Times | Nightlife | Street Food | Sailing | Turtle Tours

¡Esto es Panamá!

Panama is easy to get to from Europe & The Americas, it uses US dollars and most visitors enjoy six months visa-free entry on arrival.

Boasting a stable economy, a currency pegged to the US dollar, the highest GDP per capita of any country in Latin America, jungles, volcanos, exotic wildlife and hundreds of miles of unspoiled beaches on two different oceans, tourism in Panama is taking off in a big way.

The number of tourists that arrived in 2017 totalled 2.5 million — a figure equivalent to over half the population of Panama itself!

According to the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP), tourist spending went up by 4% in 2017, totalling a massive $4.451 billion — a huge amount for such a small country. Much of that income comes from wealthy holiday-makers looking for somewhere a little “off the beaten track”.

With cheap daily direct flights to Panama City from Amsterdam, Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, New York, LA, Houston, Washington, Boston, Atlanta and Montreal (amongst others), when it comes to tapping the lucrative backpacker market, the sky’s the limit.

Located just a few degrees north of the equator, Panama enjoys a year-round tropical climate. Temperatures are uniformly high — as is the relative humidity — and there is little seasonal variation. If you like it hot, the weather is superb all year round!

Jinja Island is in a perfect location in a stable and economically successful region of the world. Private islands large enough to accommodate an eco-retreat are hard to come by… but look at our neighbour Bocas Bali to see what can be done!