Things to Do in Puerto Viejo

Explore Puerto Viejo on our travel blog

Air Activities:

Canopy Tours
Most Puerto Viejo tour operators offer trips to the southern Caribbean’s two canopy tours. Keep in mind that neither tour is located in Puerto Viejo, but outside of town to the north and south. Canopy tours are an ideal way to see the area’s scenery while enjoying high-adrenaline fun. The area’s newest canopy tour is located in secondary forest about an hour north of Puerto Viejo – poison dart frogs, playful monkeys and other wildlife often accompany canopy tourists on this eight-cable, ten-platform canopy adventure.

The canopy tour located in Manzanillo takes guests on a 75-minute, adventure-filled tour. Wildlife spotting is common during the canopy tour, and several platforms offer unparalleled views of the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge.

Read more about Canopy Tours

Land Activities:

 
Bicycling
Many hotels and tour companies rent sturdy "beach combers" with baskets for as little as $5 per day. Bikes are a great way to explore the nearby beaches of Playa Cocles, Chiquita, Punta Uva and Manzanillo. The road from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo varies from paved to dusty and pot-holed, but the trip is scenic, traffic is slow and there are several restaurants and mini-markets along the way. It takes roughly one hour to bike from the center of Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo. 

Bird and Wildlife Watching
Visitors to the Puerto Viejo area will likely be treated to sightings of white-faced and howler monkeys, toucans, iguanas, butterflies, two and three-toed sloths, and other wildlife.

Walks through the nearby Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge or Cahuita National Park provide wonderful opportunities to spot tropical flora and fauna. In downtown Puerto Viejo, Finca La Isla Botanical Garden is ideal for birdwatching and poison dart frog spotting.

Chocolate Tours
Those with a sweet tooth will love the educational chocolate tours offered at local cocoa farms. For a look into the area’s past and current indigenous culture, visit the Chocolate House, rumored to produce the best local, organic chocolate, or any of the area’s other indigenous chocolate tours. Those interested in getting a firsthand look at chocolate production will enjoy Puerto Viejo’s own chocolate tour, which allows visitors to literally get their hands dirty while making delicious, fresh chocolate bars.

Cultural Tours
The southern Caribbean is particularly rich in indigenous cultures. The Bribri, Kekoldi and Cabecar tribes make up Puerto Viejo’s largest remaining indigenous cultures, and several tours offer insight into their way of life: chocolate tours educate on the history and importance of the cocoa bean; medicinal plant tours reveal age-old secrets of preventative, herbal medicine; culture tours offer a glimpse of modern indigenous life, which has remained relatively separate from the Costa Rican lifestyle.

Horseback Riding
Local tour operators and hotels offer guided horseback trips through forested trails and along the beach, on both half and full day excursions. In Cahuita, tourists are treated to oceanfront horseback rides along Black Beach (Playa Negra), a beautiful and enjoyable treat.

Hiking
Cahuita National Park and Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge are both excellent options for light hikes along meandering trails. Several area tour operators offer informative, guided hiking tours to both national parks, in addition to several private reserves in the area.

Shopping
The Puerto Viejo market is held on Saturday mornings. Find locally made chocolates, handmade jewelry, pottery, woodcrafts and beauty products.  There is also an organic market every Saturday morning in front of the Shawandha Lodge in Playa Chiquita.

Water Activities:

Surfing
Salsa Brava is Puerto Viejo’s famous surf break and is often referred to as the country’s best wave. Located off the beach behind Stanford’s on Playa Negra, it is not Puerto Viejo’s only claim to surfing fame: Playa Cocles, just south of town, offers tall waves, steady surf and distant breaks. Surf boards can be rented at almost every beachfront shop, and many individuals and surf schools offer surfing lessons.

Read more about Caribbean Surf Breaks

Fishing
Local trips with artisan fishermen can be arranged through several hotels and tour agencies. This traditional style of fishing uses a small dugout canoe or wooden boat and a hand-reel and line.

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving
The clear waters of Costa Rica's Southern Caribbean Coast are home to the country's only two living reefs. More than 35 species of coral and 400 types of fish can be found at any given dive spot between Cahuita and Manzanillo, including precious black coral, trunkfish, snapper, chub, and angelfish. Purple barrel sponges, lobsters, and peaceful nurse sharks are also likely to be observed. Particularly interesting local dive sites include the coral gardens at Punta Uva, the Seahorse Stables, and The Holes – a colorful field of shallow nooks and crannies in the seafloor caused by an earthquake in 1991.

Consistently warm waters and very little surge make underwater exploration at Puerto Viejo a pleasure. The best time to dive the area is March-May and September-October. Local dive shops offer two-tank dives starting from $70 per trip. Snorkeling equipment can be rented from hotels and beachfront kiosks for $10 to $15 USD per day.

Swimming
Puerto Viejo’s beaches are made of both white and black sand, each providing incredible sunbathing and beautiful beachside walks. Just north of downtown, Black Beach (Playa Negra) offers the area’s smallest waves and safest swimming, though conditions always vary. Be sure to heed signs, and don’t hesitate to ask if the water is safe for swimming.

Rafting and Tubing 
A high-adrenaline whitewater rafting trip down the Pacuare River can be arranged through several tour companies in town. Packages include a day on class III and IV rapids, transportation, a guide and meals. 

In addition, Bocuare Jungle Adventures offers half-day tubing adventures in the nearby Estrella Valley – one- and two-person inner tubes rush down the Estrella River, passing through the Cabecar Indigenous Reserve on class II and class III rapids.

Kayaks may be rented from local hotels for excursions through the canals of the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. For those adventurers who prefer to have a guide, several tour companies offer kayaking excursions to the refuge.

Music Festivals:

South Caribbean Music & Arts Festival
Held every year for 3-4 weekends in April/May ending the weekend before Easter. The festival features Costa Rican musicians playing a variety of music including ska, jazz, reggae, calypso and more.  Also includes poetry readings, dance, theater presentations and children's activities.

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