Our final city to explore in Costa Rica was Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (or as you may read for the public bus, Puerto Viejo, Limon; there are actually two Puerto Viejos in Costa Rica and you want to go to the one on the beach in the Limon province). Since we were traveling in September, we chose to go to the Caribbean side since it’s not rainy season there. We spent 2.5 days here, which was a day longer than any other city we’d visited in CR.

Sightseeing

The first thing we did in Puerto Viejo was to explore, both by foot and by bike ($5/day rental). There are a bunch of shops and stalls to peruse. And the town is right on the beach, so we spent plenty of time moseying about.

Playa Uva came highly recommended. Puerto Viejo is bordered by the Caribbean sea, so there are plenty of beaches to choose from. Because we’d met some Costa Rican friends, we hitched a ride to Punta Uva (it’s a point where you can hike around) and to Manzanilla, where its said the manzanilla plant grows (think chamomile tea).

Jaguar Rescue Center

Visiting Costa Rica is all about the wildlife! At the time we went, the Jaguar Rescue Center didn’t actually have any jaguars, but they do rehabilitate many animals in order to re-enter them into the wild. This was probably the point I fell in love with sloths. We saw many of them in the wild, but how could you resist this cuteness?!

The 1.5 hour tour is $20 and supports the rescue center.

Yoga is everywhere in Puerto Viejo! Shelley and I went to OM at Cashew Hill with a lovely view over the city.

 Restaurants

I was a big fan of Pan Pay, both for breakfast and baked goods like cake!

While we didn’t get to eat at Koki Beach, the views are pretty great!

 

And now, a new category in my Costa Rica blog posts (since it’s the only night we went out!):

Nightlife

Hot Rocks has live music & happy hour deals.

Lazy Mon has a fire show with a DJ on Saturdays!

Accommodation

Kinkaju Hostel

While not fancy, it got the job done.

$30/night/room

Room: private room with 3 beds, shared bathroom

Transportation

To get to Puerto Viejo from Tortuguero, we took a boat to Moin. Our original idea was to get a bus to Puerto Viejo from there, but taxis sit at the dock so we took a $10 taxi instead.

It’s easy to walk around the town by foot, but if you want to go to the beaches, I recommend renting a $5/day bike. There are public buses, too.

Day 1 – Fly to San Jose

Day 2 – San Jose, Travel to Monteverde

Day 3 – Monteverde

Day 4 – Travel to La Fortuna

Day 5 – La Fortuna

Day 6 – Travel to Tortuguero

Day 7 – Tortuguero

Day 8 – Travel to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

Day 9 – Puerto Viejo

Day 10 – Puerto Viejo

Day 11 – Travel to San Jose

Day 12 – Fly home