A turquoise bay at Punta Uva with a coloured hammock hanging from a tree

Worth knowing

Places worthknowing.

A selective guide to Costa Rica: where to stay, what to do and the places actually worth your time.

Explore Costa RicaStart with the Caribbean
Why Dear Costa Rica

We do the choosing for you

We research, compare and select so you don’t have to sort through hundreds of places.

A long beach with a small rocky island offshore at Playa Cocles
01

Places with character

Specific towns, beaches and landscapes that reward the journey.

02

Stays we’d recommend

A short list, chosen for setting, personality and how they make you feel.

03

Experiences worth your time

The guides, walks and tables that add something real to a trip.

Caribbean

Start on the South Caribbean

Three distinct reasons to follow the coast road south, with enough space between them to slow down.

A palm over the shore and the bay at Puerto ViejoTown · Food · CoastPuerto ViejoChoose it for Afro-Caribbean cooking, an easy bicycle rhythm and nights with some life in them.Explore Puerto Viejo The sea seen through branches at a viewpoint in CahuitaNational park · VillageCahuitaChoose it for a quieter base, reef snorkeling and rainforest beginning at the water’s edge.Read the Cahuita guide Waves on the beach below a forested headland at Punta UvaBeach · JunglePunta UvaChoose it for calm early swims and the coast’s most generous stretch of sand and green.Read the Punta Uva guide
Which place fits your trip?

Same coast, three different trips

You picked the region. Here’s how Puerto Viejo, Cahuita and Punta Uva actually differ once you’re choosing where to base yourself.

Pink evening sky over the black sand at Playa Negra

Puerto Viejo

Best for
Food & nightlife
Feels like
Barefoot, bohemian, Afro-Caribbean
Choose it if
Afro-Caribbean cooking, an easy bicycle rhythm and nights with some life in them.
Explore Puerto Viejo
A white-faced capuchin hanging in a tree at Cahuita

Cahuita

Best for
National park at the doorstep
Feels like
A village, not a scene
Choose it if
A quieter base with reef snorkelling and rainforest beginning right at the water’s edge.
Explore Cahuita
A palm silhouetted against the sun on the beach at Punta Uva

Punta Uva

Best for
Calmest, clearest water
Feels like
The calmest, clearest swimming near Puerto Viejo
Choose it if
Calm early swims and the coast’s most generous stretch of sand and green.
Explore Punta Uva
Getting here

One road, four legs worth knowing

How people actually move along this coast, door to door.

  1. San José to Puerto ViejoArriveShuttle, bus or car, and which to pick.
  2. Getting around Puerto ViejoMoveBike by day, taxi at night, the local bus.
  3. Three days in Puerto ViejoPlanTown, coast road, then the national park.
  4. Puerto Viejo to Bocas del ToroOnwardThe border, the bridge and the boat.
A dramatic orange sunset over the bay at Puerto Viejo, with a small boat and silhouettes
Featured journey

The Caribbean coast,
without rushing it.

Five days from Cahuita to Manzanillo: one bicycle, three beaches, the right lunches and no reason to fill every hour.

Read the field guide
Places to stay

Three stays on one coast

Not a booking grid. Three hotels on the South Caribbean coast chosen for character, one for each kind of stay.

The pool, thatched pavilion and terrace of Hotel Aguas Claras on Playa ChiquitaDesign-led

Hotel Aguas Claras

An art and design hotel of bungalows and suites on Playa Chiquita, with ocean-side beach access and a beach club restaurant and bar.

Playa ChiquitaBest for couples who care about the room
Visit hotel website
The wooden main house of Hotel Banana Azul with its balcony, framed by palmsAdults only

Hotel Banana Azul

Adults-only and beachfront on Playa Negra, with a small pool and tropical gardens; about a 30-minute walk along the beach or a short drive into town.

Playa Negra, north of townBest for a calm beachfront base
Visit hotel website
Aerial view of Le Caméléon Boutique Hotel on Playa Cocles, with its thatched pavilionBeachfront

Le Caméléon

A minimalist beachfront hotel on Playa Cocles, with ocean-view and garden-view suites, some with a private pool.

Playa CoclesBest for polished comfort near the surf
Visit hotel website

How to choose

Plan your trip

Five decisions, answered plainly

Everything else on this site folds into one of these five questions.

Aerial view of a beach and forest on the Caribbean coast of Limón, Costa Rica01 · Getting thereSan José to Puerto ViejoShuttle, bus or car, and which to pick.Open Aerial view of Le Caméléon Boutique Hotel on Playa Cocles, with its thatched pavilion02 · Where to stayPick the coast firstThen the hotel: five areas to choose from.Open A smiling sloth on a branch near Playa Negra03 · Things to doFive ways worth your timeFrom the coast’s quietest swim to a table worth crossing town for.Open A white three-wheeled tuk-tuk on a leafy road in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca04 · Getting aroundA bike covers most of itBike by day, taxi at night, the local bus.Open Red-roofed waterfront buildings across the water at Bocas del Toro, Panama05 · Going furtherPuerto Viejo to Bocas del ToroThe border, the bridge and the boat.Open
On the coast

Six kilometres, in pictures

Playa Negra to Punta Uva.

An orange sunset over the water at Puerto Viejo
Surf and a small island seen from the sand at Playa Cocles
A palm leaning over driftwood and the sea at Playa Chiquita
The turquoise cove at Punta Uva, with forest down to the sand
Low sun over wet sand and a leaning palm at Punta Uva
Rock shelves and clear water on the coast at Puerto Viejo
Sunset behind a palm and a dark rock at Playa Chiquita
The sea seen through branches at a viewpoint in Cahuita
A palm silhouetted against the sun on the beach at Punta Uva
Where we’re going next

More Costa Rica, coming next

Dear Costa Rica starts on the South Caribbean. These are the regions we’re researching next: not published yet, but on the way.

Arenal volcano under a capped cloud at sunset above green pastures near La Fortuna, Costa RicaComing soon

La Fortuna

Volcano · Hot springs

Aerial view of a forested headland and blue bay on the Guanacaste coast, Costa RicaComing soon

Guanacaste

Pacific coast · Dry forest

A green hummingbird perched on a bare branch in the forest at Monteverde, Costa RicaComing soon

Monteverde

Cloud forest · Naturalists

A long beach with a small rocky island offshore at Playa Cocles
Ready to explore?

Your Costa Rica journey
starts here.

A selective guide to the South Caribbean, with more of Costa Rica on the way.

Explore the guideBrowse destinations