Caldera Hot Springs: A Natural *Spa* in Caldera, Panama
Carrie and I went to Caldera yesterday.
Caldera is a little town (like maybe 500 people) about 30 minutes (by car) away from Boquete.
We actually had talked about going to the Caldera hot springs before coming to Boquete, and both of us thought it really sounded like a fun thing to do.
But taking a taxi there would be expensive. There was also an option to go to the Caldera hot springs through a language school we were looking at, but that trip would have cost $35/person, which seemed a little pricey to go sit in some naturally hot water.
But every Tuesday, here in Boquete, there’s a meeting where the local gringos get together and learn about what’s going on, what’s available, and it’s kind of a swap meet as well (with books, crafts, and food for sale).
Caveat: On the way out the door yesterday I noticed that the carpenter ants were carrying pieces of something pink. (So far, they’ve been carrying only green – pieces of leaves.)
The night before, we had beautiful hibiscus flowers outside our door.
This morning, there is one sole survivor.

In less than 12 hours, the colony of ants made minced meat out of about 10 huge hibiscus flowers.


Anyway, back to the gringos meeting in Boquete…
At the meeting, we ran into Chris, who has been teaching a stained glass class at the place where the Casita is.
Chris actually lives in Caldera, and asked us if we had been to the hot springs yet.
We said we wanted to go, but hadn’t yet figured it out as far as getting to and from Caldera.
Chris then put together a plan to take us back to Caldera, where he let us borrow his car to go to the hot springs, grab lunch, and see the beautiful 20 hectare (50 acre) property he designed at Rancho de Caldera.
(I would have pictures of Rancho de Caldera for you (truly beautiful), but the pouring rain kept us from even exiting the vehicle that Chris graciously let us borrow for the afternoon.)
The hot springs were really neat, and VERY natural.
It cost us $2/person, and there were a 4-5 natural pools you could wade into… none of them more than about 2 ½ feet deep.
We wouldn’t have even known where to go really, except for the amazing maps Chris drew for us of where the hot springs are, the best way to get there, and the best pools to sit in.
If you decide to go to the hot springs in Caldera, you may want to either print out this page, or figure out some other way to take these instructions with you.
Boquete to Caldera
Our video of the natural hot springs *spas*
Where the hot springs are in Caldera
Chris’s maps for us:
(Click on them and you can get a larger view. Combine these with the Google maps and the video and you will have no trouble finding the hot springs.)

We’re guessing at the temperature, but the hottest pool we got in (the last one we got in) was about 108 degrees Fahrenheit. We only stayed in it for about 8 minutes before we were both ready to be done.

We drove the borrowed car back to Chris’s house, where one of Chris’s stained glass students (Vicki from Texas) drove us back to Boquete. Vicki lives here in Boquete, and we appreciated being able to hitch a ride with her.
One note on the Caldera hot springs:
We saw quite a few black gnats out there at the hot springs spas, but not a single mosquito.
That seemed like a good thing at the time (yesterday).
Today, it seems like it wasn’t such a good thing.
Carrie and I both woke up this morning to discover that we are back to being severely mosquito bitten. I started counting and gave up counting after getting to 20 bites.
To be fair to the mosquitoes (as if they deserve it), these could be gnat bites.
However, two of my bites have two little punctures each, which could suggest that they came from spider(s). We’ll be keeping an eye on those.
We’ve been in Boquete exactly 1 week (today), and had no bites in the last week until yesterday.
Our bites today are definitely not as bad as at La Tortuga Feliz (the volunteer turtle conservation project we worked at in Costa Rica), but we’re fairly certain that our itching this morning is a direct result of our time at the Caldera hot springs.
If you decide to visit the Caldera hot springs, maybe take some bug spray for the walk back? We were mostly clothed on the way there, but we are both fairly certain that most of these bites came as we were less dressed on the ¾ mile hike back to the car.
Would I ever live in Central America?
Central America is a nice place to visit, no question about that.
The pineapples, bananas, and all the produce seem a bit more fresh and tasty here. The views, and the monkeys, and the birds, and the people are all amazing, but living here permanently? My response at this point would be 3 words:
I hate bugs.
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HI Jonathan. I am good friends with Cora and Dave and also had the great privilege of spending a night in “your” casita during the Mexican cooking class at their house.
My husband and I recently took our visiting daughter and granddaughter to the Caldera Hot Springs and we had absolutely no problem with the gnat, spiders or mosquitoes. Perhaps we went on a drier day….but we loved it there!
We have lived in Panama (having moved from 18 years in Central Vermont), specifically in David (don’t believe everything you hear about David…it is only too hot downtown where the commercial shopping is).
We come up to Boquete quite often and must say that both in Boquete and David, insects and insect bites have rarely been a problem.
You may consider living here yet!!!
Enjoy your adventures!
Joyce
This note is for Joyce, if you guys could forward it to her it would be greatly appreciated.
My wife and I are americans living in Chile. We are thinking of moving to the area around Caldera. We plan to buy an hectare and build a house. We like Caldera because it is not as cold as Boquete and not as hot as David, we understand. What moved me to write you was your comment; “don’t believe anything you hear about David.” I would love to correspond with you about this point.
We were in David in 2007, we went from there to Volcan, and didn’t like the place. Instead we came to Chile, a wonderful place, but pricey.
It would be great to hear from you. One question; we have two Rotties and two cats, is it difficult to bring them into the country? Thank you and be well, Michael & Pixy
I would like to contact Pixy or Michael Huidobro who are in Chile, but might move to Caldera, Panama.
Don’t know how to help you, but wish you the best of success.
We’re currently in New Zealand and I don’t know anyone who I can put you in touch with in Caldera.
Hey Joyce!
Thanks for commenting on the web site! We definitely enjoyed the hot springs… we later found out that our “mosquitoes” were actually “mites” from walking in the grass. We’re still spraying daily with rubbing alcohol, though the itching has subsided significantly.
What’s your favorite part of David? We’re actually in David tonight before heading out to San Jose on TicaBus tomorrow… Any recommendations? We’re at the Hotel Madrid (close to the main bus station).
We LOVED Boquete and will be back in January to house-sit for Cora and Dave. Maybe we could get together for dinner?
Warmest,
Jonathan
Dear Carrie & Jonathan:
Is there any way you could provide an email address for this “angel” Chris that lives in Caldera? It would be greatly appreciated.
Michael & Pixy
P.S. We would never pester him.
Just wanted to let you know that the caldera spa hot springs are one of my favorite places in the world for visiting hot springs.