Where to Watch the Sunset in Puerto Viejo: Drinks, Dinner & the Best Views
Puerto Viejo is on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast, so sunset here is a little different.
You don't usually get the classic view of the sun dropping straight into the ocean. Instead, the coastline curves, the light comes in low across the water and town, and on a clear afternoon the whole Caribbean changes colour.
Knowing where to be makes a difference.
If you'd like to end the day with your feet in the sand, a cocktail in your hand, or dinner while the light changes, these are some of our favourite ways to enjoy sunset in Puerto Viejo.
Playa Negra: for a quiet sunset
Just north of the centre of Puerto Viejo, Playa Negra is probably the simplest choice if the sunset itself is what you're after.
The dark sand looks completely different in the late-afternoon light, and the beach is long enough that you can find somewhere quiet to sit or walk. Rather than rushing there for the exact moment the sun disappears, go a little earlier. The hour before sunset is often the beautiful part.
Bring something to drink, walk the beach, and stay until the light begins to go.
Best for: a walk, photography, a quiet sunset and spending nothing at all.
Puerto Viejo waterfront: sunset with a little more life
You don't have to leave town to enjoy the end of the day.
The waterfront around central Puerto Viejo has a completely different feeling from Playa Negra: people walking home from the beach, bikes going past, music starting up and everyone slowly deciding what they're going to do with the evening.
Around the western side of town there are several places where you can stop for a drink and watch the changing light over the water.
Grow is a beachfront vegetarian and vegan restaurant and lounge, so it's a good choice if you want plant-based food with the view.
Nearby, Puerto Pirata Tiki Bar is more of a beach-bar experience: cocktails, food, music and a livelier atmosphere as afternoon turns into night.
Best for: being close to town, beach bars, people-watching and letting sunset turn naturally into an evening out.
Sunset, cocktails and dinner at Cacao Huasi
At Cacao Huasi, late afternoon is one of our favourite times of day.
We're right in Puerto Viejo, beachfront overlooking the Caribbean, Playa Negra and the hills beyond. On clear days you can see the Turialba volcano and the central mountains. Watch the light change in the water, the forested hills, the mountains behind and in the clouds themselves. A beautiful way to end the heat of the day.
You don't need to book an experience. Come up for a cocktail, a cacao drink or a handmade chocolate, or arrive hungry and stay for dinner.
Our kitchen mixes Caribbean and Asian influences, with dishes for sharing, vegetarian and vegan choices, jerk, ceviche, house-made focaccia and desserts made with our own chocolate.
If you want to make more of the evening, our rum, wine and mezcal chocolate pairings also take place in the late afternoon. They're small and relaxed, and afterwards you can simply stay for dinner.
Some evenings there is live music or one of the cultural events we host at the Huasi; other evenings are quiet. We rather like both.
Best for: sunset drinks, dinner, chocolate, date night and an evening that doesn't need much planning.
El Sendero: beach-club sunset
El Sendero Beach Club is another option if you'd prefer having your feet in the sand.
It's a Caribbean restaurant and beach club, and sunset is a natural time to arrive for a drink before dinner.
The atmosphere is more beach club than quiet restaurant, so choose this one when you want the end of the afternoon to feel social.
Best for: drinks on the beach and a livelier sunset.
Or just find a piece of beach
You don't actually need a restaurant to enjoy sunset in Puerto Viejo.
That's worth saying because some of the nicest evenings here cost nothing.
Buy a cold drink somewhere in town, walk toward the water and find a place to sit. Playa Negra is particularly good for this, but there are places all along the coast where the late-afternoon light is beautiful.
Puerto Viejo isn't really a place where you need to schedule every hour.
Sometimes the best plan is simply to notice that the light has changed and go outside.
What time is sunset in Puerto Viejo?
Sunset doesn't vary dramatically through the year this close to the equator, but the exact time does change. In general mid summer sun sets around 6:15, mid winter it's around 5:15.
A better rule than memorizing a time is to arrive 45 minutes to an hour before sunset.
That's when you get the changing light, rather than arriving just in time for the last five minutes. On cloudy Caribbean days, you may get no sunset at all—or the clouds may suddenly open and give you ten extraordinary minutes. That's part of living with the weather here.
Dinner after sunset
Once the light has gone, you're already in the right place for the next part of Puerto Viejo.
You can stay by the water for dinner, move into town for cocktails or live music, or make an evening of one of Puerto Viejo's restaurants.
If you're looking for more ideas after dark, read our Things to Do in Puerto Viejo at Night guide.
And if you're still deciding how to spend the rest of your trip, our Puerto Viejo Guide brings together beaches, wildlife, food, cacao and things to do around the Caribbean coast.
Sunset doesn't have to be an activity in itself.
Sometimes it's simply the point in the day when Puerto Viejo changes gears.
