Jungle Treehouse with Sea Views for Wildlife Fans

Treehouse in Isla San Cristobal, Panama

  1. 5 guests
  2. 2 bedrooms
  3. 2 beds
  4. 1 bath
Rated 4.54 out of 5 stars.80 reviews
Hosted by Dorien
  1. 10 years hosting

Listing highlights

Great check-in experience

Recent guests loved the smooth start to this stay.

Ocean and garden views

Soak up the views during your stay.

Park for free

This is one of the few places in the area with free parking.
Some info has been automatically translated.
Wake up to the sound of parrots & toucans in our new treehouse & spot sloths, monkeys & dolphins!

Go snorkeling, hike up the hill for amazing views, let the cacao forest enchant you or go paddling in a cayuco, a traditional wooden canoe made by the Ngöbe natives.

At night, swim in the bioluminescent water, gaze at the countless stars or marvel at the sight of all the fireflies...

Your next adventure begins here!

The space
The TreeHouse XL is our newest & biggest treehouse, perfect for families, groups of friends, couples and nature lovers. It's the room with the best WiFi.

The front terrace upstairs overlooks Dolphin Bay, while there is a larger terrace with jungle views in the back. The main bedroom is spacious, has a queen sized bed, a hammock seat, a chair and in-room sink.

Downstairs you'll find the shower, 2nd sink & toilet, a corner with books & games like Risk and a bunk bed perfect for your kids or friends. It's possible to put an extra mattress upstairs for a max. capacity of 6 persons.

Remember this is a treehouse & this may have some disadvantages you need to be aware of:
-the rainwater we catch is stained by the tannins in the leaves. This can give the water a yellowish tint but there's no health risk involved. We provide drinking water from the store for brushing your teeth etc.
-if you drop food or sweet stuff in the room, the ants will find the room and your food quickly

Guest access
- You have access to the shared over-the-water rancho, dock & our garden, as well as to various walking trails leading to scenic views from the hill, jungle paths, a pond full of caimans or a nice snorkeling spot (bring water shoes & a good balance to enter the water, or go by cayuco!)
- You have access to the jungle terrace at the main house to watch the birds, monkeys & sloths
- Breakfast (from 4 USD à la carte) , lunch/snacks (8 USD) & dinner (12 USD) are served daily in the Jungle Café on the terrace of the main house. You can also pre-order delicious desserts (4 USD & up) & enjoy fresh juices (2.50 USD & up) & cocktails (4 USD & up). All of this is made with a farm-to-table approach using fresh ingredients from ourselves or other farmers as much as possible. For dinner we have a few oven dishes available.
- Our guess can use snorkelling gear free of charge.
- We have a locally made dugout canoe (cayuco) for 2, another one for 3 and a one-person sit-on-top kayak our guests can use free of charge.
- Guests have access to internet (up to 4 mbps) via WiFi on the "jungle terrace" of the main house, on the benches along the path & at the shared dock. The Treehouse XL has the best WiFi inside the room. You can pick up the WiFi signal from the outside decks of the Whimsical Treehouse & the Cabin over the water.
- Fun paid activities: we organise exciting night tours (25 USD/person), cacao tours (20 USD/person), chocolate workshops (learn to make chocolate from tree to bonbon!) (40 USD per person) & horse riding tours (20 USD per horse) at Finca Montezuma. Papito can also take you on boat tours to any of the beaches (e.g. Playa Estrella, Red Frog Beach, Islas Zapatillas), to the bat cave, to Monkey Island, to our favourite snorkeling spot in Dolphin Bay... You name it!

Other things to note
HOW TO GET TO FINCA MONTEZUMA (Located in Dolphin Bay on Isla San Cristobal)

We offer pick-up from TIERRA OSCURA (10 minute boat ride) at 8.30 am for 15 USD; drop-off at 8.15 am.

We offer a scheduled pick-up service in Isla Colon / Solarte / Carenero / Old Bank for 45 USD (30-minute boat ride); 50 USD for Red Frog.

The schedule:

^Pick-up on Isla Colón: Departure at 3R Mall on Isla Colón at 1.30 pm
For pick-up in Old Bank Bastimentos/Solarte/Red Frog, just add 15 minutes.
^Drop-off in Isla Colón: Departure from our dock at 11.30 am

Please reserve your spot at least 24 hours in advance. Last-minute transport can be arranged for 60 USD. Transport to/from ALMIRANTE (Restaurante Tropical Happy/El Camionero next to the Terpel Gas Station by the sea) can be arranged for 60 USD.

-A flashlight, walking shoes or water shoes & bug repellent always come along handy on this jungle island.
-We have a cat, dogs, sheep, horses & chickens on the property, but of course none of those in your rooms, imagine a horse in your bed :)

Where you’ll sleep

What this place offers

Ocean view
Bay view
Waterfront
Wifi
Free parking on premises
Unavailable: Carbon monoxide alarm
Unavailable: Smoke alarm

Select check-in date

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4.54 out of 5 stars from 80 reviews

Overall rating

  1. 5 stars, 69% of reviews
  2. 4 stars, 20% of reviews
  3. 3 stars, 8% of reviews
  4. 2 stars, 4% of reviews
  5. 1 stars, 0% of reviews

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars for cleanliness

Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars for accuracy

Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars for check-in

Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars for communication

Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars for location

Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars for value

Guest reviews mention

Where you’ll be

Isla San Cristobal, Panama

Discover a different side of Bocas del Toro in Dolphin Bay... Enjoy the tranquil waters on the seaside & explore the jungle in the back, whether you're an avid birder or just an adventurous traveler.

Finca Montezuma, our cacao (& much more) farm, is a spectacular place for lovers of the outdoors thanks to the rather unique bioluminescent water, the fireflies, the non-lightpolluted sky full of stars, the wildlife & the birds...

Our guests have access to the shared walking trails of the Finca Buena Vida community through the jungle or to a small lagoon where you can spot caymans. We have another property close to the lagoon, where our private trail will lead you up the hill so you can enjoy wonderful views over Dolphin Bay with its many mangrove islands.

Sloths hang out all around the property. We also get visits from howler monkeys in the jungle right behind the main house & at night we get to see kinkajous. These are wild animals so of course they decide when they show up. My best advice is to just go & explore and take your time to observe!

Birders will love this place. These are a few of the birds that have been spotted here: gold-hooded tanager, mealy amazon, collared aracari, montezuma oropendola, slaty-tailed trogon, keel-billed toucan,...

It's also becoming a little botanical paradise with many varieties of tropical flowers & fruit trees in our own garden & the common area. Some examples are cashew trees, jackfruit trees, mamey sapota, soursop trees, fig trees, a cinnamon tree, vanilla orchids, rose apples, 4 types of passion flowers including the giant granadilla (passiflora quadrangularis), butterfly gingers, calla lilies,...

Snorkeling fans can also get their kicks here, our favourite little mangrove island in Dolphin Bay has a truly magical underwater garden with giant starfish, coral in all colours of the rainbow, fish, rays & impressive growth on the mangrove roots. There is another snorkeling spot you can access from the shore, wearing water shoes, after a 15 minute walk through an old cacao forest.

Dolphin Bay itself has year-round calm waters & has a resident pod of bottlenose dolphins that have their own set of unique genetics compared to other bottlenose dolphins. The dolphin watching activities can at times be disturbing to them as in high season many boats come to see them at the same time without respecting their boundaries, so if you wish to see dolphins without taking part in these activities, this is the perfect place to start as you can see them right from your balcony or the shared deck without harassing them.

The few restaurants in the neighbourhood need to be accessed by boat unless you are in pretty good shape & want to go by kayak or cayuco. We'll be serving you breakfast, fresh juices, chocolate desserts in our Jungle Café at the main house as well, and we can prepare you a delicious lunch or dinner.

Meet your host

Host
591 reviews
4.74 out of 5 average rating
10 years of hosting
Born in the 80s
Speaks Dutch, English, French, and Spanish
We're a Panamanian-Belgian couple who had a mutual dream to design & build a unique, cosy haven in the trees... Our first treehouse was born. We started renting it out on Airbnb in November 2016 and since then built a cabin over-the-water too. Our second treehouse is under construction & we can't wait to show it to you! Together with our kids, we look forward to hosting you here at 'Finca Montezuma' - an old cacao farm we bought 4.5 years ago. Apart from the cacao trees nothing else was here & since then a lot has changed. After a good clean-up it is now an active cacao farm that also produces pumpkin, papaya, pineapple, yucca, plantain & banana, amongst others. Our "finca" is still young so we have a wide variety of tropical fruit trees that are not bearing fruit yet but we strive to be as self-sustainable as possible in the future. We also have friendly horses, pigs, chickens & dogs (in a fenced area far from the treehouse). Papito has cows & sheep on his neighbouring farm as well. Dorien's dad used to work in the famous Belgian chocolate factory Callebaut when she was young, and ever since she got to visit the factory she has been fascinated by (and perhaps a little addicted to) chocolate. No wonder her favorite Roald Dahl book was 'Charlie & The Chocolate Factory'! It's a dream come true to now be able to make her own 'single-origin' chocolate from scratch. Make sure to try one of Dorien's very chocolatey creations: brownies, chocolate mousse or... chocolate ice cream, mmm! Papito is a real jungle man & cut most of the wood for the treehouse himself & constructed it together with both local workers and volunteers from all over the world. He has excellent knowledge about the fauna & flora of the region. He'll also be your captain during your stay & knows how to cook great Caribbean meals too! We're more than happy to share our slice of paradise with visitors who want to learn more about an off-grid lifestyle or about harvesting cacao & making chocolate or who simply want to relax in a peaceful, natural environment!

Host details

Response rate: 100%
Responds within an hour
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Things to know

Cancellation policy
House rules
Check-in after 2:00 PM
Checkout before 12:00 PM
5 guests maximum
Safety & property
No carbon monoxide alarm
No smoke alarm
Nearby lake, river, other body of water