Puerto Viejo

Both entrances open 8am-4pm. Kelly Creek at the Cahuita village end takes a voluntary cash contribution; Puerto Vargas charges US$5.65 and takes cards. A coastal trail links the two.

The most developed coral reef on the country's Caribbean coast: elkhorn and brain coral, sea fans, lobster and turtles. Go with a licensed guide and biodegradable sunscreen.

The best swimming beach on this coast, seven kilometres south: clear water, a headland to walk around and almost no development behind it.

Sloths, monkeys, snakes and birds in rehabilitation at Playa Chiquita. Public tours daily at 9.30am and 11.30am, booked online in advance.

Rondón, rice and beans in coconut milk, patí and jerk chicken. The best of it comes off home kitchens and roadside grills rather than restaurants.

Four to five hours through the Braulio Carrillo tunnel and Limón. MEPE runs direct buses from San José several times a day and is the cheap option.

Sansa serves Puerto Limón from San José; from the airport it is about an hour and a half south by road to Puerto Viejo.

Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo is thirteen flat kilometres of coast road with beaches the whole way. Everyone rides it, hire is cheap, and parking stops being a problem.

The Caribbean keeps its own seasons: February to April and September to October are the driest and sunniest.

May, June, November and December are the wettest and cheapest, with real rain rather than showers.

Christmas to New Year, Easter week and the Limón carnival week in October.

Ride or bus down to Cahuita for the 8am opening and walk the coastal trail in from Kelly Creek.

A guided snorkel over the reef off Cahuita point while the water is still flat.

Rice and beans with coconut milk in Cahuita village, which does it better and cheaper than Puerto Viejo.

Back north and out on a bicycle to Punta Uva, stopping at Cocles and Chiquita on the way.

Sunset behind you on the seafront, then a reggae bar in town. The night here starts late and ends later.

The end of the road thirteen kilometres south, inside a Ramsar-listed wildlife refuge, with a good beach and a coastal trail towards Punta Mona.

Indigenous territory inland, with community-run cacao tours and the Sixaola border river beyond. Go with a local guide; it is not a drive-through.