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Puerto Limon

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, is on the Caribbean coast. It is the capital city of the province of Limon. The city was founded in the 1870s when a railway between the city of San Jose and Puerto Limon was completed. The railway was built so coffee could be transported from the center of Costa Rica to the coast.

Puerto Limon is close to the site where Columbus landed in Costa Rica in 1502. A festival is held in the city every year in October to commemorate this event. It is held close to the anniversary of the day Columbus first landed in America in 1492. The festival celebrates a variety of Caribbean cultures including African, Spanish, Chinese and Italian. The Chinese and Italians worked on the railroad that connected San Joseand Port Limon. Parades, dancing, music and food are part of the festival celebration.Puerto Limon, Costa RicaThe Ethno Historic Museum has exhibits on the history and culture of the Puerto Limon area. The building that houses the museum is an example of the area’s architecture from the colonial period.

There are plenty of things to do outside in the Puerto Limon area. Playa Bonita Beach is two and half miles from downtown Puerto Limon. Surfers, sunbathers and swimmers will enjoy this beach.

The Tortuguero National Park is north of Puerto Limon. A boat ride on the national park gives visitors a chance to see aquatic plants, birds, bats and caymans. Caymans are similar to alligators.

Visitors can see tropical fruits, flowers and spices growing at the Botanical Gardens. The gardens are on a working farm.

Tourists can shop and eat outside in Puerto Limon. Jewelry, leather goods and wood carvings are sold at the outdoor market.

Customers can dine on the beach at the restaurant at the Hotel Playa Westfalia. This hotel has a pool and a spa. The Hotel Cocori Puerto Limon is also on the beach. The Park Hotel is in the center of Puerto Limon.

Travelers can take domestic flights to Puerto Limon from Tobias Bolanos International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica. There is bus service to Puerto Limon from San Jose and several other cities in Costa Rica.

Filed Under: Caribbean, Costa Rica, Featured, Limon, Puerto Limon, Tortuguero National Park, Travel Photos

Caribbean


Costa Rica’s Caribbean coastline, the least visited yet maybe the most beautiful section of Costa Rica. Extending from the northern border with Nicaragua southward to the border with Panama, the lush Caribbean region of Costa Rica offers adventure seekers as well as nature lovers a land filled with indescribable natural riches. From unbelievable pristine white sand beaches to lush tropical rainforest teeming with countless species of wild life, the Costa Rica Caribbean coastline is just waiting to be discovered.

The gateway to Costa Rica’s Caribbean region is the port city of Puerto Limon, a three hour drive from Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose will take travelers over the Central Mountain Range, passing through Zurqui Tunnel, the only tunnel to be found in the country, dense tropical rainforest will give way to banana plantations and palm tree lined roads leading to Puerto Limon. Puerto Limon is also home to Costa Rica’s only Caribbean cruise port.

Playa Puerto Viejo, Caribbean, Costa RicaThe Costa Rica Caribbean region can be divided into two main areas; the northern Caribbean coastline is home to some of the best wildlife viewing in all of Costa Rica, home to two of the country’s finest national parks, Tortuguero National Park and Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge. Travel to Tortuguero is mainly from Puerto Limon via excursion boats or from San Jose by air. Several lodges will make arrangements to pick up their guest in Puerto Limon. Tortuguero National Park is inundated year round by migrating turtles, June to November will find upwards of 30,000 green turtles making their way onshore to lay their eggs, while the months of February till July will see Giant Leatherback turtles nesting along the same beaches. Headed north from Tortuguero National Park is Barra del Colorado National Wild Refuge extending north to the Nicaraguan border. With less amenities than Tortuguero the area is mainly known for its fishing.

Suggested Trip Costa Rica Caribbean RegionThe southern Caribbean coastline is known for its clear blue waters attracting snorkelers and beachcombers alike. Cahuita National Park, with its many coral reefs is a big draw. The southern Caribbean area host some of Costa Rica’s most unspoiled rainforests, nature lovers will find Hitoy-Cerere Biological Reserve a treasure drove of wildlife. Puerto Viejo, just 30 minutes south of Cahuita National Park is known for its Caribbean flavor, with descendants of Jamaican heritage that came to work the banana plantations and Costa Rica’s railroad during the late 1800’s , the area is deep in Creole traditions that travelers will find evident in the local food, music and Mardi Gras celebrations. The end of the road leads to Manzanillo, the southernmost reaches of the Caribbean coastline is an area that time has forgotten. Adventure seekers will find Gandoca-Manzanillio Wildlife Refuge the perfect launching point for adventures into the jungles, with boating, horseback riding or just hiking to enjoy this area rich in wildlife and scenery that should wet any appetite.


Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast sees the heaviest of the countries rainfall, over 200 inches of rain a year is not uncommon for this region , yet compared to the rest of the country, the rain is spread out through the year. July and December will find the heaviest months with August through October the least amount. Temperatures will average 75 to 85 degrees year round and are kept pleasant by tropical winds coming from the Caribbean waters.

 

Filed Under: Cahuita, Cahuita National Park, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Featured, Gandoca, Limon, Manzinillo

Cahuita, Costa Rica


Cahuita is a small, secluded village in the southern part of Costa Rica on the Caribbean coast and it is 43 kilometers or 27 miles from Puerto Limón. Most of Cahuita’s 4000 people are of Jamaican heritage, many having migrated in the early part of the 20th century to work on the banana plantations.

Weather in Cahuita is very rainy and hot but there is a period of time when it is a little less rainy. Between the middle of February and April there is less rain, and sometimes it rains less during September and October. The sun shines more than 12 hours a day in Costa Rica.Cahuita National Park, Cahuita, Costa RicaOn the coast, there is a beach with black sand and a beach with white sand. Between them is one of the best coral reefs in Costa Rica. Cahuita is the gateway to Cahuita National Park which is 2,635 acres, with one tenth of that being offshore. It was formed in 1970 in order to protect the coral reef there. It contains a beach with white sands and marvelous coral reefs. Snorkeling is excellent here and there are hiking trails. Camping is allowed in one section of the park but there are no facilities. The habitat there is a rain forest and some of the animals are: blue fiddler crabs, herons, toucans, ibis, iguanas, monkeys, sloths, tamandua, and coati.The Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue Center and Botanical Gardens rescues displaced animals, rehabilitates them, and returns them to the wild, if possible. They also breed turtles and iguanas and place them in the wild. There are 10 acres of gardens that include native plants, palms, bromeliads, heleconias, and more. They are closed in May, June, September, and October.

11 kilometers from Cahuita is the Aviarios del Caribe Sloth Sanctuary. It was established to protect and rehabilitate sloths. During the tour, you will go on a canoe ride in the rainforest, return to the education center to learn about sloths, and then meet some of the babies.


Another attraction is Willie’s Tours where you can tour the Bri Bri Reserve and learn about pre-Columbian culture and cocoa processing. Another choice is rafting on the Pacaure River or hiking through the rainforest. Other guided adventures include snorkeling, fishing, or dolphin watching.

If you wish to spend the night in Cahuita, you will find five hotels there. They are the Atlantida Lodge, Hotel Magellan Inn, Hotel National Park Cahuita, Playa Negra Guesthouse, and Suizo Loco Lodge.

Filed Under: Cahuita, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Featured, Limon, Manzinillo, Travel Photos

Limon, Costa Rica


With the setting of hammering breakers, and primeval rainforests, Costa Rica Caribbean’s coast is a place for beach goers to enjoy. This part of Costa Rica, set off from the rest of the nation, provides visitors with beautiful white sandy beaches with rows of coconut trees. This area has diverse geography with rainforests that stretch from the beaches inland. The north has marshy lagoons and the Talamanca Mountains are on the south.

The Costa Rican coast extends 125 mile between Nicaragua and Panama with the total area being within Limon province. Christopher Columbus was the first to discover the locale when arriving in 1502. This part of Costa Rica has fewer visitors than the rest of the country.

Sae Turtle, Tortuguero, Limon, Costa RicaThe climate is tropical with hot and humid weather. The region has Costa Rica’s highest rainfall totals, with most of the heavy showers between both May and August and then December and January.

Limon is one of the most verdant areas of Costa Rica. Visitors will find many opportunities for water sports such as exceptional diving, surfing in the amazing waves, and sport fishing when the weather is favorable.

Limon is the locale of Tortuguero National Park known for its nesting turtles and Cahuita National Park. The last indigenous native tribes, the Bribri, Cocles, and Talamanca Cabecary villages are in Limon.

Visitors can get to Puerto Limon, capital of the Limon Province, by driving from San Jose. Take Highway 32, also called the Guapiles Highway that joins Limon Province with the rest of Costa Rica.

Puerto Limon was a banana port, but has become a center of Costa Rica’s Afro-Caribbean society. The carnival turns Puerto Limon into a lively party.
Visiting Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Manzanillo gives tourists a view of life in Limon.


Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, on the Caribbean, is a center for beach fanatics. It is identified with beaches, crystal blue water and surfing. It is turning into one of Costa Rica’s leading tourist towns primarily with surfers.
Puerto Viejo is 30 miles to the south east of Puerto Limon and ten miles south of Cahuita.

Manzanillo is a small fishing village found within the Gandaco-Manzanillo Wildlife and Marine Refuge and is south of Puerto Viejo. It is on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast and is south of Puerto Limon. The key feature of the village is the white beaches with palm trees.

Filed Under: Caribbean, Costa Rica, Featured, Limon, Travel Photos