Description: Long Beach (or Playa Larga as it is also known) is another gorgeous beach located on Bastimentos Island. Long Beach is quite a way away from Bocas town, and is really only reachable by boat from the seaward side. Since it is sort of hard to get to, Playa Larga is always uncrowded (read: a crowd at Long Beach is more than 2 other people).

By boat, Long Beach is about a 30-40 minute trip, depending on sea swells and surface conditions. Hiring a water taxi will not be cheap, but if you have a group of people, you might be able to catch a ride there and back for around $20 or so per person.

Because Long Beach is part of the Bastimentos National Marine Reserve, there is really no development there, except for a small turtle research station. Sometimes when visiting Long Beach, you'll run into the turtle station volunteers out for a stroll on the beach, looking for turtle tracks.

Long Beach is a beautiful place. If you've got some time to kill and like to visit beaches off the beaten track, Long Beach is definitely worth checking out. Having a dry back or the like would come in very handy, as you could take some food/towels/etc. with you and you swim from the boat to the beach. Also, the sand you'll find on Long Beach is some of the softest you'll ever find!

Beware that Long Beach is very exposed to the open ocean. It is only advisable to visit Long Beach when there is very little swell, as swimming in from the water taxi could be dangerous in big-wave conditions.