Puerto Viejo
This wonderful beach town on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica holds many surprises. With its laid back attitude and Caribbean life style, you can be assured of a relaxing Costa Rican holiday. Naturally, for those of us who like a more active holiday, Puerto Viejo has it all. Long walks on pristine beaches, experiencing exotic flora and fauna in a wildlife refuge, snorkeling or diving among the many reefs in our crystal clear waters, world-class surfing, mountain biking, kayaking and cultural visits to indigenous peoples.
Located about an hour and a half east of Limon, the largest city on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, Puerto Viejo has long been an afterthought in the realm of Costa Rican tourism. Up until a few years ago, just getting to Puerto Viejo and the Talamanca region was a pain. The highway leading from San Jose to Limon is one of the country’s most treacherous, and road conditions after Limon were fair at best, even during the dry season. The impressive airport in Limon is still rarely used for anything other than aid mission support. But gradually things have improved; Electricity brought lights and refrigeration to Puerto Viejo in 1986 and to Manzanillo in 1988. Private phones were installed in 1996 and broadband internet became available in 2006. Eventually tourism, albeit still on a small scale compared to the rest of Costa Rica, started to trickle into the area.
Today Puerto Viejo still doesn’t have a large hotel, and most of the travelers bouncing through are backpacker types looking for a rasta experience or just a slower pace of life. The best known hostel in Puerto Viejo is called Rockin J’s, and is actually located just outside of town. J’s offers hammocks, tents, shared cabinas, private cabinas as well as a tree house. This hostel definitely is the heart of the party as far as outsiders go. In town, there is a new and very impressive hostel, Pagalu. Although it’s a little bit sparing in the character department, Pagalu is a clean and comfortable hostel, thoughtfully put together, and a nice change of pace from the seemingly non-stop party atmosphere of Rockin J’s.
Something that the Caribbean has that no other part of Costa Rica can compete with is the food. Puerto Viejo pumps out, at a very slow pace, interesting cuisine using local, fresh ingredients. Spicy jerk chicken, fish are favorites along with patacones (plaintain banana french fried style), and coconut rice and beans. Spicy patti (meat pie) are commonly offered on the street. The cuisine, which you can find in specialty restaurants in San Jose, has been an important Afro-Caribbean contribution to Costa Rican culture.
To see some of the Country’s most beautiful beaches, just head east from Puerto Viejo towards Panama. Somewhere in between you’ll find magestic places like Manzanillo and Punta Uva. ride a bike to the west and you’ll find the small town of Cahuita, which even has it’s own rum distillery, making a delicious coconut flavored rum that makes Malibu taste like bleach. From Puerto Viejo, it’s just a short day trip to Bocas Del Toro on the Caribbean side, which is booming from what was a kind of backpackers secret spot, to a newly found luxury destination and spring break spot.
To get to Puerto Viejo, take a direct bus from Terminal Caribe in San Jose. there are 4 buses daily, and the ride is about 4 1/2 hours. Generally, while it’s pouring rain in the rest of Costa rica from September tohrough November, the Caribbean side is beautiful.
Puerto Viejo in a larger map
