Driving directions to Limon and Points South

To: Guapiles, Siquirres, Tortuguero, Limon, Cahuita, Bribri, Puerto Viejo, Manzanillo and points in between

To All: 

Follow Route 32 out of San Jose (you can pick up this road in La Uruca and Tibas).  It travels north through the Braulio Carrillo and then east to Limon.

About 10km after leaving the city, there is a gas station just before passing the peaje (toll). Toll is 250¢ for cars.  You will begin your journey up and through the Braulio Carrillo National Park.  Re-set your odometer as you pass through the peaje.

This road is a well-marked and recently paved (as of January 2007).  It alternates between one and two lanes in your direction of travel, depending on which direction is driving the uphill.

At 4km from the peaje (toll booth), the Zurqui tunnel cuts through the mountain.  There are often police monitoring your speed with radar guns just before the tunnel.  This is also an excellent place to pull over and check out the view.

Traffic moves slowly through the park sometimes.  Just take your time, enjoy the view (it is a majestic place). Don’t be impatient and make dangerous decisions to pass other vehicles when you cannot see in advance enough.  This road is especially dangerous when it is raining.  Landslides and poor visibility add to the danger.  Accidents happen frequently.

Also keep an eye out for the large blue morpho butterfly.  They can almost always be sighted fluttering along the roadside.  There are several waterfalls off to the left on far away mountainsides.  There are miradors (lookout points) at 12.5km and 15.5km from the peaje. At about km 21, the air really starts to change and you begin to feel the Caribbean humidity.

Pass park headquarters on right, then the Sucio River (km 23). There is a parking area after bridge; it’s worth the time to park and walk back over the bridge to look at the two rivers.  The Rio Sucio and Rio Limpio merge; a brown river and a blue river.

There is an aerial tram tour after leaving the Braulio Carrillo National Park at km28 offering a snake museum and a butterfly garden.

You will leave the mountain pass and come into a small town after 32 kilometers (from peaje).  As you exit the mountain,  the view shed opens up to expose the vast Caribbean lowlands.  If you look off into the distance, it is very flat.  The only visible hill (on very clear days) is Tortuguero Hill.

There is a gas station on the left and the El Yugo restaurant is on the right.  This is an excellent place to stop and have lunch (delicious, inexpensive casados) and utilize the clean restrooms.  There are a few road-side fruit stands here, too.

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To Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui:

Take the well marked turn to the left. This is not the Puerto Viejo that is well known as a tourist destination and beach town.

To Guapiles and all other:

Continue south along Route 32 for all eastern and southern destinations (Limón, Tortuguero and Puerto Viejo)

There is a well-marked turn to Guápiles off to the left.  There is a Total Gas station here.  The El Caribe Bus terminal is just past the turn for Guapiles and there is a Burger King and a Church’s Chicken.

There will be another gas station between here and Siquirres.  You will also pass an Imperial Brewing factory on the right.  There are several small rivers and creeks that you will pass over on well-constructed bridges, including the Rio Jimenez and Rio Roca.  At km#56 there is another Total Gas station.

Police monitor these roads frequently with radar guns.

After crossing the Rio Guacimo, the road straightens out and there are many safe opportunities for passing.

(Km#60) The turn for Parismina is a well marked left turn.

There are blinking lights at the turn for Earth University at km#64.

To Siquirres:

Cross over the Rio Siquirres, go under 2 underpasses and take the next left, following the signs for Caño Blanco and Tortuguero.  There are services in Siquirres including a bank (with an ATM), gas station, restaurants,grocery stores and other shops.

To Tortuguero:

There are several ways to arrive in Tortuguero, all of them requiring a boat at some point.  Boats leave from several rivers that stem from towns near Guapiles, Siquirres and Moin.  Many of the roads that lead to these docks are unmarked gravel roads and, unless you really know the way, it is easy to get lost. 

See www(dot)geocities(dot)com/tortugueroinfo/main(dot)html for detailed instructions on all the options for arriving in Tortuguero.  

To Limon:

Pass town of Siquirres and continue on the main road towards Limon.  Shortly after passing the turn for Siquirres, there is a 24 hour gas station. 

(Km#83) - The turn for Barbilla National Park is on the right.

The turn for Matina port and Moin also offer launching points to Tortuguero. There is another gas station at km#107.  Cross the Rio Rojo and Toro.  As you begin to near Limon, there are several shipping companies with large containers stacked several stories high. 

There are several gas stations along the road as you enter Limon.

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To Cahuita, Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo: 

After arriving in Limon  and passing a large cemetery with white graves, turn right at a stoplight onto Route 36 (km 134 from peaje).  There is a huge sign marking the turn for Cahuita, Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo. 

Immediately after making this turn, the first of the two last gas stations is on your right, a Texaco.  If you have any less than ¼ tank,  get gas here.  There are no official gas stations in Cahuita or Puerto Viejo.  From this Texaco, there is only one more gas station along the way before arriving in Cahuita. If you have ¼ tank or more, continue on to the final gas station, Servicentro Penishurt.  

You will pass through a poor neighborhood and have your first glimpse of the ocean in just a few minutes.  The road winds around the Limon airport and continues south to Cahuita. Follow signs to Cahuita and Route 36.

Fill up with gas at the Servicentro Penshurt (km 166 from peaje).  Make sure to fill up here so you have plenty of gas for all your travels in Puerto Viejo and surrounding areas. This is the last official gas station.  Emergency gas is available in Puerto Viejo, but it costs almost 1$ more per liter to buy it in town. 

From this gas station, the road alternates in its condition.  Some areas are clear sailing, while others have lots of pot holes.  Often you will see traffic driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid potholes.  Usually, they move back to their side of the road before you pass each other.  As of September 2006, they had fixed all the pot holes, but who knows how long these patches will last. 

There are also several one-lane bridges where it is difficult to see if there is oncoming traffic.  Approach these slowly and with caution. 

After crossing Tuba Creek, there is a bend in the road and then an immigration check point.  Usually for traffic heading south, they wave you through, but on the return trip they sometimes want to see your passport and will do a visual inspection of your car.

Cahuita is just 4km more from here. There are several turn-offs for Cahuita.  The first is a hand-made, black and white stenciled sign for Playa Negra and beaches north of Cahuita (Tuba Creek and Playa Grande). The next two turns are for central Cahuita. The turn marked with the “Parque Nacional Cahuita” takes you to the center of Cahuita at km 175 from peaje.

A little further up the main road is the turn for Puerto Vargas. This is a gravel road that leads to the Cahuita Point. You must pay to pass through here as it enters Cahuita National Park. There are beach front camping areas with picnic tables, latrines, showers and sinks. 

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To Bribri and Sixaola:

Further up, turn right at the well marked split following the sign to Bribri.  Follow signs for Route 36. The road ends in Sixaola. You can walk across the border here to Panama, but you can not drive.

To Puerto Viejo:

If you head straight through this intersection (don’t turn left for Bribri), the next town up is Puerto Viejo. The road changes to gravel as you pass the turn off for Bribri and Sixaola (to the right) and continues as such until the village of Puerto Viejo, Punta Uva and Manzanillo.

Playa Negra is the first beach in Puerto Viejo. The sand is black, really black.

To Playa Cocles, Punta Uva and Manzanillo:

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