Ultimate Travel Guide: Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Puerto Viejo is located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica in the south of the country and not too far from the border with Panama. This small town had a completely different feel from everywhere else we had visited in Costa Rica, you can feel the Caribbean influence, which gave Puerto Viejo its charm.

From the main town down the road to Manzanillo, you’ll find the streets sprinkled with restaurants, cafes, accommodations and plenty of beautiful beaches. Get in on the laid-back lifestyle here in Puerto Viejo and kick back and relax, it’s the perfect destination to unwind.

So grab yourself a drink and maybe a snack and start reading the ultimate travel guide to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica to make sure you know everything you need to before your visit.

Best Time to Visit Puerto Viejo

Puerto Viejo has a pretty consistent temperature, so you can expect hot weather all year round. As for the rainy season, unlike other parts of the country, Puerto Viejo stays relatively dry, however, you can expect the most rain between November-January and April-August. 

They say when the rest of Costa Rica is fighting the rainy season, that’s usually the best time to visit Puerto Viejo between the months of February-April and August-October.

How To Get to Puerto Viejo

You’ll be able to find tour companies in Costa Rica offering tourist shuttles or private transport from many other Costa Rican destinations, one we saw time and time again was Caribe Shuttle. 

However, if you’re looking for a budget option, you can get a public bus from San Jose for 6,985 colon which is just over £10 per person. The bus runs 6 times a day currently and takes about 5 hours, the bus company that runs this service is called Mepe (check here to see the most up-to-date bus times). We just bought the ticket at the bus station about 40 minutes before departure, no need to worry about getting your ticket the day before or anything. There are a few different bus stations in San Jose, you’ll find the bus to Puerto Viejo leaves from here.

From Puerto Viejo, we headed on to Bocas del Toro and for this journey, we opted to get a tourist shuttle over public transport as it makes the border crossing easier and also we got the ferry journey to Bocas included. Around Puerto Viejo town you will find a lot of shuttle companies offering this journey, their prices can vary between $25-$35 per person. But we ended up finding a shuttle for just less than $ 17 USD each on bookaway.com so I recommend shopping around for the best deal. 

Where to Stay in Puerto Viejo

We decided to stay close to the town of Puerto Viejo as we didn’t have a car or any sort of vehicle at the beginning of our stay and it meant we were closer to supermarkets, shops and restaurants etc. However, if you have your own transport or don’t mind hailing down a tuk-tuk there are some wonderful accommodations up and down the road to Manzanillo. But the recommendations below are located within or just outside of Puerto Viejo town.

Mid Range- Laville Apartments

This Air BnB was our home for a week in Puerto Viejo and it was perfect, for only £32 a night for the two of us it was a great deal. We had a shared bathroom and kitchen but with only one other room, so never encountered an issue. The wifi was decent, I managed to work with only a few interruptions, occasionally we had power cuts in Puerto Viejo, we were told this was due to road works, but nothing that lasted too long. Our apartment was super clean and had a TV, fridge, and towels. They even have some bigger apartments here in case there are a few of you or you just want the privacy of your own bathroom/kitchen. We loved it here and if you need something simple I highly recommend it.

Book your stay at Laville Apartments here —>

Little mention for those solo female travellers, there is a girls-only hostel in a town called La Tribu and I heard it was quite luxurious for a hostel, even has hair tools to use!

Getting Around in Puerto Viejo

In my opinion, the best way to get around Puerto Viejo and its nearby activities is by bicycle, however, you can also rent a motorcycle or ATV. The main reason I recommend bicycles is because of how beautiful the surroundings of the roads are, you would miss so much by zipping around in a motor vehicle. We saw sloths crossing the road, heard countless howler monkeys and much to Josh’s dislike saw massive spiders on the electrical lines. My point being I loved cycling around this place and a bonus is most of the roads are flat, so no spin sessions are needed.

We rented the bicycles from Ciclo Cocles, they had a few shops in Puerto Viejo town and the nearby Playa Cocles. The bikes were fantastic and for 5 days it cost us £10 a day for 2 bikes and the padlocks. When out and about there were a few bike lock stands, but we mainly just locked them up to trees and had no problems.

There is also plenty of tuk-tuks in Puerto Viejo so it’s another way of darting around the area.

Travel Tip- If you would like to see a sloth in the wild, on many occasions we saw what we think was the same sloth in the tree opposite Arena Blanca apartments, see the exact location here.

Things to Do in Puerto Viejo

Visit Manzanillo

Manzanillo is about 8 miles from Puerto Viejo and is a small town not far from the border with Panama. It took us just less than an hour to cycle to Manzanillo from Puerto Viejo town, I do recommend sticking a waterproof in your bag we got drenched cycling back, lesson learnt.

Just before getting to Manzanillo, you’ll find Ara Manzanillo which is an organisation that aims to protect Costa Rica’s Macaw population. They offer daily tours between 3-4 pm for you to learn more about their work and spot some of Costa Rica’s magical wildlife. It cost $20 USD per person and is free for those under 12’s, just note you need to reserve ahead on their website.

There is also a beach here, Playa Grande, not my recommendation for a full beach day, but it’s worth a stroll. And if you walk left from the bike lock stands, you will find the shipwreck which people were even walking around during high tide, don’t recommend doing that without shoes, however. You’ll find plenty of picnic tables along the seafront, perfect for resting after all that cycling.

Also, you will find the Manzanillo nature reserve towards the end of the town, the entry fee is just a donation of your choosing. The path takes you to little secluded beach spots, lovely viewpoints and even a cave if the tide is right. It was super muddy when we were there as it had been raining the day previously, so we didn’t manage to finish the full trail, but it’s the highlight of Manzanillo and worth a visit.

Have a Beach Day

If you find yourself on a sunny bright day, the best thing to do is head down to one of the many beaches in and around Puerto Viejo. My favourite spot for a beach day was Punta Uva Beach, the coconut trees made for some great shade, just don’t sit directly underneath. Coconuts kill people.

There are also plenty of different beaches to visit in case you fancy a change of scenery, find my full Puerto Viejo beach guide below.

Jaguar Rescue Centre

Don’t get your hopes too high, the name is a little deceiving and you are unlikely to see actual jaguars, but instead plenty of other rescue animals. Running daily tours at 9:30 am or 11:30 am for $25 USD, it’s a lovely way of seeing some of Costa Rica’s natural wildlife whilst also contributing to the rescue centre’s lovely work.

Cahuita National Park

You’ll find these beautiful areas of national parks all over Costa Rica, however, the great thing about Cahuita is you’ll find a lot fewer visitors here than in places like Manuel Antonio for example. You can get tours from Puerto Viejo that will take you on guided nature walks or snorkelling adventures, yes this lovely national park has a beautiful beach.

Alternatively, you can make your own way to Cahuita National Park if you wish to explore solo, there is a bus that leaves Puerto Viejo and will drop you near the entrance of the park. I would check with you about accommodation for the most up-to-date times. You could also cycle if you have hired bikes, it would take roughly around an hour and as I didn’t do this don’t hold me to exacts as the roads may be more hilly in that direction.

BriBri Waterfalls

Another common tour from Puerto Viejo is to visit the local town of BriBri and their waterfalls within the jungle. Different tours will offer different itineraries, but you can choose to just explore the waterfalls or learn more about the BriBri tribe by exploring the local village and learning more about the production and uses of cacao.

Beach Guide to Puerto Viejo

Personally the beaches in the town of Puerto Viejo weren’t super appealing, further to the left of the town it’s a black sand beach and nearer to Salsa Brava there isn’t much space when the tides in and it’s quite rocky. But fear not there is plenty of wonderful beaches nearby and I’ll run through them below.

Warning! There are many signs around all the beaches warning of rip currents, so do be careful with where you go swimming. We did actually see someone have to be rescued by lifeguards at Cocoles.

Playa Cocoles

This is the best beach if you are staying in Puerto Viejo and want to be able to walk to the beach as it’s only a 30 min walk from the centre. With plenty of space to put your towels down, dedicated swimming sections with lifeguards, and spots for surfers and restaurants and vendors a step away this beach has everything you need.

Playa Chiquita

This beach was extremely difficult to locate and for that reason, it was not my favourite, located in between Playa Cocoles and Punta Uva, it was a good 30-minute cycle ride outside of Puerto Viejo and you had to weave around people’s houses to find the beach. For this reason, it was the quietest beach, so if you prefer a more secluded spot this one’s for you.

Punta Uva

This was my favourite spot for a day relaxing on the beach, with peaceful spots and busier areas with food and drink options, you got the best of both worlds. It took us about 40 minutes on the bikes to get here and we left our bikes in the trees just before Arrecife restaurant. 

I recommend strolling past Arrecife and around all the campervans/cars parked up if you want to relax in a quieter spot. This beach goes for what feels like miles making it the best spot for a beach walk, there are endless incredible photo spots here too.

Where to Eat and Drink in Puerto Viejo

For good coffee and chocolate check out Choco, they also offer chocolate and wine/rum/craft beer pairings as well as cacao farm tours here. Lovely staff too!

For a Caribbean dish head to Lidia’s Place, it’s always busy here.

For a tasty Italian try Punto y Pasta near Playa Chiquita.

For American-style food Hot Rocks is the place for you, you’ll find live entertainment here most nights.

For local cuisine by the beach, Salsa Brava is the one for you.

Things to Know Before Visiting Puerto Viejo

• The plug sockets are type A and B which is the same as the US, so unless you have US chargers you will need a travel adaptor. I also recommend the worldwide ones so you can be prepared for anything.
• The national language of Costa Rica is Spanish, although out of all the countries we have visited in Central America English was widely spoken here. However, it’s always good to have a few Spanish phrases in your back pocket.
• The main currency of Costa Rica is Colon, however everywhere in Puerto Viejo accepted US dollars as well, which is helpful if you have come from or heading to Panama.
• On the subject of money, if you need to get dollars out instead of colones use this ATM, just be warned it’s ridiculously slow.
• All the beaches and national parks will get a lot busier at the weekends, especially if the sun is shining. 
• Our daily spend was £80 for the two of us in Puerto Viejo. Although our daily spend whilst in Puerto Viejo was a little more than usual, it’s easily the most budget-friendly spot we visited in Costa Rica.
• For those who prefer to cook for themselves the best supermarket was Super Old Harbour or coming in a close second was the Mega Super.
• If you are someone who is in need of some gorgeous new pieces of clothing check out Aloe, location here. I could have bought the whole shop, great vibes.

Puerto Viejo was a stand-out destination we visited in Costa Rica, it had such a different vibe and feel from our other stops. I highly recommend checking it out and it’s especially well-located if you plan to travel to Panama overland or are entering Costa Rica through Panama.

Let me know your favourite destination in Costa Rica in the comments below.

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