Due south of Panama City and the Amador Causeway is Taboga Island. This tiny island seems to a favorite day-trip for tourists and locals alike. The tiny town is a mere 30 minutes away by Taboga Island Fast Ferry ($24/person), has great views of the city, and for most, provides a great beach upon which to sit all day long. However, we think the real opportunity is hiking Taboga Island itself. This also fits our goal of living to 100 far better than just sitting on the beach sipping sugary cocktails and fruit juices. We got our heart rate up, did some mobility work, and generally had far more activity than a beach day would be.
Town of Taboga "Hiking"
Taboga Island has essentially zero cars. Near as we can tell, any transport other than walking is via golf cart. Thus, the first opportunity for hiking Taboga Island is simply to wander the streets of town. You will find St. Peters Church, the second oldest Catholic Church in the western hemisphere. You will also find myriad Catholic paintings and shrines dotting the streets and homes throughout town. That and plenty of restaurants and hotels for visitors.
Cerro de la Cruz
The easiest hike of the island is Cerro de la Cruz or Hill of the Cross (Google Maps). This is mainly since its the shortest hike at about 3.5 miles round trip from port to the top of the hill and back. The hardest parts are first, finding the turn off from the road onto the overgrown start (see the full photo gallery below) and second it can be a bit steep in sections depending on your comfort level. But if you prefer a shorter hike it still has amazing views.
Cerro Vigia
The highest peak on Taboga Island is Vigil Hill (Cerro Vigia). It features an old military bunker at the top which you can go into if desired (we passed due to bats). From the bunker you get the best views of the island, the Balboa Anchorage, and the surrounding area. You can certainly see why Taboga has been a strategic island for pirates (Henry Morgan) and modern (U.S.) military alike. Taboga was also a site for recuperation for painter Paul Gauguin after he got sick working on the Panama Canal!
Hiking to Cerro Vigia can be accomplished in a couple different directions. The easiest option is to return to the road after Cerro de la Cruz and continue up the “main” road which heads up the hillside. We would call this easiest simply because it’s a wide road and there is no worry about overgrown trails. An alternative is to hike up and back from the town itself on trails instead of the road. This will be steeper and we worried it would be overgrown so we just skipped it. And you could always do a loop going up by trail and back by road or doing it in reverse (the AllTrails way).
Go Hiking Instead of the Beach
We visited Isla Taboga on a Monday during the rainy season. It was sunny and beautiful and not a lot of people while we were on the island. But we would imagine there would be tons of people on the weekends. If you enjoy sitting on a beach then by all means enjoy Taboga with their beautiful beaches, nearby restaurants, and touristy drinks direct from a pineapple.
Instead, we’d suggest getting out of town and doing one or more of the three hikes available. We made two of them – the Cerro San Pedro Loop will have to wait.
Hiking offers a better experience of the island, better views, and wildlife including lots of lizards, birds, and the occasional poison dart frog.
Our thanks to you for sharing your observations.