A Local's Guide to the Best Things to Do in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Puerto Viejo has a way of slowing people down.
Some visitors come for the beaches. Others come for the wildlife, the food, or the music. Many arrive planning to stay for a few days and end up extending their trip.
One of the wonderful things about this corner of Costa Rica's Caribbean coast is that there isn't just one way to experience it. You can spend the morning watching sloths in the rainforest, the afternoon paddling through calm tropical waters, and the evening tasting bean-to-bar chocolate as the sun begins to set.
If you're wondering where to begin, here are some of our favourite experiences.
Discover Costa Rica's Wildlife
Jaguar Rescue Center
The Jaguar Rescue Center is one of the Caribbean coast's best-known conservation projects.
Despite its name, it doesn't care for jaguars. Instead, it rescues and rehabilitates sloths, monkeys, birds, reptiles, and many other native animals before returning them to the wild whenever possible.
A guided visit offers a wonderful introduction to Costa Rica's wildlife and the people working to protect it.
The Ara Project
The Ara Project is dedicated to conserving endangered parrots and macaws.
Visitors can learn about breeding programmes, habitat restoration, and the ongoing work to reintroduce these remarkable birds into Costa Rica's forests.
It's an inspiring visit for anyone interested in wildlife and conservation.
Experience Cacao
Chocolate has deep roots in Costa Rica, and Puerto Viejo is one of the best places to discover how it is made.
At Cacao Huasi, we invite guests to experience cacao in several different ways.
Hands-On Chocolate Making Class
Craft your own chocolate from roasted cacao beans while learning how fermentation, roasting, grinding, and tempering shape flavour.
Most people arrive thinking they're making chocolate.
They leave understanding cacao.
Chocolate & Watercolor
A relaxed afternoon combining chocolate tasting with watercolor painting.
No artistic experience is needed—just curiosity and a willingness to slow down.
Chocolate Pairings
Discover how chocolate changes alongside carefully selected drinks.
Choose from:
These guided tastings often change the way people experience both chocolate and the drink beside it.
Explore the Beaches
One of Puerto Viejo's greatest pleasures is that every beach has its own personality. Starting just north of town and travelling south, each one offers something a little different.
Playa Negra
Playa Negra sits just outside Puerto Viejo and is instantly recognisable by its striking volcanic black sand.
The contrast between the dark shoreline, turquoise Caribbean Sea, and lush tropical vegetation makes it one of the area's most distinctive beaches. It's a wonderful place for a morning walk, photography, or simply enjoying a quieter stretch of coastline.
Puerto Viejo Beach
The town beach is lively, convenient, and easy to reach from restaurants, cafés, and shops.
The relatively calm water near shore often makes it a good choice for families with young children, while its central location makes it perfect for relaxing between meals or exploring town.
Playa Cocles
Playa Cocles is one of the area's most popular surfing beaches.
The atmosphere is energetic, with surfers sharing the waves while beach volleyball games, slacklines, and groups of friends gather beneath the palms.
If you enjoy an active beach with plenty happening, Cocles is a favourite.
Playa Chiquita
Just beyond Cocles, Playa Chiquita offers a quieter rhythm.
Small rocky coves, shaded beaches, and fewer visitors make it ideal for peaceful walks and finding your own secluded spot beside the sea.
Punta Uva
Many locals consider Punta Uva one of the Caribbean coast's most beautiful beaches.
Its calm turquoise water is perfect for kayaking, while the clear conditions often make it one of the best places in the area for snorkeling.
Just around the point, Playa Arrecife usually has some of the calmest swimming conditions on the coast, making it another excellent place to spend the afternoon.
Playa Grande
Playa Grande lies just south of Punta Uva on the way to Manzanillo.
As its name suggests, it's a long, wide stretch of golden sand bordered by tropical forest. The atmosphere is wonderfully laid-back and distinctly Caribbean. It's popular with surfers when conditions are right and perfect for long walks along the shoreline.
Weekends often bring local families together, giving the beach a lively but relaxed atmosphere.
Manzanillo
At the southern end of the road lies the small village of Manzanillo.
Life moves a little more slowly here.
The beaches are surrounded by rainforest, with quiet coves tucked between the trees and a more rustic atmosphere than the busier beaches closer to Puerto Viejo.
It's a beautiful place to spend a peaceful afternoon before continuing into the nearby wildlife refuge.
Paddle, Snorkel & Explore the Caribbean
Kayak at Punta Uva
One of the most memorable ways to experience Puerto Viejo is from the water.
The calm, protected bay at Punta Uva is perfect for kayaking. Paddle beneath overhanging jungle, watch for tropical birds, and enjoy a completely different perspective of the coastline. Early mornings are especially peaceful, when the sea is often glassy and wildlife is most active.
Snorkel the Coral Reef
The Caribbean coast is home to Costa Rica's largest coral reef system.
Punta Uva and Playa Arrecife are wonderful places for casual snorkeling on calm days, while guided tours in Cahuita National Park offer the opportunity to explore healthier reefs with experienced local guides.
Expect to see colourful reef fish, sea fans, and, if you're lucky, rays or sea turtles.
Hike Through Cahuita National Park
A visit to Cahuita National Park is one of the highlights of Costa Rica's Caribbean coast.
The coastal trail winds through rainforest where it's common to see sloths, white-faced capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, raccoons, coatis, iguanas, and an incredible variety of tropical birds.
Cahuita is also famous for its coral reef. Guided snorkeling tours allow visitors to explore one of the country's most important Caribbean marine ecosystems, where colourful reef fish and healthy coral thrive in the protected waters.
Explore the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge
For those looking to venture a little farther, the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge offers a quieter, more remote experience.
Forest trails lead to hidden beaches, small rocky coves, and stretches of untouched coastline where wildlife is often abundant. The refuge feels more rustic than Cahuita and rewards visitors who enjoy walking slowly, listening to the forest, and discovering quieter corners of the Caribbean coast.
Learn from the Bribri People
One of the most meaningful experiences in the region is visiting a Bribri Indigenous community.
Rather than simply demonstrating traditional cacao, these visits offer insight into a living culture where cacao continues to play an important role alongside medicinal plants, farming, language, and community traditions.
Many tours include walks through the forest, traditional cooking, chocolate preparation, and stories that connect visitors with the history of the region.
It's an experience that complements a chocolate-making class beautifully by showing another relationship with cacao—one rooted in generations of lived knowledge.
I actually think I'd go one step further.
Rather than adding them onto the end, I'd weave them into the guide so it feels like a true local resource. It would become a page that someone could genuinely use to plan several days in Puerto Viejo—not just a list of attractions. That aligns perfectly with the authority-building strategy we've been working on.
I'd structure it something like this:
A Local's Guide to the Best Things to Do in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Introduction
Puerto Viejo has a way of slowing people down...
Meet Costa Rica's Wildlife
Jaguar Rescue Center
Ara Project
Cahuita National Park
Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge
Discover Cacao
Hands-On Chocolate Making Class
Chocolate & Watercolor
Rum, Wine & Mezcal Pairings
Explore Puerto Viejo's Beaches
Playa Negra
Puerto Viejo Beach
Playa Cocles
Playa Chiquita
Punta Uva & Playa Arrecife
Playa Grande
Manzanillo
Paddle, Snorkel & Explore the Caribbean
Kayak at Punta Uva
One of the most memorable ways to experience Puerto Viejo is from the water.
The calm, protected bay at Punta Uva is perfect for kayaking. Paddle beneath overhanging jungle, watch for tropical birds, and enjoy a completely different perspective of the coastline. Early mornings are especially peaceful, when the sea is often glassy and wildlife is most active.
Snorkel the Coral Reef
The Caribbean coast is home to Costa Rica's largest coral reef system.
Punta Uva and Playa Arrecife are wonderful places for casual snorkeling on calm days, while guided tours in Cahuita National Park offer the opportunity to explore healthier reefs with experienced local guides.
Expect to see colourful reef fish, sea fans, and, if you're lucky, rays or sea turtles.
Walk Through the Rainforest
Cahuita National Park
The trail through Cahuita is one of the easiest and most rewarding walks in Costa Rica.
Unlike many national parks, the path follows the coastline, so you're constantly moving between rainforest and beach. Along the way it's common to encounter sloths, white-faced capuchins, howler monkeys, raccoons, coatis, iguanas, basilisk lizards, and countless tropical birds.
Because the trail is relatively flat, it's suitable for most visitors and families.
Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge
For those looking for something quieter, Gandoca-Manzanillo offers a more rustic experience.
Forest trails lead to hidden beaches, small coves, and stretches of untouched coastline where you can often walk for long periods without seeing many other people.
If Cahuita feels lively, Manzanillo feels wonderfully peaceful.
Learn from the Bribri People
One of the most meaningful experiences in the region is visiting a Bribri Indigenous community.
Rather than simply demonstrating traditional cacao, these visits offer insight into a living culture where cacao continues to play an important role alongside medicinal plants, farming, language, and community traditions.
Many tours include walks through the forest, traditional cooking, chocolate preparation, and stories that connect visitors with the history of the region.
It's an experience that complements a chocolate-making class beautifully by showing another relationship with cacao—one rooted in generations of lived knowledge.
Visit the Puerto Viejo Farmers' Market
If you're in town on a Saturday morning, don't miss the farmers' market.
Local growers bring tropical fruit, vegetables, cacao, coffee, spices, fresh bread, fermented foods, handmade crafts, and Caribbean specialties.
It's one of the best places to experience everyday life in Puerto Viejo while supporting local producers.
Ride a Bicycle Along the Coast
One of the nicest ways to explore Puerto Viejo is by bicycle.
The road south passes nearly every major beach, making it easy to stop whenever something catches your eye.
In a single leisurely ride you can visit Playa Cocles, Playa Chiquita, Punta Uva, Playa Grande, and Manzanillo.
There's rarely any need to hurry.
Learn to Surf
Puerto Viejo has become one of Costa Rica's best-known surf destinations.
Beginners usually start at Playa Cocles, where several experienced surf schools offer lessons throughout the year.
More experienced surfers often head to Salsa Brava, one of Costa Rica's most famous reef breaks. It produces powerful waves and is suitable only for highly skilled surfers with local knowledge.
Even if you don't surf, watching from the beach can be spectacular when the swell arrives.
Enjoy Live Music
Music is woven into everyday life here.
Many cafés, bars, and restaurants host live performances throughout the week, ranging from reggae and calypso to jazz, Latin music, singer-songwriters, and DJs.
At Cacao Huasi, live music often begins shortly after our evening chocolate pairings, making it easy to turn a tasting into a relaxed Caribbean evening. Sundays are Cumbia, Mondays are guitar and guests.
Watch the Sunset
Although Puerto Viejo faces east, beautiful sunsets are still part of life here.
As the afternoon light softens, the sky often glows pink, orange, and lavender above the jungle, while the sea reflects changing colours.
One of our favourite ways to end the day is with a chocolate and rum pairing on Cacao Huasi’s balcony, followed by dinner and live music as evening settles over Puerto Viejo.
Suggested Itineraries
If You Have 3 Days
Day One
Chocolate Making Class
Explore Puerto Viejo
Sunset Pairing
Day Two
Jaguar Rescue Center
Punta Uva kayaking
Playa Grande
Dinner
Day Three
Cahuita National Park
Snorkeling tour
Farmers' Market (Saturday)
If You Have 5 Days
Add:
Bribri cultural tour
Ara Project
Surf lesson
Bicycle ride to Manzanillo
Chocolate & Watercolor
Slow Down
One of the nicest things about Puerto Viejo is that you don't have to see everything.
Some of the best moments aren't planned.
A sloth crossing the road.
A conversation at the farmers' market.
Fresh cacao shared beneath a tree.
An empty beach discovered between two better-known ones.
The longer you stay, the more Puerto Viejo reveals itself—not through rushing from one attraction to the next, but by slowing down enough to notice where you are.
Take Your Time
Puerto Viejo isn't a place to rush through.
Spend one day exploring the rainforest.
Another learning to make chocolate.
Paddle through the calm waters of Punta Uva in the morning, snorkel in the afternoon, and finish the evening with a chocolate pairing as the sun begins to set.
The longer you stay, the more you'll discover that Puerto Viejo isn't simply a destination.
It's a place that invites you to slow down, pay attention, and return again.
