Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

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For other places with the same name, see Puerto Viejo (disambiguation).

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is a small coastal town in Caribbean Costa Rica in the province of Limón. It is popular with surfers and backpackers. This is an area where foreigners are buying and building in a sustainable manner. There are two gorgoeus National Parks nearby - Cahuita and Manzanillo, and it rains more than on the Pacific side, which is why it is so lush and green with the rainforest coming down to the sea.

[edit] Get in

The local bus leaves 4-5 times a day direct from Caribe Station in San José. Last bus leaves at 4pm and all buses are direct with one pit stop outside of Limon. The ride is approx 4 hours. Make sure you get on the bus to Puerto Vallarta de Talamanca, not de Sarapiquí which is a different part of the country.

If you want to save a few colones, you can take local bus from Caribe station to Limón and transfer to Puerto Viejo bus. This is what many locals do.

There are also tourist buses that will pick you up at your hotel and drop you off where you want. The most popular one is Interbus. There is also EasyRide and Grayline.

Driving here is also popular, but roads can be bad as at certain times of the year, the pot holes can get obnoxious. However, you really don't need a car when you are here. Most people rent bicycles and scooters. The roads may not be all paved, but they are flat as they all follow beach line.

[edit] Get around

The bus system is excellent. Most lodges have bicycles for rent too.

[edit] See

• The beaches are gorgeous, but like everywhere in Central America, watch those riptides.
• There are beautiful birds, butterflies and animals to be seen.
• There is also the Iguana Conservation Tour at Iguana Verde Foundation, you can check the tour futures at [1]

[edit] Do

Rent a bike and ride it the full 26km round trip to Manzanillo and back. Make it a day trip. Each time you see a side road leading to the ocean, follow it for a hundred meters or so and you will usually find a beautiful secluded beach. It's a long but easy, flat ride. If you'd like to cut the ride short you could make your destination Punta Uva.

[edit] Buy

[edit] Eat

[edit] Drink

[edit] Sleep

Instead of huge hotels, there are lots of ecolodges from basic to luxury, and lots of places to eat and party. Many hotels are located on the road along the coast, starting in Puerto Viejo until Manzanillo. In town, the hotel Casa Verde is reasonable in price, very clean and has a large pool. There is another place at Punta Uva call Tree House Lodge, unique houses in front of the beach, you can check it out at [2]''

[edit] Get out

The small road goes further south through villages like Cocles and Punta Uva, both with small houses for rent.