Puerto Viejo · Where to stay

The few hundred metres of seafront road hold the bus stop, the bike rentals, the ATMs and most of the bars, so nothing needs a taxi. The trade-off is noise: music from the beachfront places runs late at weekends and the cheapest rooms are the ones nearest to it.

A sand-bottom beach break rather than the reef, with small hotels and hostels set back from the road and town about ten minutes away by bike. Suits people who want to surf in the morning and still ride in for dinner.

Four to seven kilometres south, mostly cabinas and lodges under the trees, with the calmest swimming on this coast at Punta Uva. You need a bicycle or a taxi for every meal and the road is unlit after dark.

Cahuita is 45 minutes north on the MEPE bus, cheaper, much quieter, and the national park starts at the edge of the village. Sensible if you want the coast without the late-night strip — day-trip into Puerto Viejo rather than the reverse.