Coco Vivo in Bocas del Toro

Si usted anda escapando de la ciudad, si no quiere comodidades por algunos días, este es el lugar para usted. Es un lugar super sencillo, no tiene servicio sanitario, para hacer el #1 es literalmente un hueco en el que se ve el agua del mar, pero para hacer el #2 debes salir del cuarto y caminar, es literal un hueco y debes cubrir con tierra tu "creación". La habitación es lo más sencillo del mundo, apenas cubierto con telas, plásticos y algunas tablas. Hay muuuchos zancudos, en serio lleven mucho repelente. El desayuno estuvo bien, no espectacular, pero apenas para lo que necesitan. Se hace snorkeling y es maravilloso, en las noches pueden ver bioluminiscencia ES ESPECTACULAR!!! Es bastante lejos de la isla principal, por lo que el transporte es más caro de lo habitual, entre $30 y $60 por persona one way, pueden negociar con los señores de las lanchas y podrían ahorrar unos dólares en transporte. No recomendado para salir en las noches por que como dije, es lejos de Bocas y súper oscuro. Como dije al inicio, es ideal si quiere estar desconectado del mundo, en el sentido de que no va a tener mucha gente o bulla cerca.

Truly a unique location and stay. Wonderful staff that made you feel at home in the jungle and over the water. Plenty to do and see when you arent simply relaxing. Affordable meals that are delicious and surprising. You are both comfortable and surrounded by nature. We look forward to our next stay!

Mi experiencia en CocoVivo fue maravillosa desde el momento en el que subì a la lancha a el momento en el que hice el check out.Viajè junto con otros dos amigos y los tres estuvimos super a gusto con todo. El lugar es espectacular, la atenciòn recibida por parte de Melisa que nos recibio y nos asistio en todo fuè excelente. Las comidas cocinadas por Luciano, riquisimas y super sanas.Realmente es un lugar a donde volverìa a ir infinitas veces. Sin dudas lo recomiendo!!

In summary: "Welcome to paradise".The CocoVivo team took perfect care of us. They cooked delicious meals - chocolate mousse from local cacao beans was on point! The reef is one of the most colorful Ive ever seen. The lodges are picture perfect. On top, all if it is sustainable and eco-friendly. Thank you for the unforgettable holidays!!

A truly incredible experience! Cocovivo was so accommodating to our group needs and not only facilitated our adventures but also cooked the best food! Melisa and Luciano were absolutely wonderful and its a week I wont ever forget. Hooray for the chefs!

Incredible, magical, I cannot say enough good things about our week at CocoVivo. It felt like coming home. Our hosts were amazing, the food was incredible, even the dogs are incredibly cute. This is ecotourism at its finest.We were a large group with kids and they made our stay perfect. We did as much as we could in a week: cacao farm, sloths, monkey island, bat cave, snorkeling, kayaking, dolphins, bioluminescence, and of course lounging on the dock.We will definitely get back to CocoVivo.

This IS the place for you! I can’t begin to think of the best thing about CocoVivo. It’s the location. It’s the swimming and the snorkeling, it’s the chef’s food. It’s the delicious drinks. It’s the excursions.Our family had the best time here.If I have any advice it’s forget the beach - just hang out at the community dock and take advantage of the snorkeling, the kayaks, the paddle boards, the bioluminescence.We loved the cocoa tour and the monkey sanctuary.Most of all the hosts will make you feel so good and happy. Cheers to Luciano and Melissa and their cooking. They are absolutely the best.

Beautiful resort, the best hosts, fantastic food.

WOW! This place is truly something else. I booked directly through the hostel via instagram/whatsapp. Communication was immediate and clear. We had a car rental and they provided us with directions of where in Almirante we could store it, and how much it would be. We were picked up in a boat via their boat service and it was about 30 minutes to CocoVivo. Upon arrival we were greeted by the amazing Melisa. The rooms were clean and the beds were comfy. There was bioluminescence in the middle of the night which was so cool! The food provided was outstanding and they were extremely accommodating for our friends (one has a egg allergy and the other is vegetarian). Communal table you eat at everyday, which is a great way to meet and get to know the other guests at the hostel. It is a ecohostel with separate washrooms for 1 and 2 so for some people it takes getting used to, as well as the strong smell of the mangroves working haha. I loved every second of it. Great areas for hanging out and reading and diving off the dock with the dogs and provided snorkel gear. I loved seeing sloths, monkeys, dolphins, starfish, many colorful fish, crabs, and much more all at CocoVivo! We also did a tour to the Zapatillas islands with CocoVivo which was awesome. Another guest there saw a Eagle ray! I would love to go back to CocoVivo at some point in my travels. Incredible experience.

Melissa and Luciano are great hosts. Amazing meals served daily. Theyre so welcoming. My review will not do our experience justice. The grounds and the reef are absolutely beautiful.

My wife, myself and our 3 kids (8yo, 6 yo and almost 4yospent 4 weeks here. The place is magical and our time passed quickly.Food…. Melissa and Luciano are an amazing duo, cooking/serving 3 meals a day, accommodating our son who can be a picky eater. 5 stars for food alone!!! This husband/wife team are from Argentina and create wonderful Argentinian-influenced meals using local ingredients, some of which come from the property. Luciano cooks the main dishes, and Melissa makes drinks, appetizers and desert. Although we had a kitchen in our cabin, “Mangrove Treehouse,” we had Melissa and Luciano cook almost all of our meals.Melissa also manages day to day issues such as getting extra towels, ensuring fresh water supply at our house is plentiful, and facilitating private tours with the CocoVivo boat to places like the Chocolate Farm/Botanical Garden, Starfish beach (white sand beach with safe swimming), monkey refuge where we held a baby howler, Bocas town, visiting an indigenous village and much more.Ulrich and Elisabeth own CocoVivo and visit frequently. We had the fortune of sharing time with them and enjoyed their company and local knowledge of the region, history, and how CocoVivo evolved to its current state.Wildlife is plentiful. We have seen howler monkeys, sloths, octopus, basilisk lizard (runs on water, aka Jesus Christ Lizard), dolphins, eagle rays, and all sorts of birds. The snorkeling off the main dock is amazing. The coral reef is healthy, beautiful, with many kinds of fish. Bioluminescence is magical if conditions are right. There are bugs, mainly no-see-um flies that seem to come out before sunset, but not too bothersome with bug spray or a slight breeze.CocoVivo is rustic and charming. Each cabin has a shower and a private toilet for no 1, and there are compost toilets/outhouses for no 2 just a short walk from the cabins. Screened house kept the biting bugs away. The cabins are private, and the main common area has plenty of space for meals or getting work done. Internet is available. An unexpected bonus was meeting interesting people from all over the world over wonderful meals.Our children love wildlife and adventure and wished our stay was longer (than the 4 weeks we had). The water is safe, warm and clean. Our kids snorkeled everyday and also enjoyed stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking. Check out their instagram for pictures.Highly recommend CocoVivo!!

I loved my time at CocoVivo and wish we could of stayed longer! We saw sloths, monkeys, dolphins, sting rays, and all sorts of fish just in the couple days we were there! The food the hosts/chefs prepare is extremely affordable and fantastic! I highly recommend staying here if you want to see wildlife, relax by the water, and have three meals a day served to you! Great for a romantic getaway or even lots to do for kids too.

El lugar perfecto para desconectarse de la vida diaria y conectar con la naturaleza; con amplios senderos para recorrer entre la jungla y un hermoso arrecife para explorar ya sea nadando o tranquilamente sobren un kayac transparente.Las instalaciones son rústicas sin lujos. El lujo está en la experiencia de vivir unos días sobre un manglar; bañarte al aire libre, nadar entre el destello bioluminiscente del mar en la noche, sentir la brisa atravesar las paredes hechas de mallas y descansar en un confortable colchón tamaño king.En nuestra estadía pudimos ver monos aulladores, perezosos, delfines, estrellas de mar, pez globo, pez loro y otros de colores, cangrejos, raya y mucho más. Una garza dormía en el manglar junto a la cabaña y los perros del staff (Capitán y Mazunos compañaban y guiaban siempre, tanto en tierra firme como sobre el arrecifle en la paddle board. Los anfitriones Stacie y Hunter fueron muy serviciales, así como tambien Melissa que a la distancia siempre estuvo al tanto de todo por whatsapp y Leo que nos transportó en bote, son todo un equipo 5 estrellas.Fui preparado con repelente de mosquitos, velas de citronela, lámparas atrapa insectos y hasta un mosquitero para colocarlo sobre la cama. El mosquitero no hizo falta porque ya la cama contaba con uno; lo demás si es totalmente recomendable llevarlo y además que la vela de citronela ayudó también a contrarestar el olor peculiar que tienen los manglares.Durante mi estancia tuve que asistir a una videoconferencia y a pesar de estar en una isla remota la conexión de internet fue buena. Me encantó tener mi oficina sobre el mar.La comida fue excelente y nunca pasé hambre.

Wonderful location. Rustic confort at its finest. If you love being immersed in nature you cant miss roaming the extensive grounds to spot sloths, monkeys and other criters, snorkeling in the beautiful coral garden, paddling with dolphins and be sorounded by bioluminescence plankton when swimming at night. Stacie and Hunter were perfects hosts, more like old time friends, and Ami, Andreas were the most fun adventure partners for my 5 year old son. Cant recommend it enough for adventurous travelers looking for a perfect piece of paradise to chill out.

AMAZING. Food was excellent. Hosts were excellent. The nature was excellent. Just book it and bring plenty of books to read

Todo el personal de Cocovivo son una maravilla. La locación es alejada de todo, lo que la hace especial. Además, Melisa y Luciano son excelentes cocineros.La bioluminiscencia se puede observar, es todo un éxito! Hay delfines y muchos animales.Muy buena opción si quieres tener un experiencia diferente en Bocas.

En diciembre del 2019, fui a quedarme para navidad en la propiedad que fue agendada por airbnb. Hubo una tormenta y se inundó todo el hotel, era imposible quedarse ya que el puente para cruzar hacia el restaurante quedó bajo el agua. Cuando se les dijo que no nos ibamos a quedar para la tormenta, Ulrich nos dijo que volviéramos después y nos incluía el transporte de ida y salida. En marzo 2020 cerraron las fronteras debido al covid de Costa Rica a Bocas y siguen cerradas, para mi sorpresa habían eliminado los mensajes y prueba para que no yo no pudiera reclamar y no puedo dejar comentarios es airbnb para alertar a las personas, pero tengan cuidado con estas personas!!!!On december 2019, i went to el Cocovivo for Christmas by Airbnb. There was a storm and the whole property was under water ( restaurant and my villaso we had to leave. Ulrich sent a message saying they we could come back and that they will cover the boat to get in and out the property. On march 2020 our borders were closed and they remain closed from Costa Rica to Bocas Panama, when i open the chat they deleted all messages making it imposible to ask for a refund or even go back. Beware with this people!!!!

You know that feeling you get when you drink a nice cup of hot cocoa? That warm, fluffy and cozy feeling of coming home? That is the feeling you get at CocoVivo. Even if the comparison may seem odd for a place so exotic, at CocoVivo they do everything to make you feel home, to make you feel welcome, to make you feel part. And the marshmallows on top... Thats kayaking surrounded by dophins, that is the stunning vistas from the jungle, thats the breathtaking view of watching the stars reflected in the sea by the bioluminescent plankton... A place to get away while coming home. I could not recommend more!

In a word, Amazing!

Amazing unique place with such an impressive story behind! Imagine walking at night on the docks and which every step you take the water sparkles in millions of little stars! Precious!

This is definitely a place dreams are made of. My wife and I visited here on our honeymoon and absolutely loved it. The cabins are clean and well kept. Being an eco lodge can put people out of their comfort zone but well worth it if you are the adventurous type of traveller. Would definitely recommend. Also Melisa and Luciano are AMAZING hosts!

El paraiso en la tierra!

Great experience and property. Immerse yourself in nature in a one of a kind location

This place is amazing!!!! Went for two nights but ended up staying longer as we loved it so much.There are a number of pods to stay in which each have their own little quirks. We were in dolphin pod (which lives up to the name as we saw them everyday we were therewhich is tucked into the mangroves and has a bed on a mainsonette floor. The facilities are very nature-al and there is no hot water there, but this was never a problem as the weather was so nice it naturally warmed it up a bit.Walking around the island we saw loads of wildlife including sloths, monkeys, and hummingbirds.It is on the south side of Isla Cristobal but getting there was easy enough as they send a boat to Bocas del Toro once a day which met us in the dock (about a 30 minute journey), this goes the same for leaving, although we negotiated a trip to Almirante as this suited our travel plans better.Breakfast, lunch, and dinner can be catered for by the hosts (who for us were Melissa and Luciano and they were really, really greatfor a reasonable fee, as well as organising trips to places like red frog beach which is a nice place to spend a few hours (couple of nice restaurants and bars there).The water around coco vivo is lovely and (when it hasnt rained too muchcrystal clear which means you can see the small coral reef and its inhabitants. By far the best thing for us though was the bio-luminescent algae which light up the sea when you take a swim at night, a must do while you are there.

Very nice place to be. We really enjoyed our time there! Nothing to complain about. The hosts are really lovely people and the food was very tasty!!!

Amazing place run by friendly and truly welcoming folks. I swam, kayaked, snorkeled along a vibrant reef, saw all kinds of creatures and plants on a jungle hike, and of course relaxed (a lot). I will definitely come back!

WOW! What a magical place to visit!!!! First and foremost, the hosts, Carmen, Lazare, Nick, Virginie & Marilyn are THE BEST!! We were welcomed with big smiles and hugs! You guys created an environment that felt friendly, safe and clean! We recommend Coco Vivo to everyone.The location is breathtaking... we saw dolphins from our dock, swam among the fishies that call the reef home and saw a small caiman on the property! Our 5 year old son was so impressed by all the wild life he got to see with his own eyes.Whether you are looking to relax, go on an adventure or just chill with the fam jam, Coco Vivo has something to offer everybody!

Wie waren 3 Nächte im Cocovivo und es war wunderbar. Carmen und Lazare sind ganz tolle Gastgeber. Das Essen ist super lecker und die Atmosphäre wie im Paradies. Das Riff ist sehr schön, die Korallen noch sehr gesund. Ganz toll ist auch das biolumineszierend Wasser nachts, wirklich magisch, man glaubt man schwimmt im Feenstaub.

What an amazing experience! Every day in this pristine coral reef/waterfront/jungle retreat was a new adventure. From hiking the property looking for sloths, scrambling up a waterfall, learning about the native fauna and flora, plucking and eating fresh fruits, to snorkeling in the reef, kayaking, SUP-ing, and night swims in sparkling bioluminescent water, Cocovivo had something for everyone in our family. I traveled here with my wife and four children ages 16, 15, 13 and 9. We relaxed in our beautiful waterfront cabinas, listening to the sounds of the jungle, laid in hammocks in the communal spaces, snorkeled right off the main dock and met wonderful people from all over the world.Lazare and Carmen are fantastic hosts and worked round the clock to make our experience perfect. The freshly prepared gourmet meals made using local grown ingredients were healthy, delicious and rivaled top restaurants. We awaited each unique and creative meal with great anticipation.The lagoon and surrounding jungles are teeming with life but if you need a break from nature, touristy beaches of the Bocas del Toro district are a short water taxi away.The environment here is a bit more rugged than your typical hotel stay. If you are into sustainability or ecotourism, Cocovivo is completely oriented to minimize the environmental impact. It’s entirely solar powered and rain barrels supply most of the water. They harvest lots of fruits and veggies from the plants and trees naturally growing on the property. This will be an amazing stay for those seeking a clean, natural and sustainable trip.

A true gem I am proud to call home!

I loved everything about this place. The people staying there made the trip even better. I cannot wait to return. I’m looking forward to staying in a bungalow near the water next time around.

Amazing place, I can not say enough great things.

Amazing place!

This is a real paradise

Words can not begin to describe how wonderful Coco Vivo is. Carmen and Lazare have created a paradise you have to experience. They go out of their way to treat you like family, but are in no way intrusive. It is an Eco friendly place, so please consider this with all products you bring with you. The food they prepare are amazing! The rooms will blow you away! If you want paradise, go to Coco Vivo.

Didnt want to leave! Everything was magical and serene 💕 great hosts & delicious food

Fantastic place and wonderful hosts!