I need to report that I recently found a slice of paradise. Seriously. So much so that it has brought me to the area twice in a two-year span. And while Jamaica is obviously the icon of Caribbean culture among travelers, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica is my favorite Caribbean spot. I decided to book myself a 10-day vacation in the small beach town when I flew to Costa Rica to cover Jungle Dreaming Festival, which was canceled last minute. After scraping together as many memories as I could with other would-be festival attendees, I headed off for 10 glorious days alone on the southernmost segment of Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast for some amazing eats, sun-kissed beach days, and jungle bungalow stays.
The thing about Puerto Viejo is that it isn’t the easiest place to get to. After landing in the capital of San José, it takes an average of five hours to drive there. Depending on traffic and road closures, it could take as long as seven. This discourages all the tourists who are looking for an easy tropical trip and opt for the more mainstream travel itineraries in San José, La Fortuna, or Tamarindo.
Let me tell you: the long travel time is so worth it. Instead of a “Americanized” coastal town flooded with ex-pats, you’ll find a thriving Costa Rican community that celebrates Caribbean culture and the slow, easy “pura vida” lifestyle. Even the long road trip to get there feels like an adventure — you pass right through some of Costa Rica’s most diverse climates, including the winding mountains of Braulio Carrillo National Park and the lush flora and fauna of the cloud forest.
Once I arrived, I found it tempting to stay indefinitely. With over 10 miles of different beaches, a community that walks and bikes everywhere, and a plethora of restaurants, bars, and day trip attractions, it was the perfect place to go full “pura vida.” Check out my guide below!
PART 1 – Where To Eat & Drink
Puerto Viejo has literally tons of local food carts everywhere you look. (Remember, traveling internationally doesn’t have to be crazy expensive!) I found that snagging a homemade chicken or beef empanada hit just right as a mid-day lunch or snack on the beach. There’s also this amazing Trinidadian food cart located at Playa Cocles. Tara – the owner – is usually parked facing the road on the weekends when the beach gets packed (and for good reasons, more on the beaches later). She sells a delicious, vegan Trinidad street food staple called Doubles, which melt in your mouth and are perfect as a pick-me-up on the beach.
To satisfy your late-night food cravings, look out for any food cart selling enyucados. “Cheesy stuffed, fried goodness” is all I wrote in my little notebook. You’ll also be approached by friendly locals while sunbathing on the beach. This is where you can luck out and make your tastebuds happy without even needing to get up off your beach blanket –homemade ice cream cups, weed-based brownies and chocolates, cookies, empanadas, and more.
For breakfast, Cafe Gustitos serves up delicious – yet extremely cheap – authentic Costa Rican desayunos. None of the staff speaks English, so you better make sure your Spanish is on point (or at least functional). It’s nestled right on the main strip of town and they open promptly at 7 am each morning, except Saturdays. For around $6, you can get a full plate of rice, beans, fried cheese, plantains, and fresh papaya juice to start your day.
If you’re missing your American-style pancakes and waffles, head over to Bread & Chocolate. This place gets packed early and for good reason. You’ll find a great (and very familiar) breakfast and lunch menu with comfort foods and a whole line of chocolate-based coffees and drinks.
After extensive testing, I’m quite sure that the town’s best gelato is located at Gelateria. In fact, this is the best damn gelato I’ve ever had (yes, I’ve been to Italy!). It’s located right in front of Playa Puerto Viejo, next door to Puerto Pirata. It closes by 6 pm every day and there’s almost always a line. Ask for the “special” chocolate flavor, you’ll thank me later.
Sushi on the beach? Yes, please.
As far as I could tell, there were two sushi restaurants directly in Puerto Viejo’s town center. Chile Rojo is located right on the main road and serves up delicious Thai fusion dishes and a huge selection of large sushi rolls. I often don’t go for dessert at Asian restaurants, but the vegan chocolate mousse was incredible. The restaurant also serves up two-for-one drink specials all day, every day. Just around the corner, you’ll find Samurai Fusion. It’s easy to walk miss — as it only hosts four small tables and a little walk-up ordering window — but it’s quality sushi, made with care. I’d say grab your order to go so you can spend more time basking in the Costa Rica sun.
Located on the town’s main road, Koki Beach Restaurant Bar Lounge features excellent food and a brightly lit jungle vibe. This is a perfect place to go for dinner, but make sure you make reservations! Vine-wrapped trees swirl up through some of the infrastructure and because of this, the restaurant is known for the occasional sloth drop in.
In fact, I was sitting down eating dinner with a girlfriend when a sloth crossed right over our heads. It was quite the experience.
Of course, what would an international trip be without a fancy dinner? I happily made reservations at La Casita de Monli for my last night in the little town based solely on many people’s recommendations. It boasts a French Caribbean-style food menu with a selection of specials each night based on what the fishermen bring in fresh that day. This means you’ll never get the exact same special offered to you. You’ll definitely need to make reservations, as it hosts maybe only 10 tables or so for a more personalized dining experience.
I got the bouillabaisse and was happily surprised when I received a second bowl filled with warm water to wash my fingers in.
My all-time favorite place in Puerto Viejo is CariBeans. I’ll admit, I shamelessly went there around six times during my 10-day stay. Located just before Playa Cocles on the right-hand side, it’s one of the area’s best coffee and chocolate cafes around. It’s a perfect wooden jungle bungalow digital nomad hub serving up delicious locally-sourced coffee, chocolate, and healthy and vegan food offerings.
The chocolate frio drink is literally to die for.
For yummy cocktails, the town is crawling with two-for-one specials nearly everywhere you look. For the best sunset views, you can’t go wrong with a coco-loco at Puerto Pirata. If you’re craving some whiskey, head to the Irish pub, The Green Dragon to help satisfy your cravings. Salsa Brava and Johnny’s Place also host great late-night beach parties for a perfect mix of locals and international travelers.
PART II – Where To Beach
The best part about visiting Puerto Viejo is basking under the sun on all of the beautiful beaches. Most locals and tourists end up renting a bike for as little as $5 per day to easily beach hop. If you’re brave enough, you can also rent electric scooters, ebikes, or flag down a tuk-tuk for more efficient beach hopping.
Playa Negra:
Translated to “black beach,” Playa Negra is of course known for its sparkling volcanic black sand. It stretches into the town of Puerto Viejo six miles north. I found a lot of solace here in the early morning as the sun was peeking over the horizon. Once the sun comes out, the sand gets hot quick — like “burn the bottoms of your feet” hot — so you need to bring a blanket as a buffer.
The conditions of the water always depend on the weather and wind, but you can usually find calmer water to swim farther from town, while the surfers tend to stay closer to town.
Playa Cocles
This is where most of the action happens! Located two miles south of town, you can bike here (and pick up a chocolate frio on your way from CariBeans) and easily mingle with sometimes hundreds of locals and tourists. The weekends are when it really fills up and there are often live musicians jamming, plus plenty of food and drink options – including fresh coconut water for only 500 colones – sunbathing, joint smoking, and surfing.
The waves are known to be a little rough here, so be cautious when going in the water. There’s a huge surf community here and there’s always a surfing competition of some sort during the weekends.
Playa Chiquita & Punta Uva
Once you keep biking past Playa Cocles, it starts to get a little more remote and the beach stretches pretty far. You’ll pass Playa Chiquita and Punta Uva, both offering quiet and remote beach access. Here’s where I made use of the wide open space and tanned without worry of tan lines. Seriously though – it’s like having your own sliver of crystal-clear paradise.
PART III – Where To Sleep
There’s something about staying in an actual house when abroad that really just resonates with me. The whole point of travel is to live among the locals and integrate yourself in the local culture. I’m also someone who likes to travel pretty cheaply, so having five-star amenities isn’t really important to me. Plus, I enjoy meeting fellow travelers. Puerto Viejo has a decent range of accommodations for all people, ranking from budget-friendly hostels to luxury jungle cabins and rental houses.
I love staying at Hidden Jungle Beach House every time I come to this town. This beautiful, rustic, rainbow-painted beach house is exactly what it sounds like. It’s right across the street from Playa Negra and a short six-minute walk or three-minute bike ride downtown. The owner, Amy, took over the piece of land back in 2017 and has really turned it into a special little spot. She lives in her own home on the property and tucked in the back is the “hidden” jungle beach house boasting six bedrooms all fitted with mosquito nets and a fan, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a welcoming community of like-minded traveling souls.
Both of the times that I’ve stayed here, I’ve met a wonderful and eclectic mix of people from around the world; some of whom I still stay in touch with. You’ll also encounter friendly free-range chickens, a couple of Amy’s dogs, a multi-named cat (I called her Sweets), and many, many spiders. While I’m someone who is terrified of spiders – especially ones the size of my fist – I recognized the purpose of them around the property and paid my respects as they caught all the annoying mosquitos that naturally live around the area.
For all my solo female travelers, La Tribu is a beautiful, boutique hostel for women only. Hosting anywhere between 10 to 25 female travelers at any given time, it’s a wonderful space that caters to the divine feminine, adorned with golden lighting, a huge modern kitchen and dining area, a comfortable sitting area lining the outside wall, an indoor hot tub, and shared hostel-style bedrooms. Even if you’re not staying there, it’s a safe space for women to come during the day and intermingle with other women.
When I went there, I got there just in time to participate in a volunteer-led cacao ceremony on the night of the new moon. We all gathered in a circle and summoned some magical divine feminine energy through chanting, dancing, and singing. Fun, witchy stuff.
There’s also Hotel Selina. As one of the world’s more reputable hotel and hostel accommodation groups, you can’t go wrong staying at its Puerto Viejo location. While being centrally located in Puerto Viejo, it boasts beautiful beach views with a bar, a gorgeous swimming pool, a yoga deck, and a co-working space. With all of its amenities, it can be easy to stay completely on-site and not leave, especially with your own private beach.
PART IV – Where To Play
It’s definitely easy to be a “pura vida” beach bum in Puerto Viejo, but there are actually a lot of amazing things to do while you’re in Puerto Viejo. Most activities are easily accessible by walking or biking, which makes it that much easier to fit into your long days under the sun.
Visit Tasty Waves:
I strategically placed Tasty Waves in the “where to play” category and not the “eat and drink” category solely because it really is more of an experience. Located right next to CariBeans before you get to Playa Cocles, Tasty Waves will become one of your favorite places to spend your evenings. This beachfront restaurant, bar, and entertainment area boasts an incredible atmosphere of locals and travelers through its various themed nights, including Thursday Night Free Trivia (where you can score free shots and joints) and Friday Open Jam.
It also has the best spicy Guaro shots you can get in the area.
Wander The Downtown Farmer & Artisan Market:
There’s nothing better than supporting local businesses, which is why you should make sure to hit up Puerto Viejo’s local farmer and artisan market. Locals will pop up tents along the main street and side streets every Saturday morning from 8 am-12 pm. Here’s where you can practice your Spanish as you buy local vegetables, fruits, and handmade jewelry.
Jaguar Rescue Center:
I cannot say enough good things about this place. I was actually standing outside of Tasty Waves one night smoking a spliff when I heard a volunteer talking about her work experience at this place and she confidently said it is her favorite animal sanctuary and hospital she’s worked at all throughout the world. I can see why. Jaguar Rescue Center works as a temporary or permanent home for ill, injured, and orphaned animals, especially monkeys, sloths, small mammals, birds, and reptiles.
What’s astonishing about this place is that for the past 20 years that it has been operating, it receives no money or funding from the government and solely relies on the support of patrons. Each tour is an hour long and winds you through the grounds to learn about the current animals that are living there. Surprisingly, there are no jaguar here but the center averages around 170 total animals and 36 species in its care at any given time.
Go On A Cacao Tour:
Did you know that Costa Rica is home to some of the world’s best and most fruitful cacao plants? If you want to see for yourself and learn all about the medicinal magic of these seeds, I highly recommend you take a cacao farm tour and chocolate-making class. While you can find classes and tours offered all over Puerto Viejo, Talamanca Chocolate knows how it’s done. Led by founder Amsel, the farm has over 30 years of experience farming organically on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica and takes its “chocolate is medicine” approach quite seriously. They offer hands-on workshops, where you can learn about the traditional cacao drink, make rustic truffles, and practice the art of tempering chocolate bars. It was so beautiful to walk among the grounds and see real and aging cacao trees and learn how many health benefits real cacao and chocolate can provide to the human body.
Visit Cahuita National Park:
This is a must-do when you’re in Puerto Viejo. Costa Rica has 28 national parks, and Cahuita National Park is definitely one of the best. The park is located 10.5 miles North of Puerto Viejo, so you actually pass right by it when you’re driving into the town from San José. You can easily hop on a public bus from Puerto Viejo to the little town of Cahuita for only $2 and in 25 minutes you’ll end up at the front entrance. It’s honestly an amazing day trip here because it doesn’t cost any money to get in, although you should totally donate what you can manage. One, five-mile trail winds through the lush jungle flora and fauna and along the crystal-clear shores of Playa Blanca. I found myself face-to-face with monkeys, raccoons, and crabs. Sloths slept high in the tree canopies above me. It’s also home to some of the country’s best-protected coral reefs, so you can also book a snorkeling tour to out and explore the colorful underwater forest.